South Africa
South Africa at last! I've been looking forward to getting to Johannesburg and was not disappointed. Although India was quite an experience it was great to get to a major urban city that reminds one a little bit of home. Actually reminded me a bit like Toronto in the summer. Our timing couldn't have been better and we were able to attend a rally in Pretoria for National Women's Day. It is a national holiday in South Africa so thousands of women turned out to celebrate and continue the discussion for equal rights. That's me with a women attending the rally. Many women were dressed similarly (in green outfits) that we were told signifies an alliance with a particular political group. We also met with contacts at the US State Department (thanks Maris!) and activists focusing on the issue of correctional rapes. There is still a struggle for acceptance for gay, lesbian and transgendered people in the Townships in South Africa. Lesbians are raped in an attempt to make them straight. We took a drive to Velkom in Free State to meet with a woman on the forefront of this issue - lobbying the government to recognize and act when it comes to this type of violence against women. Next stop on our journey takes us to Nairobi, Kenya.
