CAPE TOWN — Activists from student society RainbowUCT from the University of Cape Town will stage an anti-homophobia “Pink Protest” in the wake of a hate crime committed there earlier this week.
As part of its “Pink Week” pride campaign, held in collaboration with the university to promote the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community and to highlight the injustices and homophobia that this community still faces, RainbowUCT set up a “Closet” display on UCT's Jameson Plaza.
On Monday, 4th October 2010, the Closet was set alight and severely damaged by an unidentified arsonist after only being on display for less than twelve hours.
The burning of the closet was not perpetrated or sanctioned by RainbowUCT or any of its executives, members, associates, or affiliated organisations, or the university. Any statement or communique suggesting otherwise is wholly untrue and does not originate from RainbowUCT or UCT. This act was entirely malicious in nature.
While Rainbow UCT is deeply concerned about this violent hate crime, the very act exponentially gives greater credibility to the message the Closet was intended to symbolise – the crux of Pink Week: homoprejudice remains a very real and present issue affecting every area of our society.
To date, no leads have been made in the ongoing investigation; RainbowUCT requests anyone with information that could assist in the investigation to contact the relevant authorities.
The remains of the Closet has remained in position on Jameson Plaza for the duration of Pink Week, and have been integrated into somewhat of an art installation designed to memorialise those who have suffered injustices and lost their lives at the hands of homophobia and homoprejudice. Friends of the society have donated flowers for this purpose. A new, metal “Closet” has been installed to symobolise the stength with which the LGBTI community fights acts of hate.
In response to this hate crime, RainbowUCT will lead a Pink Protest on UCT's Upper Campus in order to make it clear that, despite the actions of a minority, the University of Cape Town, including its management, staff, faculty and students, does not condone acts of hate, whether they occur within the boundaries of UCT or in the larger local and national context.
Under the banner “Gay rights are HUMAN RIGHTS”, RainbowUCT invites all members of the UCT community to participate by wearing pink and joining the society on Jameson Plaza as it delivers a memorandum to university management, stating the student position on hate crimes and homophobia.
Event Details: RainbowUCT's Pink Protest
Date: Thursday 7 October 2010
Time: 13h45 CAT
Venue/Location: Jameson Plaza, Upper Campus, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town.
Protestors and supporters are asked to wear pink in solidarity as a memorandum is delivered to UCT management.
This is the memorandum handed over to UCT management today during our Pink Protest.
The burning of the pink closet on UCT’s campus on the Monday (4 October 2010) demonstrates the pervasiveness of homophobia and hetersexism across social and institutional spaces in South Africa - from townships such as, Khayelitsha where Zoliswa Nkonyana was murdered for being an out lesbian to what we view as the liberal university campuses.
