Ivory Coast: a festival to fight violence against LGBTQI + people
Audio 01:22
The Awawale 2021 festival “Living together in diversity” organized by the NGO Gromo and dedicated to the LGBTQI fight (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Shemales, Queers, Intersexuals), was held on May 15, 2021, in Abidjan, in Côte ivory.
© François Hume-Ferkatadji / RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
In Côte d'Ivoire, the NGO Gromo organized its first festival dedicated to the LGBTQI + fight (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transexuals, Queers, Intersexuals).
Debates, concerts, exchanges… the Awawale 2021 festival “Living together in diversity” was held on Saturday May 15 at the Cultural Factory in Abidjan.
The event aims to fight against prejudices and violence against homosexual and transgender people.
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With our correspondent in Abidjan,
François Hume-Ferkatadji
Should we assume our sexual identity and how to achieve it?
For two hours, the participants discussed the difficulties or the successes of their march towards self-acceptance.
For Dorgeles, a homosexual who hides his orientation from those close to him, the best way to live is through financial empowerment:
"For me, assuming identity is first of all to do a job, to have a house ... There, you come home and you don't have the noise in your ear saying that you are queer .
"
Among the participants, others believe they have succeeded in this path.
The one we nickname “the general” claims to have no problem in his Yopougon neighborhood where he runs a gay friendly bar: “
I do that very well and therefore I am respected.
When we see you, already, if you are chic, if you are well dressed, if you are well dressed and you say that you are homosexual, they are not going to do anything to you.
But when we see you, if you do not give the impression that you are someone who knows what he wants in life, necessarily, if it looks like you are homosexual, they will blame you
r
"
souligneSeri Nely .
There are many obstacles for transsexuals.
In addition to the prejudices of conservative society, administrative problems are recurrent.
“
To take a house, I need identity papers to have a contract.
Even to work, I need identity papers that correspond to what I present, physically.
And so, the problem of trans people is really a problem that goes beyond health, but this issue is not yet sufficiently understood,
”says Orneill Latiyah, trans activist.
The organizers said they were satisfied with the holding of this festival which representatives of the
police
came to attend "
for a better understanding of the life of our compatriots
", said a police commissioner.
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Ivory Coast
LGBT +