DPM’s office will support, protect sex change teacher

MBABANE - The Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku has said his office will support and protect the teacher who underwent a sex change.

The DPM said as his office was responsible for the welfare of all citizens in the country, they could offer support through counselling to Patricia who had her male organs removed and replaced with female ones.

The teacher who was previously called Petros has been subject to some public humiliation and the DPM said this should not be the case.

He said Patricia’s condition affected her psychology and therefore she needed all the support she could get instead of being ridiculed.

"I do not think the procedure has affected the manner in which she teaches her arithmetic or whatever subjects that she handles and therefore this should not be about the public, but about that individual," said Masuku.

He said the most important person in this matter was Patricia and said in his opinion she did not choose to be born the way she was.

"She has chosen the way she wants to live and she needs support like we support people with disabilities or even bisexual people," said the DPM. However, the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) said Patricia had exercised her constitutional right and therefore could not judge her while traditionalist TV Mtetwa said although it was culturally wrong there was nothing they could do. Patricia decided to have a sex change after she said she had been trapped in a man’s body. She said she was also looking forward to getting married soon.

... students sing new tune

He said Patricia, the teacher who underwent a sex change, should be suspended.

In a statement issued by Maxwell Dlamini on behalf of the SNUS Executive, the organisation would like to distance itself from the unfortunate comments that said ‘our beloved sister Patricia should be suspended from the teaching profession merely because she had undergone a medical procedure that altered her sex organs’.

Dlamini said they wanted to put it on record that their union believed in fundamental rights of people to choose their sexuality and would never discriminate people based on gender, sex, race or even political beliefs.

"It is for this reason that we wish to retract in full the comments that suggested that we have a problem with the sex change of our sister Patricia because in truth we fully endorse her right to choose her sexuality and her freedom to determine what she wants to do with her body," said Dlamini.

SNUS said it believed people were born with rights, liberties and freedoms which no person, government or authority must temper with.

SNUS said as a progressive democratic students union they championed rights of all people and hence could not be seen to be playing double standards when it came to some activities which were considered taboo in the cultural setup.

Comments

What an abomination.....uphikisa Nkulunkulu ke lomuntfu lona. I have a problem because the people he is teaching are young and highly impressionable, what message is he portraying to the youth? This person is meant to be a role model; govt needs to really think about who they are supporting really and the consequences in the long run. Swaziland is a God loving, Christian country (or so we thought) how can they allow this? The school needs to check it's employment records, did they employ Petros or Patricia. this is just disturbing
Jul 28, 2010, 8:37 AM, Cameletjeni (cshongwe@mailfly.com)

Oh lafa lelihle kakhulu, this rights are evil.
Jul 28, 2010, 11:35 AM, londu

THIS IS THE DOWNFALL OF THE SWAZI NATION, OUR ONLY BELOVED COUNTRY. HOW CAN THE DPM GO AGAINST GOD'S WORD. HE IS A CHRISTIAN, FOR GOD'S SAKE!!! 'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.' (Leviticus 20:13) Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. (Romans 1:26-27) BABE THEMBA MASUKU HOW COULD YOU FAVOUR SOMEBODY WHO HAS GONE AGAINST GOD'S WILL? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO OUR BELOVED KINGDOM? NKULUNKULU UTASIFULATSELA FOREVER MANJE. OH WHAT A SAD DAY IN THE HISTORY OF SWAZILAND. WHAT HAPPENED NHLANE? DID THE AMERICANS THREATEN TO WITHDRAW AID JUST LIKE THEY DID IN UGANDA? BUT, SURELY OUR MORALITY AND GODLINESS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MONEY. HAWU NHLANE WAYE WASIFAKA ENKINGENI!
Jul 28, 2010, 4:51 pm, Sihlobo (dlaminisihlo@yahoo.com)

'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.' (Leviticus 18:22) 
July 28, 2010, 4:52 pm, Jethro (mbongisenidl@hotmail.com)