Women's Month: I am proud to be transgender

With a Masters Degree, an online radio podcast on LGBTQIA+ social issues, an orphanage for children with HIV and Aids and a journalism Job, Ditshego Ditshego is clearly someone with a passion to make a difference.

Born and raised in Mamelodi in the east of Tshwane, the storyteller is not only driven but has an amazing sense of humor.

"My parents were lazy, they just thought to give me my surname as a name was a great idea," she says, laughing.

Ditshego was assigned the male gender at birth. However, she is a woman she says.

She is proud to identify as transgender despite the challenges perpetrated by society because of its misunderstanding of the identity. 

"I have an incredible young sister, who I don't know how, but even before the term transgender existed, she always knew I was her older sister and said I have never been her brother."

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She remembers growing up, when the family went shopping, her sister would whisper in her ear: "Which doll do you want?" That allowed her to pick it knowing very well that it would be Ditshego's.

Ditshego, however, says she feels that Women's Month and Women's Day, in particular, is not inclusive of transgender women.

"I don't really feel represented in these women's month celebrations because the transgender community still does not have representation in both government and the media and when there is representation in the media it portrays transgender women in a very poor and sexual light. I do however still feel the month is significant as this country was built on the backs of women."

On fighting gender-based violence, Ditshego says society as the whole has a role to play.