South African School Closes Upon Discovery of Lesbian Relationships

March 02, 2010

Education officials in South Africa are investigating the closure of a girls’ boarding school after allegations of lesbian relationships surfaced, in a country where LGBT are afforded unrelenting constitutional protections.

A female couple was caught kissing and reportedly outed 27 other pupils involved in same-sex relationships. The school is located in the KwaZulu-Natal province.

Speaking to the Mercury, Education Department spokesman Sihle Mlotshwa said schools were prohibited from expelling students on the basis of their sexual orientation.

“The school has been visited by district officials on a fact-finding mission. There’s going to be meeting with all relevant stakeholders to look at this issue,” he said.

Nonhlanhla Mkhize – a local gay rights activist – called the expulsion “shocking.”

“Such incidents make you wonder whether schools are there to promote only certain aspects of society. Sexual orientation aside, this is a serious injustice to the pupils,” she said.

The dormitory’s closure has forced students to either return home or relocate to other facilities.

South Africa is the only country on the continent to guarantee constitutional protection against discrimination for LGBT and is one of a handful of countries across the world to permit same-sex marriage.

Nevertheless, the nation remains rife with homophobia.

Last year, the lesbian rape pandemic – in which men rape lesbians in an attempt to convert them to heterosexuality - was widely reported in the media and remains an ongoing problem in the country today.
 

Image source: yohey1028