Invitation Lunch session: Anti-Gender Movements in Africa - Realities and Responses in Uganda & Nigeria
Date: 14 June 2023
Time: 12:00 -14:00 hrs (doors open 11.45 hrs)
Location: WO=MEN office, Korte Poten 9B, 2511 EB Den Haag
Language: English
WO=MEN and Hivos would like to invite you to a lunch session with human rights activists Nnedinma Anochimonye from Nigeria and Cleopatra Kambugu Kentaro from Uganda as guest speakers.
Anti-gender and anti-rights movements are increasingly invading the public and political space. Last month, Uganda enacted an anti-LGBTIQ+ law that punishes people in same-sex relationships with a death sentence or life imprisonment. In Nigeria, same-sex marriage was banned in 2014 and same sex relationships are punishable with prison terms. LGTBIQ+ communities and their allies face high levels of violence, exclusion and arbitrary detention.
Nnedinma Anochimonye is a human rights lawyer and an LGBTIQ+ activist from Nigeria. She is the Executive Director of the Women Initiative for Sustainability and Equality (WISE). WISE aims to end the violence against LGBTIQ+ communities, and it seeks to stop the criminalization of the LGBTIQ+ individuals in Nigeria. In her work, Nnedinma focuses on capacity building and engagement with policymakers and other relevant (inter)national stakeholders. Through storytelling, she aims to share information, exchange experiences, increase awareness and create understanding.
Cleopatra Kambugu Kentaro is a Ugandan transgender woman and human rights activist. Cleo advocates for open dialogue about gender and sexuality, equality and social justice. In her work, Cleo particularly focuses on the rights of sex workers and gender non-conforming communities. Cleo works as a Director of Programmes for the East African Sexual Health and Rights Initiative (UHAI EASHRI), which aims to promote and protect the sexuality, health, and human rights of minorities. Cleo also works as a program officer with the Trans Support Initiative Uganda (TSIU). TSIU fights for social justice for intersex, transgender, and gender non-conforming citizens.
In this lunch session, Nnedinma and Cleopatra will share their experiences and talk about their work. The audience will be engaged in a conversation about collaboration and strategies – including queering the Dutch Feminist Foreign Policy - to effectively respond to anti-gender movements and strengthen rights.
Register for the lunch session by Monday 12 June by sending an e-mail to Lena:
l.brink@wo-men.nl. The registration will be done first-come-first-serve, as we have limited spaces available.
Lunch will be provided during this session
