Julia Nicol | |
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Born | 1956 |
Died | 3 April 2019 | (aged 62–63)
Nationality | South African |
Alma mater | University of Cape Town |
Occupation |
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Known for | LGBT activism |
Notable work | co-founder and leader of the Organisation of Lesbian and Gay Activists |
Julia Nicol (1956 – 3 April 2019) was a South African activist and librarian. Nicol worked with LGBT groups in South Africa and was a co-founder and leader of the Organisation of Lesbian and Gay Activists (OLGA).
Nicol was born in 1956 in Johannesburg. [1] She went to school at the University of Cape Town and worked as a librarian until her retirement in 1997. [1]
Nicol started working as an LGBT activist in the beginning of the 1980s. [2] She started the first organisation for lesbians in South Africa called Lesbians in Love and Compromising Situations (LILACS). [2] As an activist, Nicol was also involved with The Gay Association of South Africa (GASA) and was a founding member of the Lesbians and Gays Against Oppression (LAGO). [3] Later, LAGO became the Organisation of Lesbian and Gay Activists (OLGA) with Nicol and her partner, Sheila Lapinsky, the only lesbian members of the group and served in leadership roles. [2] [4] Lapinsky and Nicol were both directly responsible for ensuring that LGBT rights were part of the wider anti-apartheid movement. [5]
Nicol died on 3 April 2019. [5]