For IDAHOT 2015 Lambda Mozambique, the Association for sexual Minorities, has prepared a Facebook contest in which they call upon individuals to show their support for the LGBT community.

The Facebook contest asked people to send a supportive message with #‎diferentesmasiguais‬ about respect, diversity, equality, inclusion and/or pride. The messages be posted on their Facebook page with the most LIKEs by May 16th will be the winner!

More details about additional events will be added soon.

Announcement before May 17:

The IDAHOT celebrations are continuing throughout the next weeks after May 17. Lambda Mozambique will have an photo exhibition at the American Cultural Center in Maputo, which is called “Pelos nossos Olhos” (Through our eyes). It show pictures of LGBT people from different cities in Mozambique that the people took themselves, showing a day in their lives, to let people know that LGBT Mozambicans live like common Mozambicans.

They will also host a big party on May 23rd at 10pm and then have a theatrical presentation, again at the cultural center, the 29th at 5pm followed by a debate. The play is titled “Onde estavas?” (Where were you) and it portrays “fragments” or scenes more or less dramatic, forming “torn pieces of numerous deformed mirrors”.

It represents scandalous violations of human rights focusing on homosexuality, predominating a realistic, poetic, grotesque and ambiguous picture, of small everyday violations, such as discrimination, contempt, indifference, hypocrisy and myopia. Hence the question: “Where were you?”

In Mozambique, the IDAHOT 2014 was marked by a television debate about discrimination, a university discussion around LGBT rights and legislation, and the publication of an official LGBT-affirmative statement in a Mozambican national newspaper (Jornal Savana). All organised by Lambda, other kinds of online communications were also released.

For the celebration of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in Mozambique, Lambda – Mozambique’s first and only formal organisation dedicated to defending the rights of sexual and gender minorities (since 2006) – organised various education and information activities, with the goal of changing negative perceptions about homosexuality and the LGBT community.

Banner for IDAHOT 2014 commemorations in Mozambique. Source: Lambda

As detailed by AMSHeR, ahead of the Day, these activities were:

• A television debate about the negative aspects of discrimination based on sexual orientation. A psychologist (Lenia Mapelane), sociologist (Santos Simione) and LGBT person (Jam Pedro) will attend the TV show, talk about the subject and discuss the implications of discrimination. This program is scheduled to go on air on the 16th on STV, a Mozambican national TV channel (on a show called “A tarde é sua”) at 4pm.

• A debate on an university, wherewith Lambda expects to create the opportunity for an academic discussion about how the LGBT rights are not recognized and respected in Mozambique and raise awareness about the negative impact of the lack of clear legislation that defends the LGBT citizens. This debate is scheduled for May 19, at 4pm, at CREISPU – Universidade Politécnica, Maputo. The invited speakers are dr. Dário de Sousa and dr. Egídio Canuma, with the participation of dr. Antonio Ndapassoa as the debate moderator. The debate is open to everyone that is interested.

• Publish an official declaration on a Mozambican national newspaper (Jornal Savana), about the celebration of the date on Friday, the 16th.

Lambda communications

Lambda released a newsletter around the Day with ‘an official declaration against homophobia’, and which documents some of the actions around the Day, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. You can read it here (in Portuguese).

On social media, Lambda also published this public note, via their facebook page, in recognition of the Day (in Portuguese).

For more information please see Lambda’s website, facebook page and twitter profile.