May 28th is marked as International Day of Action for Women’s Health -a day that demands justice and bodily autonomy for all women, including LBTQ womxn.This year’s theme, “In Solidarity We Resist: Our Fight, Our Right!”, was not just a slogan—it is a battle cry against policies that systematically erase LBTQ womxn from critical SRHR discourse.
In Uganda,the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act has cast a long shadow over LGBTQ+ rights, particularly in healthcare. While the Constitutional Court ruled in the case of Consolidated Petitions No. 14, 15, 16 & 85 of 2023 that the right to health is inherent and must be upheld even for LGBTQ+ individuals, the reality remains grim. Fear, misinformation, and legal ambiguity continue to suppress vital conversations about sexual health and reproductive rights in our community and within the broader spectrum of things.
Imagine a trans womxn who suffers a brutal sexual attack, contracts an STI, and is denied rapid response medical care because treating her would be seen as “promoting homosexuality.” Or a lesbian womxn, subjected to corrective rape by a close family member, falls pregnant and cannot access comprehensive abortion care because abortion is criminal and her sexual orientation offends your morality.
Who benefits from not telling either of these stories? Certainly not the victim, whose dignity and health are disregarded. Not the medical professionals, who are forced into ethical dilemmas, torn between their oath to heal and the fear of legal repercussions. Not the journalists, who self-censor to avoid persecution, depriving the public of critical discourse.
As it is, the only beneficiaries are those who thrive on propaganda—politicians who weaponize morality for political gain, religious and social institutions that perpetuate discrimination, and extremists who seek to totally erase all bodily autonomy rights.
And where healthcare systems excludes some,violence festers unchecked.when LBTQ stories remain untold,the abuse suffered becomes negligible.
It continues to be clear that provisions on promotion of homosexuality exist solely to foster silence which enables violence as It allows injustice to thrive unchallenged.
In line with this year’s theme, therefore all of us must refuse to let silence win. Women’s health is inherent,no if nor buts.It is not a privilege granted only to those who conform to societal norms. It is a fundamental human right.
By telling LGBTQ-inclusive stories, we give platform to the very issues that need visibility because All womxn deserve more than whispered sympathies and hidden truths. We all deserve justice, dignity, and access to healthcare without fear.
The question is therefore not whether we should tell LGBTQ inclusive stories—but Can we afford not to?
