Thousands of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people joined with heterosexuals to celebrate Joburg Pride at Zoo Lake in Johannesburg on October 6.

The festival aims to bring members of the LGBTI community together, creating public awareness about issues affecting the community and encouraging members to be confident about their abilities. The theme for this year was “Protect Our Rights”.

South Africa has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, recognising the rights of people regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, or anything else. However, much more education is needed.

Although South Africa has officially become the first country to recognise a flag to represent the LGBTI community, there is much work that still needs to be done: the recognition of LGBTI rights is largely only on paper, with many people in the community still suffering discrimination from those around them, even at the Joburg Pride over the weekend.

Protesters from national solidarity campaign One in Nine were calling for a minute of silence for those who were killed because of their sexual preferences, but Pride participants allegedly ignored and assaulted them. They were called names and told they were “ruining the march”, according to TimesLive. This was a clear reflection that the battle for acceptance has not even been won in the LGBTI community itself, and there is an incongruity in the challenges upper class and lower class gay communities experience. As Nikita Ramkissoons said, the Pride “has become a mere party for people who are out and proud, not an act of protesting against discrimination’.

Though the event is a positive towards the acceptance of the LGBTI community at large, South Africa still has a long way to go.

Browse our gallery of photos from the event.

Article via MSN