QUEER COMMONWEALTH.
The faces of the LGBTQ movement.
36 out of 53 Commonwealth nations currently criminalise homosexuality, with most of these laws a legacy of British colonisation. Join The Kaleidoscope Trust as they launch an exclusive new image series that champions 33 queer trailblazers making change and fighting against unjust laws and LGBTQ discrimination across the Commonwealth.
36 out of 53 Commonwealth nations currently criminalise homosexuality. Most of these laws are a legacy of British colonisation. The Kaleidoscope Trust and The Commonwealth Equality Network have launched an exclusive new image series that champions 33 queer trailblazers making change and fighting against unjust laws and LGBTQ discrimination across the Commonwealth. Set to empower the next generation of LGBTQ activists and allies, it features those raising their voice in the name of love, acceptance and equality for all – regardless of who you love or how you rightfully choose to identify.
From Australia to Malaysia, this public and international display of queer solidarity puts a face to the voices that’ve changed the lives of many across the globe. But what keeps them fighting in the face of discrimination, persecution and, in the worst cases, violence?
“I keep on doing what I’m doing because while the arc of the moral universe is long, and it bends toward justice, it doesn’t do so by itself,” explains Alistair Stewart of Human Dignity Trust, UK. “While I have the advantage of living in a country that has made great strides towards LGBT equality, it makes me all the more aware of the need to support the work of those campaigning for change in their own countries.”
A notion that Qasim Iqbal, an LGBTQ and HIV activist based in Pakistan – a country where homosexuality is illegal – is in full support of.
“I receive pleas for help from persons who are in critical situations. These are people who are facing abuse, torture and/or imprisonment in their own homes and neighborhoods. Some of the videos of torture and abuse shared with me are so gruesome that they are difficult for me to watch. I can do nothing. I feel helpless.
“Because going to the police with this evidence would put my own safety at risk. Although it may sound silly but it is this feeling of hopelessness which is the fuel that keeps me motivated to continue the war I have chosen to fight in a country where one can be sentenced to death simply because of their sexual orientation.”
As the work of both The Kaleidoscope Trust and The Commonwealth Equality Network empowers LGBTQ activists across the world in the fight for change, the work is far from over until every LGBTQ person lives in safety and is free to be who they are.
“I believe in the collective power of the people for change towards fairness,” asserts Jide Macaulay, activist and minister based between Nigeria and Britain. “We live in times where all people, regardless of sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity, race or religion, should be able to live their lives in peace with security and assurance of legal protection. I want to see a shift in how society sees LGBTQ people!”