Safe Havens and the Exclusion of Trans Bodies within Zimbabwe’s LGBTQIA+ Communities

Abstract

Introduction: Queer spaces have historically been envisioned as sanctuaries of respite from violence and discrimination for those living outside the heterosexual matrix. However, in Zimbabwe, where the LGBTQIA+ community suffers erasure on structural, cultural, and legal fronts, these spaces reproduce the systems of exclusion they sought to challenge. This research interrogates the concept of queer 'safe' space in Zimbabwe, focusing on how trans and gender-nonconforming individuals are rendered invisible within these spaces that are framed as safe.

Methods: This paper contends that the struggle for LGBTQIA+ rights in Zimbabwe is bound to fail without reframing inclusivity to be fundamentally centred on trans and non-binary identities. By critically addressing the spatial manifestations of identity and power, this paper outlines strategies for transforming those spaces from affirming into liberating realms that challenge oppression from beyond and within.

Results: It is argued that that the struggle for LGBTQIA+ rights in Zimbabwe cannot be achieved without an inclusion framework that focuses on trans and non-binary identities.

Conclusion: The author accounts how borders can be queered through the critical mediation of identity, power, space, and oppression, so that both queer and non-queer spaces become liberatory.