Pioneers working in a country where homophobia is rife
Few – Forum for the Empowerment of Women – in Johannesburg was nominated by Jenny Ricks, convenor of the Fight Inequality network:
Few is the only organisation in South Africa specifically focusing on the rights of black lesbian women. They are pioneers, working in a country where rights are guaranteed under the constitution but the daily reality is far from the ideal. Patriarchy, homophobia, violence and inequality are rife.
Running for well over a decade Few has faced challenging times, not least the well-publicised violence targeting black lesbian women. In the Johannesburg area, Few has led work on combatting hate crimes, developing political education and life skills programmes for women and organising the Soweto Pride, which faced a clampdown from authorities last year.
Speaking to the UN about LGBT persecution in Syria
Gay Syrian refugee Subhi Nahas was nominated by several people including Jen Steele:
I met Subhi in June 2013, when we both started working for Save the Children in southeastern Turkey. I was a privileged expatriate staff member. Subhi was literally running for his life. We became friends.
As an out gay man in northwestern Syria, he went from being a marginalised member of society-hated by his own family to an Isis-death-squad target. He asked me to make a formal asylum claim to UNHCR on his behalf. We worked for nine months to get Subhi asylum in the US. He landed in mid-2015.
He’s started his own NGO to help others like him. He spoke before the UN security council. He was a grand marshall of NYC Pride 2016. The list goes on. And he’s still Subhi. Calm, intelligent, passionate, proud.
Campaigning for social justice
Openly gay Brazilian MP Jean Wyllys was nominated by Marcos Oliveira:
Jean Wyllys has a history of involvement with social justice, education for citizenship and the value of life and for the recognition of civil liberties, dating back to his teenage years. He has participated in actions that combat homophobia, intolerance and religious fundamentalism, discrimination against religious minorities, slave labour, sexual exploitation of children and adolescents and violence against women.
He was elected federal deputy (MP) for the Socialism and Liberty party (PSOL) for two terms: 2011-2014 and 2015-2018.
Combating transphobia and promoting inclusion in Pakistan
Transgender Pakistani model Kami Sid was nominated by Salman Khan founder of Queeristan:
“Her work has been influential in trying to end transphobia at home and aboard, she has recently moved forward to promote transgender rights and gender equality through her SUB RANG SOCIETY and as an activist myself who is also passionately working for trans and queer rights in Pakistan I am happy to nominate Kami Sid as my hero, role model and inspiration.”
Fighting for queer studies in Turkey
Human rights NGO Kaos GL from Turkey was nominated by Omer Akpinar (Ev Geyi):
I nominate Kaos GL from Turkey because of the solidarity they built on an academic level. In 2013, Kaos GL has started running a queer studies lesson at Ankara University.
The Turkish government has started a witch-hunt on oppositional voices in the country and as a result many scholars have been purged. Ankara University has been the epicentre of the latest academic silencing. The professor who was going to run next semester’s queer studies class has lost her job.
So, Kaos GL is organising solidarity for academic freedom and sovereignty. I believe that this is a very special kind of activism in a country where opposition literally means losing your job.
Kaos GL’s work is not only this. Its support for LGBTI refugees is priceless in a country with more than 2 million Syrian refugees and no real immigration policy, and even it managed to grow its academic activities into an academic journal, the first and only of its kind in Turkey.
Supporting mothers of gay children in the US
Liz Dyer was nominated by Sandra Vandyne:
Liz has a son who is gay and she started a secret Facebook group for moms of LGBTQ kids in June 2014 with less than 100 members and today there are over 1,500 moms in the group.
The group, Serendipitydodah for Moms, was specifically created for open-minded Christian moms of LGBTQ kids who want to develop and maintain healthy, loving, authentic relationships with their LGBTQ kids. In addition to sharing information and support that directly relates to parenting there is a lot of information shared that is meant to inspire and motivate the members to work to make the world a kinder, safer, more loving place for all LGBTQ people.
Going back to school to give young LGBT people hope
British recent graduate Tim Ramsey was nominated by Alice Woolley:
A young man called Tim Ramsey, not long out of university, set up a charity called Just Like Us a year ago. The idea is simple yet had not been done before. He called for volunteers, young people, to go into schools and talk to students about their experience of being gay at school.
He wrote about going back to his own school to talk to students there. And as a result of this, hundreds of volunteers came forward. His charity trains them, and they give talks in schools. He has achieved so much in just a year, and I am sure changed many lives for the better.
Raising visibility of LGBT people in Jordan
Khalid Abdel-Hadi, founder of My Kali magazine, was nominated by several people including LGBT Jordan:
In Jordan, it’s considered acceptable for men to have sex with men, but not to identify as gay. The stereotypical image of the flamboyant gay man is not accepted here according to 28-year-old Khalid Abdel-Hadi, who says Jordanian society doesn’t differentiate between homosexual and transgendered people. Growing up in a country where many associate gay people with satanism, cults, drugs and prostitution, or simply refute their existence, Abdel-Hadi found an outlet in foreign fashion magazines.
This lay the foundation for establishing his own title, My Kali, which became the first LGBT+ publication in Jordan when it launched in 2008. For the first time, the LGBT+ community in Jordan had a point of reference that wasn’t imported from the west. Through his publication and his activism, Abdel-Hadi has carved out a space for Jordanian LGBT+ people and maintained visibility for the community in the media, forcing society to recognise and acknowledge their presence, even if many do still refer to them publicly as ‘perverts’.
Making trans people feel better with videos and podcasts
Trans vlogger Chase Ross from Canada was nominated by Maki:
Chase is a trans activist, speaker, educator, academic, and YouTuber from Montreal, Canada. He makes videos about: transitioning, safe sex, mental health (how he overcame depression and anxiety by running), videos reviewing prosthetics and other items geared towards trans masculine people.
Because of Chase I learned a lot about trans identities and was able to share this information with my partner, friends, family and even health professionals. I’m 32 years old and I realised that I was trans about 12 years ago. I hid it for a long time, partially because I didn’t have the words and resources to explain that I was non-binary at the time and didn’t think it would be possible for me to transition. Chase’s videos helped me to come out and have more confidence in myself. When I’m feeling down or anxious, Chase’s videos/podcasts always make me feel better.
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