The Soweto Theatre is staging a play on corrective rape called The Pregnant Lesbian.
The MMC for Community Development in Johannesburg Nonhlanhla Sifumba said in a statement "Corrective rape, which is also called curative or homophobic rape, is a hate crime in which one or more people are raped because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity."
"The common intended consequence of the rape, as seen by the perpetrator, is to turn the person heterosexual or to enforce conformity with gender stereotypes."
The term corrective rape was coined in South Africa after well-known cases of rapes of lesbians such as Eudy Simelane and Zoliswa Nkonyana, became public.
"Popularisation of the term has raised awareness and encouraged LGBTIQ people in countries across the world to come forward with their own stories of being raped as punishment for and/or in an attempt to change their sexual orientation and/or gender identity."
She said although some countries had laws protecting LGBTIQ people, corrective rape was often overlooked, resulting in little to no prosecution of perpetrators.
"Society is grappling with notions of sexuality. Some people still find it hard to accept same-sex relationships, and some, unfortunately, continue to kill and rape lesbian women in the modern day, South Africa."
This story, located in the township of Soweto, looks at the notion of intolerance, following the life of a lesbian woman who has been impregnated by her rapist.
Written and directed by Tapuwa Moore, this production is one of two solo works presented by Johannesburg City Theatres as a means of nurturing scriptwriting and the realisation of scripts through staging.
The play will be staged at the theatre from Thursday, the 4th October to Sunday 7th October 2018.
- African News Agency (ANA)
