LGBT issues in Uganda was the topic of a panel discussion that the American Jewish World Service ( AJWS ) hosted at the Center on Halsted Jan. 29.
The evening also featured a screening of the documentary Call Me Kuchu, which focused on various LGBT activists ( including the late David Kato ) in Uganda and anti-LGBT individuals both inside and outside of the African country.
Debra Shore, commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, and Yoni Pizer, LGBTQ liaison for Rep. Mike Quigley, spoke to the approximately 125 people in attendance. Shore and Pizer are also a part of the AJWS Global Justice Fellowship Program.
Shore noted that, internationally, AJWS supports local grassroots organizations working in 19 countries, including Uganda, and is the fourth largest U.S.-based funder of human rights advocacy for LGBT people.
"AJWS has provided $800,000 in support of activists in Uganda, including several involved in last year's legal victory overturning the Anti-Homosexuality Bill," said Shore.
Pizer noted the 16 organizations who co-sponsored the event and introduced the evening's featured speaker and panelist Nikilas Mawanda, a key leader in organizing Uganda's LGBT community, co-founder of Trans Support Initiative-Uganda ( an AJWS grantee ) and board member of Sexual Minorities Uganda and The Coalition of African Lesbian and Gender Diverse Persons.
Shore introduced the evening's other panelist, Katherine Fairfax Wright, who is co-director, editor and cinematographer of Call Me Kuchu.
"I am a trans man who is straight. Being different is a curse where I come from," said Mawanda.
Mawanda shared his life story, including being ostracized by his family and community, and how he came to be an activist. He noted that it is very difficult for LGBT people to live full lives in Uganda due to anti-LGBT laws and widespread homophobia throughout the country.
"Uganda still criminalizes homosexuality and same-sex relationships under a penal code that was enacted by the British when they colonized my country," said Mawanda.
Mawanda called on attendees to act regarding the situation in Uganda and to spread the word so others will know what is happening in his country.
During the panel discussion, Wright noted that while Mawanda wasn't identified in the film he was featured briefly in group scenes and during Kato's funeral. Wright shared that what sparked her interest in making the documentary was the initial anti-homosexuality bill that Uganda was considering and the work that LGBT activists in Uganda were doing to stop the bill.
Mawanda explained that the situation in Uganda is still the same for LGBT people. He also noted that American Evangelical Christian leaders like Scott Lively have been and continue to be instrumental in fomenting anti-LGBT sentiments in Uganda.
Following the screening and panel discussion Shore and Pizer shared ways that the community can take action on behalf of LGBT rights worldwide. Shore explained that it is still illegal to be LGBT in 78 countries and is punishable by death in five of them.
"AJWS is urging President Obama to appoint a Special Envoy for Global LGBT Rights," said Shore. "The Special Envoy would be responsible for coordinating U.S. efforts to defend the human rights of the LGBT community internationally and creating a U.S. response when a law like the one in Uganda is considered or passed."
Following death threats, Mawanda was granted asylum in the United States last October. He currently resides in Washington D.C., where he continues to work towards LGBT equality in Uganda. Mawanda is also a member of the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Development working group at the World Bank.
Call Me Kuchu won awards at 18 film festivals, including "Best International Documentary" from Hot Docs 2012, the Teddy Award from the 2012 Berlin Film Festival and the Amnesty International Human Rights Award at the 2012 Durban Film Festival.
See www.smug.4t.com, www.callmekuchu.com and www.ajws.org for more information.
