LGBTQIA+ activists in rural Uganda demonstrate against the Homosexuality Bill proposed by the government.
donate nowThe government of Uganda has recently drafted and tabled a new bill targeting LGBTQ individuals and organizations, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023. It seeks to criminalize homosexuality as well as its promotion and financing. Ever since the introduction of this bill, violence against LGBTQ people through state actors, religious leaders and cultural leaders has skyrocketed.
If the bill is accepted, landlords that rent houses to LGBTQIA+ people will face jail time. This is going to leave many LGBTQIA+ persons homeless, putting them into an even more dangerous situation than before. Also, any NGO’s and organizations that inform about LGBTQIA+ topics or offer care risk big fines for ‘promoting’ homosexuality.
The recent campaign against LGBTQIA+ people has not deterred some of taking action. In a rural area of eastern Uganda, dozens of activists came together to march for equal rights. With their Let me be me campaign, they aim to change the current narrative being spread by the government of Uganda. They want to bring into light the institutionalized and structural violations committed by the government and its actors in repressing the freedoms of assembly, association and expression of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics persons and organizations in Uganda.
That their demonstration proved successful can already be deduced from the fact that media companies and service providers were threatened to withhold from broadcasting or reporting on the action, lest they be accused of ‘spreading’ homosexuality. YouTube videos uploaded to certain blog channels were deleted with directives from the Ugandan Police.
Het Actiefonds is proud to support these activists in their struggle for equal human rights for all gender identities and expressions.
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