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from Julia: I can't imagine doing anything I have done in my life without community. It is truly what saved my life.

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from Rose:

60% of families in Uganda are in a situation of poverty and therefore cannot provide access to education for their children. This is especially true for girls. There are large numbers of girls forced into marriage, the number of unemployed women is increasing and high numbers of female school dropouts have been recorded.

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“Gender roles go with you everywhere”

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from Rose:

I I was raised in a family with 39 brothers and sisters, my father had 7 wives. As a child, I questioned many things, especially in reference to the gender roles we were assigned at birth. this directly affected our day to day life, for example, my brothers never had to wash a dish. I questioned many things, in relation to why things are the way they are.

One questioned, when will I be able to read books, when will I be able to have time for myself?

Gender stereotyping contributes to violence.

Growing up, I realized that my father was an abusive father. In Uganda - speaking from my own experience - it was difficult to confront situations of intra-family gender-based violence.

As a teenager, my discrimination started from the body "you are big, you are ugly, you are fat". So, I had a big challenge in learning to love my body.

Growing up, my mother told me that one day, being a mother, I would understand abuse. After my father's death, when asked why she accepted the abuse she replied that it was for our economic survival. I understood her answer, but it limited her body for decades. This clearly marked how I understand abuse nowadays.

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The most important historic factor is the conservative understanding of the Islamic religion .

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we are not done with the fight

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“Failure to not understanding gender as an spectrum but as a binary”

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I trace most of the roots of my discrimination in misogyny, disrespect to women and feminity and very strict descriptions of gender and expectations of people assigned women at birth

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We can't undo present injustices without understanding that our history as a community has a lot to do with the dynamics we are facing and fighting right now.

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From Julia: I was raised in a racist community, the influence of religion and Christianity was very strong. My dad family was very poor, my mother was an only child. When I came to be, I was the first child born in my family, I came out as a "tomboy". That gender orientation has defined me my entire life. My mother was not expecting to have a girl that rejected traditional feminity and fought to be able to do the activities boys do. I didn't feel dysphoric, I just was not allowed to be who I was.

My parents split up, and because my mother was a little bit more progressive I have the opportunity to leave in different parts of the state. My mother started dating a man of colour, and I saw the discrimination that came from my family because of that.

As puberty came, I had more and more difficulties accepting the changes of my body and, most of all, the expectations of the world towards me.  I was assaulted by a boy older than me when I was 11 for wearing blue jeans and a baseball t-shirt. I had a lot of struggles around my body during high school. As I was ageing I got some messages from my mother stating she didn't want me to be a lesbian. All of that became internalized for me, even though I did not become aware of my sexual orientation until college.

After leaving college, my first work was to work at an abortion clinic. I was an athlete, but because of the homophobia in my team, I quit my beloved sport. At that time, I was not even clear about my sexual orientation.

I realized I was not part of the norm of my world, and I did a lot of thinking about my place in the world. I went to Europe for a while, attempted to get connected with the LGTBI community in England. I came back to the US and found a strong LGTBI community, strong women with the same lived experiences as mine. I also found international gay games. In that space, I was able to advocate for trans rights in sports. I also started working in health access due to the HIV crisis.

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1. How have you personally (or your community) experienced bias, discrimination and violence based on gender identity or sexual orientation?

2.From your personal experience, what do you believe are the most important historic factors leading to such discrimination in your context?

3.What historic factors do you believe are specific to your context and which ones do you believe reflect a more ‘universal/shared experience’ of bias, discrimination and violence against Women/Girls and the LGBTI community?

4.Finally, how do you and your community face these barriers (personal strategies to face/adapt to these barriers)?

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WINAD - Women's Institute for Alternative Development

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WINAD - Women's Institute for Alternative Development

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Folade: our cultural systems have perpetuated, rather than eradicated, repression against women and the LGBTI population.

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Folade Mutota, Executive Director, Women's Institute for Alternative Development (WINAD) – Trinidad and Tobago

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Folade Mutota, Executive Director, Women's Institute for Alternative Development (WINAD) – Trinidad and Tobago

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Folade Mutota is one of the three founders, and current Executive Director of the Women’s Institute for Alternative Development (WINAD), which is headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago.

Established to advance the rights of women and girls, WINAD is a dynamic, thought leader women’s organisation with an unparalleled reputation for innovation and quality delivery in project management; stakeholder engagement; and social policy research.

The organisation’s inter-generational women’s leadership programme is providing Trinidad and Tobago with socially conscious young women committed to social justice in their personal and professional lives and currently two graduates of this programme serve on WINAD’s Board of Directors.

Folade is the recipient of the 2017 national award of the Medal for the Development of Women (Gold) from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.  Her grassroots feminism has taken her to international conferences, social policy roundtables, and expert panels worldwide analysing issues related to women’s rights, gender justice,  leadership, peace and security,  and participatory governance.

WINAD’s pioneering work on gender, peace and security in the Caribbean is recognised regionally and internationally due to its innovative approach to alliance building with CARICOM governments and NGOs for collaborative planning and action.

Folade brings her womanist perspective and advocacy skills developed over a lifetime of community engagement, social policy development, research, and leading change, to the global efforts to make the invisible, VISIBLE.

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Rose Kigere, Director, Women’s Rights Initiative (WORI) – Uganda

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Rose Kigere, Director, Women’s Rights Initiative (WORI) – Uganda

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Rose Kigere, Born on 16th March. Mother of two wonderful daughters, Feminist, human rights activist, advocate for the rights of vulnerable girls and women. She is such an exceptional & inspirational leader.

She pursued a BA. (Hon) Human resource management at Busoga University and another  BA. (Hon) in Social work and Social Development at Fairland University.                                                                                                                                    Rose is the Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Rights Initiative (WORI)* an action-oriented organization working with women and youth in the Eastern Region of Uganda. Through programmes in human and women’s rights awareness, advocacy, and education. They promote leadership development, sexual and reproductive rights, and economic empowerment. She has 10 years’ experience of working with women and girls especially in uplifting them with leadership skills, economic empowerment and reproductive health and Rights Rose is passionate about ending violence against women and girls, loves flower gardening, swimming, dancing and having hearty laughter's with friends.

The Women’s Rights Initiative (WORI) mission is to protect the most vulnerable and those needing legal, medical and psychological support; to empower women and youth to advocate against violence through human rights education, awareness and advocacy, as well as to provide them with skills and information to strengthen their capacities and visibility in society. WORI envisions a society free from violence, which is a prerequisite to sustainable development.(www.woriuganda.org)

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Julia Applegate, Director, Equitas Health Institute - USA

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Julia Applegate, Director, Equitas Health Institute - USA

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Julia M. Applegate directs the Equitas Health Institute at Equitas Health where she leads LGBTQ+
health education, research and community engagement efforts to improve the health and wellness of
LGBTQ+ communities across Ohio and beyond. Prior to joining Equitas Health, Julia directed the
LGBTQ Health Initiative at Columbus Public Health.
Julia is experienced in curriculum design, education and public health programming/policy
development. She has worked in public health programs focused on women’s health, HIV/AIDS, and
LGBTQ+ Health. With over 20 years of academic teaching experience, Ms. Applegate is a skilled
trainer and experienced presenter who has designed curricula, conducted Train the Trainer programs
and presented at local, state, national and international conferences on public health, HIV/AIDS,
gender and sexual orientation topics. Her trainings have focused on questions of health equity,
diversity and inclusion-focusing primarily on marginalized and underserved communities. Ms.
Applegate has worked on numerous federal grants and is experienced in grant writing and
implementation. She has done policy and program development at the local, state and international
level as a government employee and as a member of a Board of Directors.