"Now I am not scared": Transnational HIV/AIDS Activism through the lens of Simon Nkoli
Monday, 4 April, 2016 - 15:00
Presented by :
Yasmina
Martin
Antiapartheid and gay rights activist Simon Nkoli founded the Gay and Lesbian Organisation of the Witwatersrand (GLOW) in 1988 and took risks, first by coming out while in prison for his antiapartheid work, then by coming out as living with HIV/AIDS. In the spirit of political funerals, his memorial service in 1998 provided the launching point for the Treatment Action Campaign, driven largely by Zackie Achmat and other fellow comrades of Simon. I am interested in how Nkoli's political and personal lives- as a person living with HIV and as a community educator for the Township AIDS Project- meshed to produce a liberatory model of access to medicines.