Zimbabwe: Noma Moyo Talks to Transgender Businessperson Ricky Nathanson

Noma Moyo hosts a discussion with sexual rights activist Mojalifa Mokwele and Bulawayo-based transgender businessperson Ricky Nathanson, who was arrested for going into a female toilet two weeks ago. Ricky describes how anti-riot police in two vans arrested her on the say-so of drunken ZANU PF youths who had tried but failed to extort money from her. Ricky says at the police station, six male officers subjected her to a humiliating strip-search to establish whether she was male or female. Mokwele says the incident typifies how politicians use their influence to trample on minorities. Both Ricky and Mokwele say the Zim media have used sensational and trans-phobic language to report on the case, and this makes the press complicit in the persecution of the gay and transgender community.

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