Naked trans protesters: Rhodes Must Fall must fall

11 March 2016 - 02:37 By Leonie Wagner

Cracks appear to be appearing within the Rhodes Must Fall movement.The opening on Wednesday of the Rhodes Must Fall exhibition, Echoing Voices from Within, at the Centre for African Studies Gallery was disrupted by transgender activists.The exhibition sought to commemorate the anniversary of the Rhodes Must Fall movement's formation.Members of UCT's The Trans Collective - which supports rights of transgender, gender non-conforming and intersex students - stormed into the gallery stark naked and smeared the photographs at the exhibit with red paint. Following the protest, the Trans Collective issued a statement on its Facebook group.The group complained of a lack of representation of transgender students in the exhibition, labeling it as "a spectacular show of false inclusivity".The statement read: "It is disingenuous to include trans people in a public gallery when you have made no effort to include them in the private. It is a lie to include trans people when the world is watching, but to erase and antagonise them when the world is no longer cared [sic]. We have reached the peak of our disillusionment with RMF's trans exclusion and erasure."The gallery said the exhibition was temporarily closed, adding that "[our position] is to support the right of all people to express their views in the rethinking of issues and challenges in higher education in South Africa".The gallery said it would "continue to provide a platform where these debates can be promoted and cherished"...

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