Johannesburg Pride march brings hundreds to Sandton
Rainbow flags and supportive banners marked the celebration, while one participant highlighted concerns about transgender rights abroad.
Hundreds marched through Johannesburg’s Sandton district to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride, taking part in an annual gathering that ranks among Africa’s largest celebrations of inclusion. The event combined a public show of support with a platform for protest.
Marchers displayed rainbow flags, carried banners expressing solidarity with LGBTQ+ people and dressed in colorful costumes. Among those attending were people from countries in Asia and elsewhere.
Participant Patrick Smit-Stachowski said he had joined to protest the loss of transgender rights, citing America as an example of where he believed those rights were being taken away.
LGBTQ+ people have full legal protection in South Africa, which became the world’s first nation to put a prohibition against sexual-orientation discrimination in its constitution. The country legalized same-sex marriage in 2006 and is still the only African nation where such marriages are performed.
