Lesbians 'targeted for murder'

2007-08-09 14:31

Johannesburg - The recent murder of three lesbians in South Africa was proof that the country was failing to live up to its constitutional promise to protect all its citizens, the international rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday.

In a letter to President Thabo Mbeki on National Women's Day in South Africa HRW noted: "Despite legal commitments to equality for all, lesbians in South African townships are still targeted for rape and murder."

South Africa's 1996 constitution, one of the world's most progressive, was the first in the world to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. But sexism and homophobia are still widespread.

Two lesbian women were shot dead in Soweto outside Johannesburg in July. Also in July the body of another lesbian woman, bearing multiple head wounds, was found in the southern KwaZulu-Natal province. Rape was suspected in both incidents.

Recent reports that women in a township in Durban were being harassed by men into wearing skirts also add to the image of a country out of step with its constitution.

National Women's Day marks the 51st anniversary of a rally by women in Pretoria to protest the extension of apartheid-era pass laws - used to restrict and monitor the movements of blacks - to women.

"Poverty, prejudice, homophobia and sexism are building a new pass system, where many women dare not walk openly on the street," HRW said. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA