I’m afraid that I must start off this particular blog with a bit of a warning. I am going to be talking about a dark subject unfortunately, but one that has been a topic of discussion during my time here in South Africa and that I feel is worthy of being explored and communicated to you all. Let me also say that though what I will be talking about shows a darker side of South African culture, it should not and is not intended to create a bad image of this wonderful country and its people. Just like every other country and community in the world there is crime and bad things that happen, so please don’t judge an entire place or experience on these few stories. I’m simply communicating this to make you aware of an issue that South Africa is facing and make you think about how to address similar issues in the United States, or wherever you may be. The communities that I have been blessed to be a part of are filled with wonderful and understanding people, people who may think differently but still think justly. People who, like me, find that the following subject is a terrible issue facing this country of South Africa…
For those of you who received and read my newsletter I briefly talked about gay and lesbian rights here in South Africa. It is an issue that like in the United States is very current and very sensitive. In the United States the struggle for the gay and lesbian communities to be fully accepted into society continues, with the battle for the legalization of gay marriage at the forefront. But, here in South Africa, gay marriage has been made legal, a beautiful thing, but though the thinking may be ahead constitutionally, culturally there are major problems for the gay and lesbian communities. Another difference that I have noticed is that in the United States the more targeted group for cultural scrutiny is the gay men. Not to say that lesbians in the United States don’t come under huge amounts of scrutiny by both the government, friends and family, but when it comes to targets of violent crime fueled by homophobia we, as Americans, must admit that the target has predominantly been gay men, men like Matthew Shepherd, whose murder is still a haunting reminder of how far we still need to come as a society to accept all people, no matter who they love. The scenario, for the most part, seems to be reversed here in South Africa, where lesbians are predominantly the targets of violent crime. The most disturbing and horrifying of these crimes is known as corrective rape. Corrective rape is a term used for a violent sexual offense where a woman being accused or thought of as being a lesbian is brutally raped, many times beaten, and sometimes killed. It is done by men who feel that they can “fix” these women and change their sexuality by raping them. Most lesbians in South Africa truly live in fear of this crime, and though many courageously live openly and fight for equality, most live in fear and hide who they truly are.
The female athletes of this country, whether they are lesbians or not, come under the most scrutiny, especially female soccer players. This is the biggest reason why I became so interested in this topic. I am a female soccer player, an avid fan of the game, and a huge supporter of progressing the women’s game to higher levels. It is obvious that many countries are taking huge strides in supporting their women’s sides, as was evident in the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany where some of the best women’s soccer that has ever been played was seen. The competition level was the highest it’s ever been and that is directly linked to the support that female athletes in other countries are beginning to receive from both their governments and the people. Unfortunately, this is not the case in some African nations. Upon arriving in South Africa I assumed that the reasons support was lacking was because the cultures didn’t think girls should play sports, that their place was at home caring for their families, or that girls were weak and couldn’t compete. All these were hurdles I was ready to jump and encourage others to jump as well. And although these are some of the reasons why female sports are not encouraged there was another reason that I was hugely surprised by; girls didn’t want to play sports out of fear that they would be seen as lesbians and made targets of violent crime. The worst part is these fears are not irrational. It has been reported that there are 10 new cases of corrective rape every week in the townships of Cape Town alone, a staggering number (reported by the Triangle Project, a gay/ lesbian rights group here in South Africa). Now, with this being said, I’d like to make it clear that there are many communities and people that accept and love their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, but there is a real problem of violence against members of the gay community simply because of their sexual orientation. This tug of war between discrimination and acceptance can be found in every community both inside and outside of South Africa. But, when it comes to this issue in South Africa most of these violent acts of corrective rape are found in the township and urban communities. Sports programs for young girls struggle to become established in these communities because parents and girls are scared that by simply playing the sport that they love these girls will fall victim to this crime, gay or not. This was a shocking realization for me when I was first told about this fear, so I looked into this issue a little deeper. I discovered that no matter what level these girls play at, they are not immune to discrimination or attack. In fact, sometimes the further in the spotlight these athletes are the higher the risk. This was the case for Eudy Simelane. Eudy was a very good soccer player and the captain of the South African national women’s soccer team. Ten years after she retired from the game she continued to coach and was also an open lesbian and a true pioneer for women’s athletics. Eudy was brutally raped and murdered in the township that she grew up and lived in at the time of her death, killed simply because she was a lesbian and was proud enough of that to be open about it.
Eudy’s story is not a rare one. There are many victims of corrective rape in these communities. Many that have to walk around every day and watch their attackers walking free. ESPN E:60 released a great article featuring this issue of corrective rape in the soccer community. (If you’d like to read the article or watch the video here’s the link http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/e60/news/story?id=5177704). As both a friend to the gay and lesbian community and a female athlete I couldn’t get over the horror of these stories, and the fact that these things are even happening at all shakes me to the core. But, there is still hope, many of these women continue to play the game that they love and they use it to empower themselves and other girls to play despite possible discriminations.
I was recently asked to help kick start and coach an emerging girls soccer program in one of the townships here in Pietermaritzburg. I was elated at the excitement the men’s coach had to get this program started as well as the enthusiasm of the 18 girls that are ready to learn more about the sport and compete. I am so excited to get this program going and encourage even more girls to play soccer. Because not just soccer, but all sport, has the ability to break down barriers put up by society. And gay or not gives these girls confidence to stand up to those who may discriminate against them because they want to continue to play a game that makes them happy. It will be very interesting to see how this team develops and the challenges that may be faced. I also plan to closely observe the reaction of others in the community to these girls playing soccer. I hope and pray that this issue starts to disappear from South Africa and the world, and that we as a global community can just accept and love people no matter what their sexual orientation is. I also hope that more girls continue to get involved in sport despite their fears and one day be able to compete without the fear of what people may think, or what may happen to them on their way home from practice. For me this journey starts with 18 girls in a township that just want to play the game that they love, and play it well.
I’ll end this with a quote from Eudy Simelane’s mother:
“These children are ours," she says."The gays and lesbians. I mean, we must accept our children. What they like, it's up to them. We are not God to stop them.” 
Eudy Simelane playing the game she loved
