“It is absolutely sickening and ridiculous that in the 21st century a homosexual act gets a person in Cameroon six months to five years imprisonment.”
Barrister Walter Atoh
We can’t have one group benefitting while another is suffering
‘We can’t have one group benefitting while another is suffering. We [The Ministry] do not share the view that the rights of citizens are good for one but not the others.’
~ Guyana Minister of Social Protection, Hon. Volda Lawrence
I'm just tired of speaking up
"I've become disillusioned and even passive since the Supreme Court's 2013 ruling on Section 377. I'm just tired of speaking up. People don't realise how the law fuels social prejudice."
~ Onir, Indian filmmaker as the Supreme Court reconsiders Section 377 of the penal code that criminalizes homosexuality.
who am I going to be?
“I have been going to the mountain to pray about [how to stop being gay], fasting and I came to the point that I was just starving myself…it’s something that I have tried and I have come to the point where I am saying: this is me and if I try to run away from myself, then who am I going to be?”
~ Eric Sambisa, from Malawi
...God created me fabulous...
If God wanted just another heterosexual, God could have created one, but instead God created me fabulous. My sexual orientation is something I cannot change.”
~ Johann De Joodt, after his years spent engaged in ‘conversion therapy’ in Australia
...human beings who love, who work, who pay taxes...
"While the criminal laws exist, people will feel shame, and the hypocrisy will continue. Hypocrites often look at gay men purely in terms of a sex act, not human beings who love, who work, who pay taxes."
~Eric Gitari, Kenyan lawyer who was outed by tabloids
Homosexuals are around us, like it or not...
“Homosexuals are around us, like it or not, this is a fact that has been true since long ago and it is still true today. They might be those closest to us, our children, our siblings, our grandchildren, or our best friends, but sometimes we have no empathy for this issue. They are not people who have invaded from the West but rather they are part of us."
~ Hartoyo, an LGBT activist from Jakarta in an open letter to a newly-elected politician
...he has broken barriers many of us on the continent can only dream
We remember Joel Gustave Nana Ngongang, who passed away at the age of 33. A leading African LGBT and HIV activist born in Cameroon, Joel was the founding Executive Director of the African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (AMSHeR), chief executive officer at Partners for Rights and Development (Paridev), and co-founder of Alternatives Cameroun.
"Joel has changed face of HIV and MSM in Africa through his work with Amsher and he has broken barriers many of us on the continent can only dream. Today is a very sad day in Africa and West Africa in particular." ~ Nigerian activist Bisi Alimi
...there are places all over the county where young people are hurting...
"I believe that my school isn't special. I believe that there are places like Hillsboro all over the county where young people are hurting, feeling alone, and being discriminated against because of who they are. And I believe it's important, now that I've been put in this position, for me to stay strong for all of those young people and for my community"
~ Trans teen Lila Perry on the controversy stirred in her town around her use of the girl's locker room.
I just want to start living
“All I want now is to be in a safe place, unreachable by my dad or anyone with extremist thoughts. I want to be safe, to be free, and to be myself - to get my degree and start living… I just want to start living.”
~ Taim, who escaped Iraq after ISIS members told his father Taim is gay
We were seen, we were counted...
"We were seen, we were counted...and in the end we were valued."
~ Jensen Byrne, UN volunteer on the importance of Ireland's National Referendum on marriage equality.
Will I prioritize [rights] over finding money for food?
Will I prioritize [rights] over finding money for food? Labor issues, issues of the workforce are issues of LGBT people. And the sooner we recognize that, then the sooner we can provide responses to the needs of members of our community who need proper attention”
~ Claire, a transgender woman, on the striking workforce at Tanduay Distillers Inc in the Philippines
...there can be no justification for attempts to ‘eliminate’ LGBTI from society...
"As variation in sexual identities and orientations has always been part of a normal society, there can be no justification for attempts to ‘eliminate’ LGBTI from society. Efforts should rather be focused on countering the belief systems that create hostile and even violent environments for those who are made to feel alienated within societies...
The study suggests that African health professionals and their associations should adopt affirmative stances towards LGBTI individuals."
excerpt from The Academy of Science South Africa report "Diversity in Human Sexuality: Implications for Policy in Africa"
Culture, tradition and religion can never justify the denial of basic rights...
I respect culture, tradition and religion, but they can never justify the denial of basic rights. My promise to the lesbian, homosexual, bisexual and transgender members of the human family is this: I’m with you. I promise that as Secretary-General of the United Nations I will denounce attacks against you and I will keep pressing leaders for progress.
~ UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to the International Conference on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
...in conflict with the principles of human dignity...
An interpretation of non-discrimination which excludes people based on their sexual orientation would be in conflict with the principles of human dignity, inclusiveness, equality, human rights, and non-discrimination.
~ excerpt from the High Court of Kenya ruling that despite anti-homosexuality laws, an LGBT group has the right to form. Signed by Justices Isaac Lenaola, Ngugi Grace Mumbi, George Vincent Odunga, and Isaac Lenaola
...poisonous consequences of these ill-informed and hateful bills...
“By now we should all be aware of the poisonous consequences of these ill-informed and hateful bills: they produce hate and lead to impunity for violence and discrimination against minorities. This has no place in a country that has committed itself through its constitution to full protection of human and civil rights.”
Daniele Viotti, Member of the European Parliament in regards to Kyrgyzstan's proposed anti-LGBT bill
This is a fight for human rights.
This is a fight for human rights. Its does not pit African traditions against western traditions or the colonised against colonisers. Africa has the same universal values and belongs to humanity. It is not separate, and neither is Cameroon.
~ Alice Nkom, Cameroonian lawyer and longtime advocate for decriminalization of homosexuality @AliceNKom
...a straightforward attack on LGBT community...
“We believe this proposal is viewed by many people of faith and by others as a straightforward attack on LGBT community and it is not consistent with the loving and inclusive message of Christianity”
~ Canon Charles Kenny, spokesman for the Church of Ireland's gay rights group Changing Attitude Ireland, on Northern Ireland's proposed anti-gay "conscience clause"
I knew I was going to have bullies
"When I came out I knew I was going to have bullies, and I knew people were not going to be OK with it. But I never expected it to be from the people who were supposed to protect you from the bullies."
~ Austin Wallis, 17 year old on being told by his school principal to stop being gay or leave the school
I am proud to stand for the equality of all people
"I am proud to stand for the equality of all people, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. I speak out because laws criminalising consensual, adult same-sex relationships violate basic rights to privacy and to freedom from discrimination. Even if they are not enforced, these laws breed intolerance."
~ UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in India, Jan 12, 2015.