Celebrating Pride 2025 in the Rainbow Nation

In the shadow of Table Mountain, Cape Town Pride 2025 held this past weekend celebrated all that’s good within the Rainbow Nation. After the fall of Apartheid, another revolution of human dignity has been unfolding over the past three decades. And South Africa’s Pride 2025 movement stands as one of the continent’s most remarkable stories of progress.

First came the post-Apartheid transformation. As the nation dismantled the machinery of racial oppression, LGBTQIA+ activists worked hard to be included in the foundations of a new democracy. It didn’t take long, and the first major Pride march occurred in Johannesburg in 1990. Sadly, so dark were the days that many of those first brave souls walked with bags over their heads to protect their identities. Nevertheless, it was a declaration that LGBTQIA+ rights belonged in the conversation about South Africa’s democratic future.

CELEBRATING PRIDE 2025

Simon Nkoli, an anti-apartheid activist who was arrested as part of the Delmas Treason Trial in 1984, emerged as South Africa’s first LGBTQIA+ activist. He would be a bridge between struggle movements, being both black and gay helped connect struggles that might otherwise have remained separate. He came up with the idea of the first Pride march in Johannesburg. “In South Africa, I am oppressed because I am a black man, and I am oppressed because I am gay. So, when I fight for my freedom, I must fight against both oppressions,” he famously said.

Then, in 1996, the watershed moment came for South Africa. Our landmark constitution became the first in the world to protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Mind you, this remarkable achievement didn’t happen by accident. Tireless lobbying by the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality ensured LGBTQIA+ protections appeared in the document despite plenty of opposition.

What followed was a series of legal victories that would instil constitutional protections until Pride 2025. These include:  

• The decriminalisation of homosexuality (1998).
• Equal immigration rights for same-sex couples (1999).
• Adoption rights for same-sex couples (2002).
• Legalisation of same-sex marriage through the Civil Union Act (2006).

GROWTH OF PRIDE

Over time, Nkoli’s once-small political march grew into the largest LGBTQIA+ event on the continent. Cape Town Pride 2025 emerged as another major celebration, too, while smaller marches began appearing in cities around the country. From the 2000s onwards, these events started reflecting South Africa’s inherent diversity. Black lesbian women faced terrible discrimination and violence in South Africa. And these intersectional challenges gained a new voice through the Forum for Empowerment of Women (FEW).

Nevertheless, despite South Africa’s inclusive constitution, LGBTQIA+ communities still face significant challenges. These include discrimination, violence and hate crimes, and religious and cultural opposition through conservative groups and traditional leaders. Xenophobia also impacts LGBTQIA+ refugees from other African countries, particularly in isolated rural areas. So, the struggle for widespread acceptance continues on …

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PRIDE MOVEMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA?

Let us know by leaving a comment below or send us a WhatsApp on 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African’s newsletter and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest FREE-to-read news.