Fighting for LGBT Rights in Nigeria

ACTIVISTS IN THE WEST AFRICAN COUNTRY STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY AGAINST A TIDE OF VIOLENCE

NIGERIA

WORDS FINBARR TOESLAND

Not a week goes by without a news report detailing yet another vicious attack on members of Africa’s LGBT population. These hate crimes are not confined to just a few African countries but can be found across the continent, even in progressive South Africa. Although in 2006 South Africa became the first, and to this day the only, African nation to legalise samesex marriage, so-called “corrective” rapes have become prevalent.

Rapes and other violent crimes are not uncommon in South Africa. However, “corrective” rapes specifically target lesbians, in an attempt to change their sexuality; the attackers believe victims will be “fixed” by the rape and become straight. Gangs of men usually commit these crimes and often transmit Aids and other diseases. Lesbians who live in Johannesburg’s affluent Sandton neighborhood will have a drastically different experience from those who inhabit one of Cape Town’s townships. Lesbians in poorer South African townships bear the brunt of these assaults and then are left to fend for themselves due to the lack of police – or the prejudice they face when reporting their injuries.

Nigeria has become a major economic power: the West African nation recently overtook South Africa to become the largest economy on the continent. But this rapid financial development has not been matched by progress toward social equity for the LGBT community. Being out and open in Nigeria is extremely difficult due to the many social, political and economic barriers, but courageous lesbian organisations that aim to address sexual and reproductive health concerns are emerging in the country.