Bloemfontein - Free State Gay Pride is growing by the year with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the Free State department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Destea) among the supporting organisations for the 2017 event.

They join the University of the Free State, the Treatment Action Campaign and LoveLife, among others, in support of the event, which seeks to promote awareness of human rights in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community.

The week-long event starts on Tuesday (Human Rights Day) and ends on Saturday 25 March.

An organiser, Thabiso Chaka, says during the week, guests can look forward to LGBTI film screenings, mass dialogues with the community, a gala dinner as well as a march, which is the main event, where Mr and Miss Free State Pride 2017 will be announced.

He says the event aims to raise awareness about the ongoing struggle for the LGBTI community, to challenge existing stereotypes about the community, to educate those attending the daily meetings on their rights, as well as teach community members how to foster tolerance and understanding towards the LGBTI community.  

"We have Cosatu joining us with our march and we also have Destea who said that they would also love us to help them with sensitising their government departments all over the Free State. They believe that within the workplaces, there are members who want to come out but the workplace doesn’t allow them."

Pulane Choane/OFM News