Editorial: A jovial ending of year

2006 was not a year like any but has been a ramification of a fruitful fulfilment in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities, particularly in South Africa for having signed the Civil Unions Act into statutory books.

There had been some denouncements of the Act by citizens in the country, and those from other countries outside South Africa – but the supreme law in South Africa (from the Constitutional Court), the ruling party (the African National Congress [ANC]) and the Presidency favoured the Act and construed it as constitutional.

The advent of the Act coincides with Christmas, which is the time where in many cultures people plan marriages and weddings. As we have seen the first ever official gay marriages immediately after the Act was introduced, we hope to see many marriage plans ahead of Christmas from the gay communities.

As the year comes to an end, Behind The Mask (BTM) wishes to all those who contributed a lot to this publication some rewarding holidays, especially the news sources and the experts in human rights and gay issues – but not forgetting the nuisances of this year such as Jon Qwelane, Jacob Zuma, the Cameroonian government, Olusegun Obasanjo, King Mswati III, Dr Motsoko Pheko of the Pan Africanist Congress, just to outline a few.