Noxolo Nogwaza, 24, was raped and murdered Condemnation is being heaped on the brutal rape and murder of a South African lesbian activist. US-based Human Rights Watch has urged the police to do more to find those responsible for the atrocities which claimed the life of 24-year-old Noxolo Nogwaza. She was stoned and stabbed on 24 April after an argument in a bar in KwaThema township, east of Johannesburg. South African lesbians are believed to be targeted by some for ‘corrective rape'. The rapists believe they can make women straight. Despite gay sexual acts being legal in South Africa and a constitution outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation, activists say gay and lesbian people are often attacked in townships. "Nogwaza's death is the latest in a long series of sadistic crimes against lesbians, gay men, and transgender people in South Africa," said Human Rights Watch researcher Dipika Nath. In 2008, female football player and gay rights activist Eudy Simelane was also killed in KwaThema. Two people were given lengthy prison terms for her murder and rape.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 4th May 2011 - 11:46am