News

She has been verbally and physically attacked by the community she is meant to feel safe in but that has not taken away her zeal to effect change. Bad Black has dedicated her life as a peer educator and works hand in hand with friendly clinics to provide health services for the transwomen in Uganda.

Speaking on behalf of Uganda’s sex workers, Bad Black continuously appeals to legislators to put up laws that will protect the interest of people in her profession. These laws will protect sex workers from disrespectful clients and put in place a minimum wage for their trade.

Growing up, I never fully understood why I did the things I did. I wore my sisters’ clothes and I remember being beaten for this on several occasions. I vividly remember looking at other boys’ privates at the tender age of 6.

In school, I was more attracted to guys and girls were not on my list of priorities. My first sexual encounter was with a girl during my Senior One but I never understood what the fuss was all about because it was not interesting or even fulfilling.

‘Passing’ is one of the most important things in trans person’s life. Most especially in a country where people associate to anyone with breasts dressed in men’s clothes as a lesbian, or anyone with a beard dressed in feminine clothes as gay. As trans men specifically we bind to pass as the men we know we are. This is my story.

The consequences of being publically outed as a homosexual in Uganda have become the subject of an audacious film due out in the coming months WRITES Polly Kamukama Aptly titled Outed, the feature film is inspired by real life incidents following the controversial publication of names and photographs of alleged gay people by two leading tabloids in 2011 and 2014.

LGBTI people in Uganda live with the threat of even more draconian legislation hanging over them. But there is hope.