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OMG! See What Is Happening In Uganda And Shed Tears. Crowds danced, sang and waved flags at the event held outside the capital Kampala, the culmination of a week of celebrations, CBC reports.
Dozens of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Uganda gathered on Saturday to celebrate gay pride in Entebbe on the shores of Lake Victoria a year after a tough anti-homosexuality law was overturned.
(Photo: Reuters)
Crowds danced, sang and waved rainbow flags at the event held outside the capital Kampala, the culmination of a week of celebrations, CBC reports.
One of those attending hoped it would be a “step forward” for the country.
But many people in Uganda strongly oppose gay rights, and homosexuality is punishable with a jail sentence.
Anti-gay legislation allowing for life imprisonment for “aggravated homosexuality” and banning the “promotion of homosexuality” was annulled by Uganda’s supreme court last year
Held at the Entebbe Botanical Gardens, the event attracted more than 100 people, who waved rainbow flags in an effort to raise awareness about being gay in Uganda.
Like most of sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda is highly religious and socially conservative. Disapproval of homosexuality is widespread, and attacks on gays are common.
“We feel and we think this is a step moving forward, and it is about trying to show the wider community that violence, discrimination, harassment, stigma against LGBT people is bad,” said gay rights activist Moses Kimbugwe. “So we are here to send a message to the wider population that we do exist and we want rights like any other Ugandan.”
According to BBC, One of those marching, Moses Kimbugwe, said: “It is about trying to show the wider community that violence, discrimination, harassment, stigma against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people is bad.
“So we are here to send a message to the wider population that we do exist, and we want rights like any other Ugandan.”
One of the organizers, Richard Lusimbo, told the AFP news agency: “For us, this is a celebration of who we are.”
Events earlier this week included a transgender awareness day and a “Mr and Miss Pride” beauty pageant.
US President Barack Obama spoke out in favor of gay rights in Africa on his recent visit to the continent but some African leaders have argued homosexuality is not part of African culture.
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