A leading lesbian activist from Uganda has been awarded a
prestigious award for her fearless efforts in promoting human
rights.
Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera was bestowed with the Martin Ennals
Award for Human Rights Defenders in Geneva, last week.
The recipient of the annual award is decided by ten human rights
groups, including the Human Rights Watch and Human Rights
First.
An openly-gay woman since the age of 21, Nabagesera is the
founder of local advocacy group Freedom and Roam Uganda.
Despite Uganda's strict anti-homosexuality views, she has
publicly called for greater LGBT rights - causing her to face
threats of violence and being forced to constantly move house in
order to avoid attacks.
Last year, Ugandan tabloid newspaper Rolling Stone listed her as
one of several homosexuals who, they claimed, should be hanged.
Hans Thoolen, chairman of
the Martin Ennals Foundation, described her as "a
leading light, an exceptional woman of a rare courage,
fighting under death threat for human dignity."
