Life Can Be Very Unfair
http://transgenderequality.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/life-can-be-very-unfair/This is cross-posted from Gender DynamiX, which is "the first African based organisation solely focussing on the transgender community." They provide resources, information and support to trans folks, their partners, family, employers and the public. Justin met with the groups' wonderful founders a few years ago in Cape Town. Here's a glimpse of what life is like for transgender people and our advocates in other parts of the world:
I have gone through trauma my whole life because the whole community hated the fact that I acted like a girl. What they didn't know was that it was not a choice I had made but something I was born with. I am God's creation just like everybody else. I was beaten many times and even lost part of my hearing that way. The hardest thing was that I could not confide in anyone since in Zimbabwe it is taboo and illegal to be the way I was (transgender). My life and the life of my parents' were at risk because people were threatening to burn down our house. That is when I decided to run away, in order to protect both myself and my family. I decided to come to South Africa, where I have met wonderful and caring people through Gender DynamiX. My life is just starting to make sense and I have a little bit of peace in my heart, something that I haven't felt before.
