For almost three years, Cape Town transgender woman Jackye Majawie has been fighting to uphold her right to safely access women’s public bathrooms with dignity.
Majawie has braved multiple Equality Court hearings in her case against a cleaning company and its employee following a humiliating 23 March 2023 incident at the Golden Acre shopping centre in Cape Town.
Ridiculed and Mocked
According to the trans and gender-diverse community activist, she went to the women’s public bathrooms at the mall where she encountered a queue to access the facility.
As she waited with several other women, she alleges that a cleaner confronted her and aggressively told her she could not use the restroom because she was “not a woman.”
“She told me to go to the men’s bathroom. She then publicly insulted me in front of the people standing outside, and they all ridiculed and mocked me,” says Majawie in her complaint.
The cleaner also allegedly told her, “Look at you, you are a man!” and continued to “mock and laugh at me in a humiliating manner” as others looked on.
A Painful Experience
Majawie, who is originally from Worcester and is the director and founder of the organisation Majawie Safe Space, told MambaOnline that she felt shocked, violated, and degraded.
She immediately approached the centre’s management, who promised to get back to her, but Majawie said they never did.
“They didn’t respond to my complaint. That’s why I escalated it to the Equality Court — not only to fight for my rights but also for the rights of the trans community living in South Africa,” Majawie said.
“This whole incident had a big psychological knock on me. I am a trans woman who has fully transitioned. But this has made me feel unsafe and anxious – I feel like I always have to look over my shoulder whenever I’m walking in a public space.”
The Legal Battle
Majawie took the City of Cape Town (the mall’s landlord), the cleaning company, and the cleaner to the Equality Court. However, because the cleaning company was outsourced, the City was removed from the list of respondents.
She initially asked for R20,000 in compensation for pain and suffering but now hopes the court will award her a higher figure. Majawie is also seeking a public apology and for the cleaning company and its staff to undergo LGBTIQ+ sensitisation training.
It’s been a long road for the determined activist, who has received psychosocial and legal assistance from LGBTIQ+ group Triangle Project, as well as support from Gender DynamiX. After several delays and hearings, the decision in the case is finally set to be announced on 23 October.
Standing Up for Change
Majawie, who was recently announced as a finalist in the 2025 Miss Drag South Africa contest, believes that no matter the outcome, she will have made a difference.
“I’m feeling positive but I am preparing myself psychologically for the outcome. Either way, at least I took a stance and raised awareness about the issue of accessing public bathrooms for the trans and gender-diverse community,” she said.
