Eudy Simelane
Encyclopedia
Eudy Simelane was a South Africa
n footballer who played for the South Africa women's national football team
and an LGBT
-rights activist. She was rape
d and murder
ed in her hometown of KwaThema
, Springs
, Gauteng
.
for Springs Home Sweepers F.C. and the South Africa women's national football team
. She also coached four teams and was studying to be a referee.
in KwaThema. She had been gang raped, beat
en, and stab
bed 25 times in the face
, chest
, and legs
. She had been one of the first women to live openly as a lesbian
in KwaThema. A report by the international NGO ActionAid, backed by the South African Human Rights Commission
, suggested that her murder was a hate crime
committed against her because of her sexual orientation
.
According to local gay-rights organization Triangle, the practice of "corrective rape
" is widespread in South Africa, whereby men rape lesbians purportedly to "cure" them of their sexual orientation.
The trial of four suspected attackers began on 11 February 2009 in Delmas
, Mpumalanga
. One of the four alleged attackers pleaded guilty to rape and murder and was sentenced to 32 years' imprisonment. In September 2009 another was convicted of murder, rape and robbery, and sentenced to life plus 35 years, while the remaining two accused were acquitted.
, Gauteng
in her honour in 2009.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n footballer who played for the South Africa women's national football team
South Africa women's national football team
The South Africa national women's football team, nicknamed Banyana Banyana , is the national team of South Africa and is controlled by the South African Football Association.Their first official match was held in 30 May 1993 against Swaziland....
and an LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
-rights activist. She was rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed in her hometown of KwaThema
KwaThema, Gauteng
KwaThema is a township south-west of Springs on the East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1951 when Africans were resettled from Payneville because it was considered by the apartheid government to be too close to a white town...
, Springs
Springs, Gauteng
Springs is a city on the East Rand in the Gauteng province of South Africa.It lies 50 km east of Johannesburg. The name of the city derives from the large number of springs in the area; it has a population of more than 200,000, and is situated at 5,340 ft a.s.l...
, Gauteng
Gauteng
Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
.
Football
Simelane played as a midfielderMidfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
for Springs Home Sweepers F.C. and the South Africa women's national football team
South Africa women's national football team
The South Africa national women's football team, nicknamed Banyana Banyana , is the national team of South Africa and is controlled by the South African Football Association.Their first official match was held in 30 May 1993 against Swaziland....
. She also coached four teams and was studying to be a referee.
Death
Simelane's partially-clothed body was found in a creekStream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
in KwaThema. She had been gang raped, beat
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
en, and stab
Stab
STAB or stab can mean:*The act of stabbing with a sharp instrument*Stab, a short form of stab jacket, another word for buoyancy compensator*Stab vest, a type of armour designed to resist knife attacks...
bed 25 times in the face
Face
The face is a central sense organ complex, for those animals that have one, normally on the ventral surface of the head, and can, depending on the definition in the human case, include the hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyelashes, eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, mouth, lips, philtrum, temple, teeth, skin, and...
, chest
Chest
The chest is a part of the anatomy of humans and various other animals. It is sometimes referred to as the thorax or the bosom.-Chest anatomy - Humans and other hominids:...
, and legs
Human leg
The human leg is the entire lower extremity or limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh and even the hip or gluteal region; however, the precise definition in human anatomy refers only to the section of the lower limb extending from the knee to the ankle.Legs are used for standing,...
. She had been one of the first women to live openly as a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
in KwaThema. A report by the international NGO ActionAid, backed by the South African Human Rights Commission
South African Human Rights Commission
The South African Human Rights Commission was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent national institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the South African Human Rights Commission Act of 1994....
, suggested that her murder was a hate crime
Hate crime
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...
committed against her because of her sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
.
According to local gay-rights organization Triangle, the practice of "corrective rape
Corrective rape
Corrective rape is a criminal practice first seen in South Africa, whereby lesbian women are raped by men, sometimes under supervision by members of their families or local communities, purportedly as a means of "curing" them of their homosexuality....
" is widespread in South Africa, whereby men rape lesbians purportedly to "cure" them of their sexual orientation.
The trial of four suspected attackers began on 11 February 2009 in Delmas
Delmas, Mpumalanga
Delmas is a small farming town situated east of Johannesburg in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The farms in the region produce maize, wheat, potatoes and chickens. The town was laid out in 1907 on the farm Witklip . The farm was owned by a Frenchman Frank Dumat, who decided to call the town "de le mas" ....
, Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
. One of the four alleged attackers pleaded guilty to rape and murder and was sentenced to 32 years' imprisonment. In September 2009 another was convicted of murder, rape and robbery, and sentenced to life plus 35 years, while the remaining two accused were acquitted.
Honours
A miniature bridge was erected in KwaThema, SpringsSprings, Gauteng
Springs is a city on the East Rand in the Gauteng province of South Africa.It lies 50 km east of Johannesburg. The name of the city derives from the large number of springs in the area; it has a population of more than 200,000, and is situated at 5,340 ft a.s.l...
, Gauteng
Gauteng
Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
in her honour in 2009.