Metro FM DJ Criselda Kananda, centre, is comforted during a memorial service for Eddie Zondi held at the Standard Bank Arena in Johannesburg, 19 June 2014. Picture: Refilwe Modise
The Higher Education and Training HIV/Aids (HEAIDS) programme has strongly contradicted Dudumashe’s claims to The Citizen this afternoon that she never said that those confused about their gender should check what was between their legs.
HEAIDS had contracted Dudumashe to facilitate the dialogue, it confirmed.
“During the HEAIDS Sexual and Gender Based Violence Dialogue at the University of Venda, Ms Criselda Kananda Dudumashe made comments that were hurtful to the transgender community. We are highly disappointed by these remarks.
“HEAIDS condemns these utterances and has relieved Ms Dudumashe of her duties as HEAIDS ambassador. In this context, HEAIDS further extends sincerest apologies to everyone affected by these remarks,” Matomela added.
It also said it welcomed the axing of Mduduzi Manana from his position as deputy minister of higher education and training.
Part of Manana’s portfolio of responsibilities as delegated to him by Minister Blade Nzimande was to oversee government’s strategy towards reducing the HIV transmission rate among students in the country.
In terms of the South African National Aids Council’s strategic plan, students are a key population at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.
“We would like to include that when we talk about sexual and gender-based violence in our sector we include any forms of violence against sexually diverse, transgender and gender-non-conforming peoples. HEAIDS’s women’s, men and LGBTQI empowerment programmes are developed to support these ends,” said communications manager Luxolo Matomela.
Matomela reiterated that HEAIDS continued to be committed to its mandate to ensure that youth and young people in 400 campuses countrywide were healthy through mitigating HIV/Aids, TB, and sexually transmitted infections in general.
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