Queer Advocacy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Local Grounds, Hemispheric Connections

Keywords: queer advocacy, lesbian advocacy, human rights, organizing, organizers, activism, Coalition of African Lesbians, sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Queer life in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa remains very dangerous. Both legislature and everyday discrimination threatens the lives of queer Africans. Yet, this single story of African homophobia and what Ashley Currier and Migraine-George articulate as "queer African victimage" doesn't capture the full range of the experiences of African queers. Despite the urgency of this issue, scholarship on queer life and advocacy on the continent remains very limited. I address intellectual gap in this thesis. This thesis aims to explore how NGOs organizing around rights related to sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in Africa work with or around IGOs to transform the continent into a place where queer futures thrive. In my analysis, I center Black queer women-led movement building by examining the work of a pan-African feminist organization, the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL). I ask, 1) What is the nature of LBQ organizing?, 2) What strategies did CAL use to challenge oppressive and discriminatory norms and structures within capitalist, imperialist, and patriarchal frameworks?, 3) How did CAL navigate relationships with IGOs and international donors who often undermine the priorities of local movements?, and 4) What is the trajectory of movement building and how do organizers evaluate progress? I demonstrate that strategies are multi-pronged and include both creative and formal approaches to organizing. I also assert that progress isn't linear and doesn't strictly conform to empirical measurements. The impact of organizations like CAL can be felt through the ways they render African queers legible and visible.