TART accepting that transgender people are your daughters and sons, says Namibia’s first Miss Trans Ambassador 2021, Penelope Tatiana Delapoirto (24). “What we can do is to start accepting the reality that transgender people exist . . . We are humans before we are transgender people,” she says. Delapoirto says being transgender in a free Namibia is “the greatest feeling”. “Every person has the right [to be themselves], although we are violated because of who we are. I would like to inform Namibians we did not choose to become who we are,” she says.
Delapoirte, who will hand over her crown this year, says transgender people have dreams and desires just like any other Namibian. “Therefore you should know that as your children, there’s nowhere we want to go. We will stay here and contribute to the development of this country,” she says.