Q-zine covers LGBT life in African countries with anti-gay laws

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran. He is the…

Dorothy Aken’Ova (Photo courtesy of Q-zine.org)

“Getting recognition [for LGBT rights] at the UN is a great achievement. When I was working with colleagues at the UN from 2000 to 2006, it was a very conservative institution. It had no language on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, but the work we did then has now yielded results.”

So says Nigerian activist Dorothy Aken’Ova in an interview in the newly launched online edition of the bilingual African publication Q-zine.

Q-zine, which began publication in September, is a quarterly magazine published in English and French “by, for and about LGBTI and queer Africans and allies” that aims to “celebrate, debate and explore the creativity and cultural richness of queer life in Africa.”

That coverage area includes countries with laws against homosexual activities, and elsewhere.

Q-zine staff includes lead editor John McAllister of Botswana, along with staff from Niger, Cameroon, Burundi and Burkina Faso.

The magazine’s home page links to its coverage from countries where homosexuality is illegal — Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal — and from Burkina Faso.