Uganda’s LGBT Community Holds a Cautious Pride March
Uganda’s LGBT Community Holds a Cautious Pride March
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Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community parade in Entebbe, southwest of the Ugandan capital Kampala, on Aug. 8, 2015Edward Echwalu—Reuters
A year after a law punishing homosexual acts with life in prison was annulled after strong international pressure, hundreds of Ugandans gathered for a gay-rights march along the shores of Lake Victoria on Saturday.
About 400 people, some trying to mask their identities by covering their faces, turned up for the march in Entebbe, southwest of the Ugandan capital Kampala, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Homosexuality remains illegal in Uganda. Social attitudes toward the LGBT community have also grown increasingly negative in recent years. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has even encouraged individuals to report any “suspicious” homosexual activity, the Guardianreports.
The Journal reports that some things have gotten easier for the LGBT community — they no longer have to deal with frequent police raids, while eviction rates of gay tenants have also slowed. But conservative lawmakers have vowed to reinstate the law mandating life in prison.
“We’re happy the government realized there are more pressing issues than people’s sexual orientation,” Kasha Jacqueline, who took part in the march, told the Journal. “But the struggle continues.”
Silent No More: Early Days in the Fight for Gay Rights
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