New anthology features LGBTQIA+ activists in Africa

HUMAN rights defenders from across the continent chronicle the depths of discrimination and narrate tales of triumph and of finding belonging in ‘Courage to share – queer activism in Africa’ (2022).

Compiled by Taboom Media and the Gala Queer Archive as a product of a new media advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex and other (LGBTQI+) equality workshop hosted by Taboom Media in February of this year, it is their second anthology following ‘Hopes and dreams that sound like yours – stories of queer activism in sub-Saharan Africa’. It features 28 stories from over 20 countries, including Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Eswatini, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

“The golden thread that binds all of these stories together is the triumphant realisation that we are not alone. By telling their stories, each activist tells mine afresh. I, too, know the dangers of searching for love online; and what it’s like spending sleepless nights worrying about conflicts between my sexuality and religion, and holding back my tongue from rolling my truth and my desire,” says anthology co-editor and debut author Welcome Mandla Lishivha (‘Boy on the run’, 2022) in the book’s introduction.

“Being queer in Africa is challenging. The difficulties highlighted in these stories are a testament to the resilience and strength of the authors,” Lishivha says.

“They reveal activism born from a need for personal change, and a desire to channel pain and anger into improving things for the next generation who will walk in our shoes.”

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