Sithembiso Gongqa
South Africa
He/She/They
Sithembiso Gongqa is a multidisciplinary South African creative, LGBTQIA+ human rights advocate, cultural practitioner and nonprofit leader working at the intersection of arts, culture, human rights, queer advocacy, Indigenous knowledge, storytelling and holistic wellbeing.
Founder and Executive/Creative Director of Azania Reign, an LGBTQIA+ nonprofit organisation working to advance dignity, safety, inclusion, health, legal empowerment and community development in Nelson Mandela Bay and the Eastern Cape.
An experienced performing artist with formal training in drama, musical theatre and dance with additional professional training in yoga and Indigenous African healing practices.
Steps to Liberation
The Thread I Carry
For Sithembiso Gongqa, freedom begins with finding and inhabiting one’s own voice.
His journey through drama, musical theatre and dance shaped his understanding of the power of art and storytelling, while his work in community, advocacy and human rights deepened his understanding of dignity, belonging and solidarity.
Writing from South Africa and the wider Global South, Sithembiso reflects on the Rainbow Flag as a powerful symbol of difference without separation.
He sees Pride not only as celebration, but as memory, education and a way of telling the next generation that they are not alone. Liberation, he writes, is not a destination but a practice—one built through stories, relationships, creativity, resistance and care.
He describes these contributions as threads in a larger tapestry: no single person carries the whole picture, but every voice, story, act of solidarity and moment of courage adds to it.
His thread comes from art, community, struggle, friendship, advocacy, memory and imagination—and from the belief that we become freer together.
