Coalition of African Lesbians

The Coalition of African Lesbians is a lesbian rights nonprofit organisation based in South Africa that has existed since 2003.[1] It is a coalition of more than 30 different organisations based in 19 countries throughout Africa. It is the mission of the organisation to advance justice, equality and visibility for lesbian and bisexual women as well as "trans diverse" people on the continent of Africa.

Coalition of African Lesbians
AbbreviationCAL
TypeNonprofit organisation
HeadquartersJohannesburg, South Africa
Key people
Brigdett Oliphant, Dorothy Aken’Ova, Liz Frank, Nikki Mawanda

History

The organisation was first founded by 50 activists attending the Sex and Secrecy Conference held by the International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2003.[2]

In 2010, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights declined to give the CAL observer status and rejected the group's May 2008 application.[3] The commission initially rejected the charter stating, "that, the activities of the said organisation do not promote and protect any of the rights enshrined in the African Charter".[4] However, in 2014, the CAL submitted another application, which in 2015 was accepted.[5]

Objectives

The Coalition of African Lesbians outlines several broad objectives within its 2006 constitution:[6]

- To advocate and lobby for the equal political, sexual, cultural and economic rights of African lesbian, bisexual and trans diverse people by engaging strategically with African and international structures and allies;

- To eradicate stigma and discrimination against lesbians in Africa

- To build and strengthen our voices and visibility through research, media and publications, and through participation in local and international fora;

- To build the capacity of African lesbians and our organisations to use African radical feminist analysis as a means of understanding and challenging the discrimination and oppression we experience in all spheres of our lives;

- To build a strong and sustainable LBT coalition supporting the development of national organisations working on LBT issues in every country in Africa;

- To support the work of these national organisations in all the foregoing areas including the facilitation of the personal growth of African LBT people and the building of capacity within their organisations.

References
  1. Jolly, Joanna (2008-02-27). "Africa's lesbians demand change". BBC News. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  2. "Previous conferences". Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  3. Yugendree Naidoo (November 29, 2010). "African human rights commission gives gay rights the cold shoulder". West Cape News. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  4. Hivos (2006) "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2016-02-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "STATEMENT ON DECISION OF THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS TO GRANT OBSERVER STATUS TO THE COALITION OF AFRICAN LESBIANS [CAL]". Coalition of African Lesbians. April 26, 2015. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  6. Coalition of African Lesbians "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-02-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)


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