“I’m old now. I can’t be an activist forever. I think it is high time to let the younger generation continue with the struggle. A good dancer knows when to leave the stage,” renowned activist Funeka Soldaat, declared as she announced her retirement from the public domain.
The 62-year-old has been a dominant figure in the fight against homophobic violence for over 30 years, predominantly in the townships around the Western Cape.
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Soldaat began her activism in the early 90s. She became involved in many organisation and in 2010 she co-founded Free Gender.
“In 1992, I was working for the Abigail organisation which was an association with gays and lesbians. In 1993, I was part of the committee that assisted with translating the Lesbian Chart from English to IsiXhosa. Then from 1996 until 2004 I worked for Triangle Project, an organisation that advocates for human rights. In 2010, we co-founded Free Gender which is fighting or LGBTQI+ community rights. In 2013, also I was one of the people who formed Khumbulani Pride. Most of the time I dedicated my life fighting for human rights especially for the LGBTQI+ community,” she explained.
According to Soldaat, Free Gender became a lobby organisations. The renowned activist said she was part of the national department of Justice on the National Task Team (NTT) on Violence against LGBTQI+ community.
She said in 2019 she published her book called Uhambo where she is narrating her own story of being a lesbian.
In recent times, she played a pivotal role in the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex and others (LGBTQIA+) community. She declared that during the 10th anniversary of Khumbulani Pride that was held at Seek Lounge in Ilitha Park on Saturday 20 May.
Soldaat said it is high time to pass the baton to the younger generation.
“This is my last event being involved in. I’m old now. I can’t be an activist forever. I think it is high time to let the younger generation continue with the struggle. A good dancer knows when to leave the stage,” she chuckled.
She said her intention is to focus more on community issues than LGBTQI+ community. She stated that she can advise them if need be.
“I’ll go to their events as a guest. I’ll come only if they invite me to come. I believe there are people who are capable of leading within the organisation,” she stated.
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Explaining about her background history as an activist Solaat stated that the killing of lesbian will never stop as long as the patriarch exists.
She declared that the country is still ruled by patriarchs.
She questioned the absence of the community leaders in the Khumbulani Pride event and cited that their absence speaks volumes.
“We invited everyone here but they decided not to come. The community stands up only when there’s a straight woman killed. There are many lesbians killed not only in Khayelitsha but in other neighbouring areas. We never see the community standing up in solidarity of the LGBTQI + community. As LGBTQI+ community, we are on our own. We will never stop fighting for our rights as long we are getting killed in our communities,” said Soldaat.
She described herself as the face of LGBTQI+ community in the province particularly in black communities. She said she wishes that every member can be respected like the way she does by the community.
“Everyone knows me in Khayelitsha. No one tells nonsense. I sit with them in the community meetings and everywhere. They respect me and I respect them as well,”she said, adding that she is respected even in other communities.
Soldaat proclaimed that now that she retired she will have ample time to be with her family. She stated that her wife suffered a lot because of being an activist.
