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The Economic Freedom Fighters in the province of KwaZulu-Natal wishes the LGBTQIA + community a Happy Pride Month. While South Africa has made great strides in terms of embracing the LGBTQIA + community having been the first country in the world to enshrine homosexual rights in its constitution and later being the first country in Africa to legalize same-sex marriage,  we note with concern the scourge of violence amongst the LGBTQIA + community in our province.  Our people continue to be victimized and killed based on their chosen identity because of stigma, minimal education and lack of access to information amongst our communities.

As we celebrate Pride Month we call upon our communities to stop using stereotypical and social constructs that promote discrimination. We reaffirm our support for the LGBTQIA +community as we believe that no one should be discriminated against their sexual orientation.

While significant progress has been made towards the rights of the LGBTQIA  +community we note with concern that this remains only in ink and paper, as they are still largely  excluded from being active participants in the country’ state of affairs.

We call upon for full inclusion in the country’s state of affairs including robust political representation, inclusion in the country's statistical data so that their issues are well represented  and full access to health care without fear of discrimination. We further call for robust conscientization in our communities in order to end the scourge of violence and persecution.

Issued by EFF in KwaZulu-Natal