South African anarchist group denounces homophobic murder

We, Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF), were recently shocked to hear
about another homophobic murder in Johannesburg and extend our sympathy and
solidarity to the LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex)
community of South Africa, that has had to suffer from oppression and
discrimination so often within a short period of time. The murder of drag
queen Daisy Dube is yet another horrible chauvinistic murder and adds to the
escalating number of people killed in homophobic violence in South Africa in
recent times, including 10 lesbians killed since just 2006.We deeply regret this and all the other murders and hope that the case of
Dube’s murder be solved soon, although we do not have much faith that the
police will do so. Dube and others who speak out in such a chauvinistic
environment - that not only verbally discriminates against people who are
seen to be ‘different’ or ‘abnormal’ but also physically, including raping
and killing them - should be seen as heroic. LGBTI people who know they are
targets but still stand up for their gender identity and fight for their
rights need our full support. It is such people, who stand up against
oppression and discrimination, who will change the world.

The increase in homophobic, sexist as well as xenophobic violence indicates
a growing culture of chauvinism throughout South African society. This needs
to be confronted with united direct action. We think it is vital therefore
to build a network of activists against both state repression and all forms
of chauvinist violence coming from reactionary elements within South African
society. This growth also indicates that it has to do with wider
circumstances, such as poverty and the lack of service delivery which leads
to frustration which then gets directed at society’s weakest. As we have
seen just recently, it is poor people who turn against other poor people
because they are so desperate. They discriminate against more vulnerable
people, such as lesbians and immigrants, turning against each other instead
of uniting against a common oppressor.

As anarchist communists we are against all forms of discrimination and
therefore fight all of them. We fight for a world free from sexism,
homophobia, ableism, racism and other forms of oppression. We support
movements of people resisting oppression based on identity but we believe
that it is important for them also to work with - and be supported by - the
broader social movements and to engage in a broader struggle because we
believe that many forms of discrimination are rooted in capitalism and the
state system. This means we believe that as long as capitalism and classes
exist, LGBTI people from poor communities in particular will be
discriminated against. Most LGBTI people are poor and working class. As a
class we get discriminated against by the state which only supports the
interests of the ruling class and its right hand, the police. This
discrimination, at the hands of the state and capitalism, is something that
unites us as a class, across gender and sexual divides, across colours,
ethnicities, abilities and age. Our struggle has to be united, it has to be
anti-capitalist, it has to be internationalist and it has to be
anti-authoritarian.

The fight for lesbian and gay liberation as well as fights against racism
and sexism must be rooted in the class struggle - only the working class, as
the exploited class, has everything to gain and nothing to lose in fighting
oppression. And revolutionaries, regardless of their sexuality must fight
for lesbian and gay equality.

Even though South Africa has a ‘progressive’ constitution with more rights
for LGBTI people than most other states in the world we still know that the
police are perpetrators of violence and discrimination and that there is a
lot of chauvinism in South Africa. South Africans get born into and
socialised in a nationalist, sexist and homophobic environment. We cannot
rely on the constitution or the police to help us, we have to organise
ourselves and change people’s ideas and behaviour through education and
direct action.

It is not enough to believe in the constitution and we, as oppressed people,
should not stop struggling when we gain legal rights and protection. We
should not try to be acceptable to the mainstream and stop our struggles
there but fight for a completely new and better world and a social
revolution.

Together we have to criticise traditional gender roles, the nuclear family,
marriage and compulsory monogamy and male polygamy which are based on
patriarchy, capitalism and conservative religious values. Anarchists have a
long tradition in criticising these institutions and a history of supporting
LGBTI people, the more radical elements of which are anarchist inspired.

We hope that the future will bring stronger contact and collaboration
between the various social movements and the LGBTI community in a united
front to combat chauvinism. Sexual, economic and social liberation must go
hand in hand.

In solidarity and support,

The ZACF Gender Working Group

http://www.zabalaza.net