Fighting Prejudice in Eudy’s Name

***Listeners may find some of the material in this programme upsetting.***

A grieving mother, Mally Simelane, is fighting to change her community’s view on homosexuality. Mally lives in the Kwa-Thema township near Johannesburg, where several gay women, including her daughter Eudy, have been murdered.

Audrey Brown meets Mally, as well as her Pastor Smadz Matsepe, who have united to use their faith to fight cultural homophobia.
South Africa was the first country in Africa to allow same sex marriage, and Audrey will explore how those rights haven’t necessarily translated into the real lives of poor women.

Eudy played soccer for the South African national team, the Banyana Banyana, and Audrey hears from her teammates as they watch the 2018 World Cup to find out more about the lives of young gay women in the townships, and to Mally about the role of God in fighting for justice in her daughter’s name.

Producer and Presenter: Audrey Brown

Photo: Eudy Simelane’s parents sat at the bridge named in their daughter’s honour Credit: BBC