The DA’s Helen Zille Joins JK Rowling in Celebrating Anti-Trans Ruling

The Democratic Alliance’s Helen Zille has applauded the UK Supreme Court’s ruling that transgender women do not fall under the definition of “woman” according to that country’s Equality Act.

Zille also shockingly stated that the struggle for trans rights is a “contagion as dangerous as Covid.”

Rowling Celebrates Ruling, Zille Joins In

On Friday, Zille responded to a post by Harry Potter author JK Rowling on X, in which Rowling celebrated the court’s devastating decision.

“It took three extraordinary, tenacious Scottish women with an army behind them to get this case heard by the Supreme Court and, in winning, they’ve protected the rights of women and girls across the UK,” Rowling asserted.

Zille, the Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second-largest party in the government of national unity, responded in support:

“They have protected the rights of women across the English-speaking world from a contagion as dangerous, socially, as Covid was, medically. We thank you from the Southern tip of Africa,” she wrote.

Zille also shared several other posts by Rowling in which the author expressed her satisfaction with the court’s decision.

They have protected the rights of women across the English-speaking world from a contagion as dangerous, socially, as Covid was, medically. We thank you from the Southern tip of Africa. https://t.co/G3S01YJK4W

— Helen Zille (@helenzille) April 18, 2025

Rowling’s Anti-Trans Crusade

Rowling, a multi-millionaire, has become a notoriously prominent figure in efforts to roll back transgender rights under the guise of “protecting” cisgender women. She helped fund For Women Scotland (FWS), the anti-trans group that brought the case before the UK Supreme Court.

In recent years, her rhetoric against trans people and identities has become increasingly hateful and dehumanising in tone.

In one post this week, Rowling celebrated the UK court ruling with a picture of herself at the seaside, smugly smoking a cigar and holding up a drink, with the caption, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

I love it when a plan comes together.#SupremeCourt #WomensRights pic.twitter.com/agOkWmhPgb

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 16, 2025

Zille’s Troubling History on Trans Issues

Although Helen Zille has at times portrayed herself as an ally to the LGBTIQ+ community, her support is severely limited by her right-wing “anti-woke” and binary views on gender and sexuality.

In 2023, she claimed that some people identify as gay or transgender merely to appear “woke” and claimed that trans identities “trash and stereotype all women, eradicating the progress they have made to achieve equality over half a century.”

The DA has yet to condemn or distance itself from its senior leader’s ongoing anti-trans rhetoric, despite its claims of supporting the LGBTIQ+ community.

It’s worth noting that, in 2023, the DA voted against the Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill. One reason it gave was that there was allegedly no evidence that LGBTIQ+ people face systematic hate based on their “gender identity or expression or sex characteristics”.

Supreme Court Ruling May Have Global Consequences

LGBTIQ+ groups are still analysing the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision, which determined that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer strictly to biological sex. This interpretation effectively excludes trans women as women — even those legally recognised as women — from its protections.

The court did state that trans people remain protected from discrimination but as trans individuals.

The ruling nevertheless paves the way for the further erosion of trans rights and legally barring trans individuals from accessing gender-specific spaces. For example, it may result in trans women being forced to use men’s changing rooms and toilets, heightening their risk of discrimination, harassment, or violence. Similarly, trans men could be compelled to use women’s facilities.

The impact of the ruling is likely to extend far beyond the UK. Anti-gender groups and right-wing governments worldwide will undoubtedly weaponise the decision to justify increased discrimination and rollbacks of rights for trans and gender-diverse communities.