Busi Kheswa is the director of the Forum for the Empowerment of Women (FEW), which promotes the rights of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women in South Africa. The group campaigns for hate crime legislation and women’s rights in cases of sexual violence. Despite South African legislation outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation, LGBTQ+ women in South Africa face pervasive social stigma that puts sexual minorities at risk of violence and abuse, including “corrective rape.” Kheswa’s work empowers gays locally and globally to speak out against discrimination and violence in their communities. Kheswa is an elder of the Hope and Unity Metropolitan Community Church, Africa’s first openly gay church.
