Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera featured on the cover of TIME Magazine European Edition this week.
Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera speaking at the Public Forum in BerlinKasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, a Fellow of the Salzburg Global LGBT Forum, was featured on the cover of the
TIME Magazine’s European Edition: Out in Africa this week.Boldly posing, with her fist raised on the cover of TIME, Nabagesera is the leading LGBT activist in Uganda, a country facing extreme homophobia, following the passing of a bill in 2014 that can lead to life imprisonment for the LGBT community.Nabagesera is also the co-editor of
Bombastic, Uganda’s first LGBT publication. She told
The Advocate that she hopes the cover will not only bring awareness to the plight of LGBT Ugandans, but also help people realize globally that LGBT people are their friends, neighbors, and family members. “It’s a great honor for me to be on the cover because it brings attention to the global LGBT struggle,” Nabagesera told The Advocate. “Now many people will know about the struggles LGBT people go through in Africa and the world over. They will realize that the people they hate most are actually the people they love most when they get to read the article. They could be hating on their beloved family and friend without knowing they are LGBT.”Nabagesera was featured as a part of a
photo essay by Robin Hammond showcasing 65 portraits of LGBT people, from 15 different countries, who have faced discrimination. According to Hammond, the photographs were all posed portraits and it was a collaboration between him and the subject. “I would ask them how we could illustrate their story. The results were sometimes interesting. Kasha, the Ugandan lesbian activist, wanted to be shown as a strong leader. I asked her if she had a symbol of strength — she rose her fist,” Hammond told TIME."We have very long way to go in this struggle but I am glad we are not just sitting back," Nabagesera said in the photo essay.She is also the founder of gay rights organization
Freedom and Roam Uganda (FARUG), and attended both the sessions of Global LGBT Forum at Salzburg Global Seminar. She has been advocating for the rights of the LGBT community in Uganda globally at various international fora.As a plenary speaker at the
Founding gathering Global LGBT Forum 2013, she talked about the need for the international politicians and campaigners to coordinate with the local activist to fight against the hate crimes plaguing the countries.She was also a panel speaker at the Public Forum at the German Federal Foreign Office during the
Berlin meeting 2014, where she shared her experience of helping the local activists in Uganda cope during the government and public crackdown through security and safety training.In 2013, Nabagesera was awarded the
Nuremberg International Human Rights Award for continuing her fight for the rights of the LGBT community in Uganda despite the threats of imprisonment and death she faces every day in her country.She will be returning to the Salzburg Global Seminar for the 3rd
Global LGBT Forum- Strengthening Communities: LGBT Rights and Social Cohesion.
* LGBT: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. We are using this term as it is widely recognized in many parts of the world, but we would not wish it to be read as in any way exclusive of other cultures, terms or groups.
