In the line of duty as a
Fellow at the Human Right’s Campaign, one of the things I appreciate about this
Fellowship is some interesting opportunities I get to participate in. Mid last
month, I was invited to speak at HRC’s Major Donors Dinner. Below are my
remarks.
“I’m from Nairobi, Kenya, and
I want to share with you a little more today about the lived experiences of
LGBT people back home.
Simply put, in Kenya, and
certainly most of Africa, LGBT people live
largely in fear. We are isolated by the burden of stigma, discrimination and
other forms of human rights violations and targeted violence.
Viewed
only from our perceived sexuality or gender, this has resulted to being
ostracized by family, governments, religious formations and the society at
large.
Same-sex conduct is
criminalized in over 35 of Africa’s 54 countries, punishable by imprisonment
for years if not for life. In some places – like Mauritania and Sudan – it’s
punishable by death.
However, foreign
evangelical fundamentalists, especially from the United States, have lobbied –
and continue to lobby governments - to
tighten and enforce stricter draconian laws, even in spite of our consensual
same-sex relationships already being criminalized.
Uganda and Nigeria are now enforcing new laws that
not only criminalize being LGBT, but also those who simply organize or support
LGBT rights. That’s right – even our allies are not safe. Simply belonging to
an organization like HRC in these countries can mean imprisonment.
The wave of clamping down on the rights of LGBT
people has now spread to Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and the Republic of the
Congo. Other heads of states like Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, and Gambia’s Yahya
Jammeh, have threatened to lock up, exterminate and drive-out LGBT people out
of their countries.
On the health front, LGBT
people are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic, mostly due to the criminalization
that stigmatizes our lives and hinders the provision of targeted prevention, care
and treatment. Without the ability to disseminate accurate and objective information
about HIV, LGBT people are being left out of public prevention and treatment
policies.
Health services are being
forced to silence all aspects of prevention and LGBT people do not seek medical
care and treatment, as this may lead to persecution, denial or interruption of
services, detention, blackmail or violence.
Just 2 weeks ago, Ugandan
police raided the U.S.
military-affiliated Makerere University
Walter Reed HIV/AIDS clinic in Kampala – the capital city of Uganda. There
they arrested the healthcare providers and ordered its closure, on allegations
that it was promoting homosexuality.
Sadly,
this kind of experience is a common occurrence. Similar raids continue to be
reported in Zambia, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Russia and other numerous countries
around the world.
Like they
do here in the United States, anti-LGBT activists have branded themselves a
movement based on “traditional values.” And as you heard from my colleagues
earlier today, even while there are extremists from the United States fueling
these so-called traditional value movements in Africa, they are advancing a
dangerous myth that being LGBT is a western agenda and influence – portraying
homosexuality as a threat to humanity.
Their
operations to ‘safeguard traditional values’ are usually under the protective
favor of well-established conservative governments and religious institutions.
But it’s
not all gloom. In fact, it’s far from it. LGBT movements in Africa are braving
the odds, resilient and steadfast in our struggle for equality. Partners and
allies, such as HRC, are injecting much needed support and using their strengths,
to catalyze activists’ efforts.
I
traveled back home to Nairobi in March, to attend the Pan Africa ILGA
conference, attended by over 150 LGBT African activists. I hosted a workshop on
the role of allies in advocacy on LGBT issues across Africa. I highlighted
HRC’s collaboration with dedicated advocates in furthering LGBT human rights
efforts. Activists across the continent expressed their interest to reach out
to HRC as an ally, as discussions on a possible African regional strategy to
address equality and nondiscrimination continues.
As for the
HRC Fellowship, it has presented me, and Tushar Malik, the other HRC fellow from
India, with a platform to speak with U.S. policy makers and coalition allies on
the diverse equality movements and how best to engage international partners.
When India’s Supreme Court re-criminalized
homosexuality in India in December 2013, HRC amplified Tushar’s story from the
point of an Indian LGBT activist. HRC also partnered with Ugandan and Nigerian
LGBT activists during organized Global Days of Action, taking part in rallies
and urging the U.S. government to strongly speak up and take immediate steps to
protect the lives of LGBT individuals and reverse discriminatory laws against us.
This
fellowship program is a partnership between HRC and Atlas Corps. As such, I am
not only a global fellow at HRC, I am also part of the Atlas Corps –- a group
of non-profit professionals from around the world who are serving as fellows in
various organizations in the U.S. In my role as a member of the Atlas Corps
family, my fellowship is also having impact on the future of my continent.
There are
many other Fellows from African countries, some of whom have never interacted
with an African LGBT activist, or met an out lesbian like myself.
One
particular Fellow from Sudan reached out to me as he was intrigued by my work,
and the lives of LGBT people in Africa. He wanted a fresh perspective, different
from the stereotypes and myths he had learned along the way. Now, I can
confidently say that he is a brave ally who is using his journalism to put the
LGBT rights agenda in public domain, even in conservative Sudan.
While foes
to equality continue to spread hate and support for state-sponsored homophobia,
activists from Africa, the Caribbean and other parts of the world, are reaching
out to HRC to support their work toward repeal of punitive, retrogressive
criminalization of same-sex conduct, ending stigma, discrimination and human
rights violations against sexual and gender minority persons.
I am grateful to HRC for its collaboration and its
partnerships with fellow advocates across the globe. And I’m grateful to all of
you. Together, we are moving toward a society in which the freedoms, rights and
equality of all are guaranteed.
There is still, a lot of work to be done, many
conversations to have, but there is one agenda. This is the collective tenet of
our shared humanity".
