By Khanyiswa Hlandze and Sibusisiwe Ngozo
IN what could be a first in the country, two elderly women have come out to declare they are lovers (lesbians). The two Gogos Alvina Gama (67) and Hletiphi Mkhonta (75) have been in love for over 10 years now. They fell into each other’s arms after the death of their respective male husbands.
They join the growing list of lesbians in the country. Residents of Ndlalambi have grown to accept that Gama and Mkhonta are pillow friends with some claiming one of them could be a hermaphrodite (incukumbili).
This assertion is motivated by the obvious fact that lesbianism is not common in the rural area. However, medically, hermaphrodites exist but it is rare to have both sexual organs function. This then points to the glaring fact that the two are lesbians.
The ‘man’ in the Gogos’ relationship, Gama, has also lived with the stigma of being incukumbili to a point that she now claims to be one. She could not authenticate her claim when pressed by this newspaper.
Gama, born Dlamini of Ndlalambi in the northern Hhohho, has three children with her deceased husband who are all grown up. She confirmed that she was madly in love with Mkhonta and did not hide the fact that they have been sharing a pillow and all the other ‘goodies’ that come with it for a long time now.
Her sexuality is an open secret in the area as everyone seems to know she has a liking for females and obviously the suspicions of her having both sexual organs.
Opening up on her life, Gama said she got married to a man as then she lived as a female. She said her female sex organ was active but after the death of her husband she lost the feeling of being female.
“The male organ began to be active only after I had lost my husband. I met my current partner, we fell in love and we decided to stay together,” she said.
Mkhonta also lost her husband but she does not have any children. Gama claims they have been together for years.
Both women are beneficiaries of the elderly grants but they also practice subsistence farming.
Though they admitted they were in a relationship, they were coy about giving more information regarding their life as a couple.
Gama has a deep voice and usually does not dress like a woman but at most times according to residents she dresses in emahiya (sidwashi).
The residents say it is known she has both sex organs and they have come to accept that she then decided to become a man after the death of her husband whom she had three children with.
According to a doctor who preferred anonymity, it is unheard of that the two sex organs can be fully functional.
He said it was unheard of that the female sex organs work and after sometime become inactive.
The doctor said this was largely due to the fact that one of the two sex organs was usually not fully developed to function.
“Some parents decide to leave both organs to allow the hermaphrodite child decides what they want but it is unheard of that the sex organs both function,” he said.
…Chiefdom aware, accepted relationship
THE community of Ludzibini chiefdom where the two lovebirds have been staying for the past 29 years, seem to have accepted their relationship.
Ludzibini chiefdom Indvuna Dumsani Dlamini said the two old ladies were known to be a couple. He said Gama was known to have two sex organs and there was nothing the chiefdom could do because she was born that way.
He said what remained a mystery was how the female parts stopped working because she was known as a wife and mother of three children.
“We know about it and we cannot do anything really because it is the life she chose to live, otherwise there is nothing we can say,” he said.
Questions commonly asked about hermaphrodites
1. Why isn’t the general public familiar with people who are hermaphrodites?
A hermaphrodite is a condition where a person has both female and male reproductive organs. Many people are not familiar with this condition because it’s not common or physically apparent in public.
2. How does a person become a hermaphrodite?
The exact cause is unknown but it is said the overproduction of testosterone by the adrenal glands could be the cause. Some pregnant mothers who have been exposed to certain drugs could have influenced the overproduction of the testosterone.
3. Since a person who is a hermaphrodite has both reproductive organs can they get themselves pregnant?
The chances are highly rare and that is because one set of organs is more fully developed than the other.