Spotlighting Botswana's LGBTQI+ community

DW (English)

Kefilwe Monosi is Botswana's foremost photographer of transgender activists. She is working towards an exhibition focused on this important community, and documenting LGBTQi+ stories of resilience.

Transcript

00:00Kifilwe Monosi is Botswana's foremost photographer of transgender activists.

00:08She is working towards an exhibition focused on this important community and is attending

00:13the October 2024 Pride March in Khabarone to document powerful LGBTQ plus stories of

00:21resilience.

00:22It's very important to document the trans community because they are a very small community

00:31here in Botswana.

00:32So me photographing them is for them to express themselves, to be seen through my photography.

00:40Although Kifilwe's journey to being a visual storyteller hasn't been easy, how did this

00:4436-year-old become a photojournalist to begin with?

00:52I chose photojournalism because images transcend through language barriers.

01:00While working at a Khabarone newspaper, Kifilwe noticed a lack of coverage for LGBTQ plus

01:06stories and this triggered her next career step.

01:12I felt frustrated and angry that we're misunderstanding unrepresented communities.

01:17So that really got to me because I always felt that always chasing the deadline and

01:22when you chase the deadline you miss the story.

01:26So after that I decided to do freelance work covering a lot of human rights issues.

01:34I decided to go deeper and focus mainly on the transgender community and cover them truthfully

01:41for my work to be used as a tool to spark conversations surrounding the realities that

01:47they live.

01:49So when I take photos, first of all I make sure that people I take pictures of they feel

01:54safe around me and then there's mutual respect and then I feel so connected to them, especially

02:00privileged that I get to tell that story.

02:06As she prepares for her upcoming exhibition, Kifilwe captures striking images of nearly

02:1140-year-old Dobeha, co-founder of the Botswana Trans Initiative.

02:19We are pushed to be activists because systems in place do not recognize or do not place

02:26us in a position where we are protected.

02:30It's really a dangerous space for a trans person in Botswana.

02:34Mental health is a big issue for the trans community.

02:40Despite homosexuality being decriminalized in 2019, Botswana's estimated 250,000 queer

02:47and trans individuals are repeatedly exposed to discriminatory and even life-threatening

02:53situations.

02:56Even today, this conservative country is still reeling from a viral video showing a transgender

03:02woman being attacked by a crowd one night.

03:06When I saw that video, I was mostly hurt.

03:09We're human first before anything else.

03:12How can other people do this to another person?

03:16So that video made me want to do more work within the community and tell their stories.

03:26Photography is a very powerful tool because then we are able to put a face to the story

03:32and shift narratives.

03:35As Botswana Trans Initiative, we've had to say we are going to document ourselves to

03:40ensure that we inform our society of the harmful behaviors that trigger violence towards people

03:49who are already marginalized.

03:53I love photographing Nelly because of her resilience and her authentic beauty, the way

04:00she carries herself, and also just fighting for the community through her work.

04:05Even though it's difficult, she keeps on going.

04:09Kifilo's photography also leads her to celebrate another transgender activist, Bafi Xhosiamang.

04:21One of my achievements in my own country has been me being able to change my identification

04:29card from female to male.

04:34In Botswana, it is a lengthy and difficult legal process for a transgender person to

04:39have their gender marker changed in the national registry.

04:44How has Bafi responded to this challenge?

04:50After I managed to change my ID, I started working for an organization that speaks for

04:55the TNI, trans and intersex people, and that gave me even more joy because I was able to

05:01bring in and help those that couldn't speak for themselves.

05:06Currently, gender reassignment is only legal in very few African countries.

05:18If LGBTQ plus lives are to improve, even after a successful Pride March, what does

05:24Kifilowe think she is doing to further an understanding of transgender people?

05:32What gives me satisfaction in being a photojournalist is I get to change mindsets and that leads

05:38to change.

05:39It makes me feel happy and truly makes me believe that I'm doing my purpose, that I

05:44was given by God.

05:47Kifilowe Monose's work continues to shape powerful, transgender-affirming narratives.

05:53Her photographs remind us that every trans story has the power to inspire change in Botswana.

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