LBQ TALENT SHOWCASE

This is a two-day event, organised to take place in March 2019, in Mombasa, Kenya. However, if we do not reach the optimum, we will cut it to one day event.

If the optimum target is reached:

First day: Volleyball and football competitions - Playing volleyball and football has been the main way of giving visibility to LBQ women in Kenya, mostly because given the discrimination they face, many choose to identify first as footballers.

First night: Film Screening - LBQ films will be shown at this event, such as ¿Do you know what a corrective rape is? which you can also find on this crowdfunding page.

Second day: talent show contest with music, dancing, poetry and open mic - This will build confidence among LBQ women who mostly don't get chances to express and showcase their talents due to stigma.

Short documentary: the LBQ Talent Showcase is going to be captured in a documentary as part of the DevReporter funding awarded to Casal Lambda. However, a small part of the costs of the documentary still needs to be fundraised.

If only the the minimum target is reached:

One day: Football competitions and talent show contest with music, dancing, poetry and open mic.

Same night: Film Screening - LBQ films will be shown at this event, such as ¿Do you know what a corrective rape is? which you can find on this crowdfunding page

The objective of this event is to provide a platform and build talent and confidence among LBQ women who have been criminalised and stigmatized for a long time in Kenya, where they can face jail sentences due to their sexual orientation. It is difficult to find spaces for LBQ women to meet safely. Finding a supportive community enables LBQ women to be able to meet up freely without discrimination and to be able to share their experiences without fear of being heard by people who are prejudiced against them. The Talent Show also enables them to find ways for this women to be seen without risks such as being harmed by the community because of who they are.

This is a very difficult situation that LBQ women face in Kenya and they need your support to continue fighting for their human rights. Including the LBQ Talent Showcase in a mini-documentary will help raise awareness of the risks this collective face, getting international attention to continue their fight.

Gerald, an LBQ activist from Kenya said:

"It is important for us to feel that we are not alone!"

It is of outmost importance to capture the magic of this event in a documentary to be able to raise awareness of the situation of LBQ women in Kenya and find international support to instigate change.

The LBQ Talent Showcase will bring together 5 organisations and 50 women in Kenya.

Rainbow Women of Kenya is the host organisation and the other organisations include KISLEB-Kisumu Lesbian, W -Womxn Working with Womxn, MWA-Minority Women in Action, and CWW -Coast Womxn for Womxn. Each organisation will invite 10 women to join the LBQ talent showcase. The organisations are all LBQ organisations fighting mostly for the legal and health rights of LBQ women in the three main cities of Kenya, Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa.

Last year, we held the first edition of the LBQ Talent Showcase. It was a very important moment for the collective. Some women came out for the first time. It is a place to feel safe and talented in a country where being homosexual puts your life and freedom at risk, especially if you are a woman.

The short documentary will be carried out by a group of organisations, journalists and professionals who have been selected by Dev Reporter to carry out this project. However, there is a small amount of money that still needs to be fundraised to make it happen. We thought it is a good idea to involve everyone who is interested in this kind of issues to support this cause and bring international attention to this issue.