A recent study found that 75% of those who underwent transgender surgery had a better quality of life after the operation. However, as the recent onslaught on the LGBT community by the Tanzanian government makes life difficult for this community, it becomes increasingly challenging to collect data on the happiness levels of trans individuals in the country. […]
Tanzania, where The Advocates has partnered recently with LGBTI human rights organizations, provides a good example of the problem. Due to widespread discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, LGBT individuals in Tanzania fear disclosing their sexual orientation to health care providers.  Further, health care providers often refuse needed services to LGBT individuals. In its Third
Written by : Sarah Pager , Founder and Director of Quist Dearest Queer Person, Chances are you don’t even know that you are holy, or royal or magic, but you are. You are part of an adoptive family going back through every generation of human existence. Long before you were born, our people were inventing incredible
I remember talking with a friend of mine who is transgender with the assumption that we both experienced dysphoria, which is the distress or discomfort that occurs when the gender someone is assigned does not align with their actual gender. As I was talking, I could see their eyes start to stare off in another
LGBT Voice Tanzania urges the Tanzanian Government to withdraw the proposed anti-LGBTI  bill (The Bill to Prohibit and Control any form of Sexual Relations between Persons of the Same Sex, 2014’) from the parliament immediately  and amend Sections 154 to 157 of the Penal Code of Tanzania that makes homosexual acts between men an illegal offense
For 41-year old James Wandera Ouma, LGBT activism has become his life’s work. As the executive director of LGBT Voice Tanzania , Ouma works to advance equality, diversity, education and justice for LGBT people in Tanzania. Recently, Ouma was in attendance at the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association’s ( OPALGA ) annual awards
Pictured right: Mohamed Mbata, Deputy Director of LGBT Voice Tanzania This past November, I sent my associate Chris Westling to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to meet with LGBT activists and discuss the lack of progress in the area of human rights as related to LGBT issues. Currently, it is a crime punishable by imprisonment to
 By James Wandera Ouma, Executive Director LGBT Voice Tanzania Introduction Homophobia against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and activists in Tanzania (LGBT) in Tanzania is well known. The challenges vary from everyday personal hardships to high-level factors such as hostility from civil society organizations, religious bodies, government, and law enforcement. In
A little over a year ago, during the June 2013 Gay Pride celebration in San Francisco, California, it was announced that that the same-sex marriage ban in California would officially be repealed. The sense of relief and celebration was palpable. A cheer went soaring through the streets and the Castro District (San Francisco’s historically gay
The International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) releases a map which shows gay rights by country. The countries with the most homophobic laws are shown in red and the countries with the most open laws are green. In between are various shades of orange, yellow and light green. Tanzania is colored a bright red, indicating
