She was Stripped and Imprisoned for Using the Wrong Bathroom. Now she Advocates for America’s Trans Women.
by Ray Mwareya
Rikki Nathanson may be second in command of America’s largest non-profit run by trans-women of color, but six years ago she was infamously jailed for using the women's restroom.
Her naked body was paraded by the police in Zimbabwe. An escape gave her new beginnings. “In 2014 I was arrested and subjected to a forced anatomical examination in the crudest and naked manner by adventurous members of the police in my country of birth, Zimbabwe,” reflects Rikki. This is difficult for her to chat about. “I was in jail for 48 hours and I was numb actually. I was removed from the holding cells and displayed before officers as they changed shifts.”
In 2005, Rikki had transitioned to become a woman in Zimbabwe — a rare act in a hostile place where the country’s rulers label LGBTQIA citizens as worse than “dogs and pigs.” Suddenly it became impossible to work for a once high flying company secretary, a thriving salon owner, banker, and modeling agent.
As a lead up to her imprisonment, Rikki was placed under so much humiliating surveillance that her would-be- jailer once faked friendship as a trap. “The detective who initiated the arrest was connected. We had met a couple of months prior, and we had spoken and he was in fact civil
towards me. You are probably right that I was being monitored. I would frequent social spots daily with my friends and coworkers, and he was also always there.”
It’s unsettling to recreate details of Rikki’s jailing, but she prefers to retell her trauma of being treated like an exotic bird caged for an exhibition inside a police station, a supposedly safe space. “I was taunted at every opportunity,” she sighs. “Each of those times were just a repetition of the verbal cruelty I had had to endure.”
For Rikki, the very public hospitals that should by oath care for transgender citizens with compassion, are an extended object of expression in Zimbabwe.
“Further to my arrest, I was subjected to humiliating questioning, viewing and morbid curiosity by medical personnel at the hospital.” To her disbelief, there are some extremely ignorant medical practitioners, who perpetuate the same discrimination that is meted out by police in Zimbabwe. And in Rikki’s case, the chain linked up to faith leaders who are supposed to be rocks of refuge
for LGBTQIA citizens. “I was once discriminated against at a church I had joined. I offered my financial and administration services to get their books in order. These were declined as the pastor didn’t feel that “someone like me” should be doing work for the house of God,” Rikki said.
A chance visit to America provided Rikki with a one direction way-out and she was granted asylum in a remarkable 60 days; a fast conclusion of matters in today’s hostile asylum climate.
Today in Washington DC, Rikki is dismayed with what she sees. The Trump administration’s anti-trans stance is very blatant, she feels. She cites laws reversing the decision to have them in the armed forces, and the laws across several states overturning the bathroom (toilet) laws of the Obama administration.
“Immigration is just another way of denying trans people any form of human dignity. Freedom and fairness (in America) only extends to certain of its citizens those that are cisgender, heterosexual, and white,” Rikki adds.
In Washington, whilst Rikki is delighted by pleasantries of sightseeing, wine tasting, fruit picking yet something ugly happens frequently. “Just in 2019 more than seven trans women of color were murdered with no follow up by the police,” Rikki says. “In fact, the levels of violence in America far surpass those experienced in my native Zimbabwe.”
Rikki’s tenacity and struggle for justice thousands of miles away from Zimbabwe finally bore fruit when in 2019 a high court judge in Zimbabwe rebuked the police minister and ordered that they pay $45,000 damages to Rikki for illegal detention, physical and emotional abuse. This is good
news but discomforting at the same time. It’s a tall order to pick up the money in Zimbabwe because, being an asylee, Rikki cannot safely return to Zimbabwe. “Yes I was awarded damages, and I was extremely happy with the outcome. However, Zimbabwe is currently plagued by all sorts of financial woes — fiscal financial mismanagement, inflation, corruption, and
the shortage of cash. I wait and cross my fingers that I will receive the money eventually,” Rikki said.
Somehow Rikki has already paid the ultimate financial price. Not only does she miss her family and friends overseas in Zimbabwe, but her businesses have crumbled in her absence. While she twiddles her fingers, Rikki sees the Black Lives Matters protests erupt and is disappointed by what she has always observed. “Though my education, connection and expertise eased me into a smooth integration into the American life, trans women of color are at the bottom of the pile.”
About the Author:
Ray Mwareya is associate editor at World Ethical Data Foundation and staff writer at Soule.lgbt magazine. You can find him on Twitter @rmwareya.
