Hundreds of people took to the streets of Sandton on Saturday to celebrate South Africa’s Pride parade, one of Africa’s largest annual celebrations of inclusivity.

Participants waved rainbow flags and banners with messages of support for the LGBTQ+ community. Many donned colorful costumes, with some hailing from other countries in Asia and beyond.

“As we’ve seen in countries like America, they are just taking away all the rights from transgender folks, and that’s what I’m here to protest about. That’s why I’m here.” said a pride participant Patrick Smit-Stachowski.

South Africa has built a reputation as one of Africa’s most gender-inclusive places, with the country having full legal protection for LGBTQ+ community.

It was the first country in the world to write a ban on discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation into its constitution.

South Africa remains the sole African nation to perform same-sex marriages, legalised in 2006.