Transgender Woman Brutally Murdered in South Africa
Nare Mphela, who won a landmark transgender discrimination case against her Limpopo high school in 2017, has been murdered in her home. It was learned that Mphela’s body was discovered with numerous stab wounds this week in her rented house in the Makopane area. It’s understood that the home was also set on fire. No arrests have been made. While additional details are unclear, news of Mphela’s death has been met with shock. The 27-year-old made LGBTIQ+ history when she took her former high school principal and the Limpopo Department of Education to the Equality Court. She claimed she suffered ongoing discrimination from 2013 to 2014 because of her gender identity. The principal of Raselete Secondary School was accused of encouraging learners to physically harass and humiliate Mphela, including asking them to “check” her genitals in the bathrooms. The abuse was so severe that it led to her failing matric at the end of 2014. Represented by the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC),