Gays Reap Rewards Slowly in Post-Apartheid South Africa (continued)
Part 2 of 4
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Since Nelson Mandela's release nine years ago, his country has been transformed from a land of apartheid, where blacks caught without the passbooks they were required to carry at all times could be imprisoned, to a nation with one of the most liberal constitutions in the world. Once treated as the world's pariah, South Africa, with its Truth and Reconciliation Commission, has become an international model of forgiveness.

The constitution implemented in 1994 guaranteed enfranchisement to every single person of voting age. It officially ended the hated notion of government-designated “homelands,” declaring the choice of where to live a fundamental human right. It stated that there is equality between “men, women and people of all races,” and additionally prohibited discrimination on the basis of age, disability, belief, or sexual orientation.

“Not only are (gay) couples better off (since 1994), they're suing the government,” said Martin Nel, editor of “Q Online,” a well-known web site for gays.

Gays and lesbians have won several major court battles based on the constitution's sexual orientation clause since 1994. They have overturned the sodomy law, ended discrimination against homosexuals in the military, and, most recently, won the right for immigrant partners of gay men and women to live and work in South Africa.

This nation after apartheid is now in many respects a gay-friendly place to be. It is the home of a new Gay and Lesbian Alliance Party, an openly gay Supreme Court judge, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who publicly supports the rights of homosexual priests. Organizers expect 15,000 marchers at this year's gay pride parade in September, nearly seven times the number who attended the first parade ten years ago.

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