Join Dr Frank Mugisha of Sexual Minorities Uganda, Doctor of the University at University of Glasgow, for a webinar ‘Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill’, discussing the Uganda LGBTIQ+ Movement’s Resistance and International Solidarity – with Chair/Discussant Matthew Waites (Reader in Sociology, University of Glasgow). Hosted by University of Glasgow College of Social Sciences, via Zoom at 2pm on Thursday 25th May.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill passed by Uganda’s parliament during 2023 represents a renewed attack on the human rights of LGBTIQ+ people, though still requiring President Museveni’s signature to become law. The Bill would not only increase penalties for ‘homosexual’ acts but also criminalise ‘promotion of homosexuality’ with potential imprisonment up to 20 years. As a leader in Uganda’s LGBTIQ+ movement since before the first Anti-Homosexuality Act (2014)(since repealed), Dr. Frank Mugisha will give a presentation in this webinar discussing the current situation regarding the new Anti-Homosexuality Bill within wider Ugandan and international contexts, including comment on international solidarity strategies. The presentation will be followed by discussion with Dr. Matthew Waites (University of Glasgow); and then by an opportunity for online participants to ask questions to Dr. Mugisha.

Speaker:

Dr. Frank Mugisha (DUniv) has provided leadership in the LGBTIQ+ movement of Uganda, as Executive Director of the coalition Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), and of SMUG-International. Dr. Mugisha is a recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and the Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize. In recognition of work for human rights, in 2015 he was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University by the University of Glasgow.

Chair/Discussant:

Dr Matthew Waites is Reader in Sociology within the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow, and an Associate Director of Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (CRFR). He co-edited (with Corinne Lennox) the open access volume Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Commonwealth: Struggles for Decriminalisation and Change (London: School of Advanced Study, 2013), analysing British colonial legacies of criminalisation and contexts including Uganda. Publications focus on global queer politics and the political sociology of LGBTIQ+ movements, including in Africa; for example recent articles in Current Sociology, International Sociology and the Journal of Genocide Research.