Introducing 7 African LGBTQ+ activists working for change

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

Vogue Magazine published an article last month profiling seven outstanding activists fighting to improve LGBTQ+ rights across Africa

**Kenyan author and activist Kevin Mwachiro is making spaces for queer Kenyans to gather, speak up, and be visible. (Photo courtesy Kevin Mwachiro/Vogue)**

The article, by queer Nigerian author Ugonna-Ora Owoh, highlights how activists from different corners of the continent are fighting to overcome oppression through a variety of means.

Nigerian activist Matthew Blaise went viral last October when video surfaced of him shouting “Queer lives matter” during the #EndSARS protests in Lagos. He plans to make a documentary exploring the history of queer identities in Africa from pre-colonial times to the modern day.

Lagos-based film director Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim is making space for queer voices in Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry, with her queer-centred stories. Her breakthrough film Ìfẹ́, a love story about two Nigerian women, made a splash last year internationally.

In Senegal, anti-LGBT forces seek longer prison time for gay sex

Kenyan author and activist Kevin Mwachiro has published a book challenging stereotypes about queer Kenyans and helped found the country’s first LGBTQ+ film festival.

Read the full article, including profiles of activists from Cameroon, Ghana, and Uganda, on vogue.com for free.