Edition #36
This week, we start in Gambia, where lawmakers have voted to uphold the ban on female genital mutilation. Next, we travel to Kenya, where many female fishmongers are turning to cage fish farming to avoid sexual exploitation by fishermen. Finally, we stop in India, where schools in Kerala are adopting gender-neutral curricula.
But first, in Kenya, Collins Khalusha, a suspected serial killer, has confessed to the murder of 42 women, though only nine bodies have been discovered so far.
In a surprising development, the bodies were found in a garbage dump just 100 meters from a police station, raising serious questions about the efficiency and effectiveness of the police officers handling the case.
The sad discovery was made when a family member of one of the missing women, Josephine Owino, claimed a dream guided her. With the help of some young men, they searched the dump and found nine mutilated bodies in nylon bags tied with ropes.
Khalusha was arrested in a bar in Soweto around 3 am while watching the Euro 2024 football finals. The police traced his whereabouts by geolocating the mobile phone of one of his alleged victims. During interrogation, Khalusa allegedly confessed to luring, killing and disposing of 42 women over two years. He led the police to his house, also 100m from the dump, where they discovered a machete, 12 nylon sacks, a pair of industrial gloves, ten phones, a laptop, identity cards and women’s clothing.
So far, one body has been identified as 24-year-old Roseline Ongogo, who went missing on June 28, 2024, while searching for casual work. The police also believe that Khalusa’s wife was his first victim.
This tragic situation has led to an outcry from women leaders, demanding more protection of Kenyan women from femicide and calling for the re-establishment of gender desks in police stations across the country.
Stories to read
Aljazeera
Gambia’s parliament upholds ban on female genital mutilation
LGBTQ Nation
One year later, Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ+ law is destroying families, lives, & future peace
From our site
“Farming is not a crime”: Kenya’s smallholder farmers are challenging a law preventing them from sharing Indigenous seeds
For 30 years, Peninah Ngahu, 58, has practised subsistence farming on her one-acre farm in Elementaita village, 175 km west of Kenya’s capital Nairobi. Ngahu, who practises organic farming, says that “accessing indigenous seeds was easy because farmers would share, sell, buy and exchange them freely.”
“A farmer who had a surplus of indigenous seeds would freely share out to those who lacked, and this ensured that every farmer had something to plant, and this guaranteed our food security,’’ Ngahu tells Minority Africa.
According to Ngahu, things changed when a new law regulating the distribution of indigenous seeds came into force.
“Currently, I cannot take my seeds and distribute them to farmers across the village because the law bars me,’’ she says. “[One] can only do that clandestinely. This has literally limited the smallholder farmers’ ability of producing food.’’ In 2012, Kenya’s parliament passed a law to set out regulations for the country’s production, processing, testing, certification and marketing of seeds. The Seeds and Plants Varieties Act also sought to impose restrictions on the introduction of new varieties, control seed importation and grant proprietary rights to persons breeding or discovering new varieties.
However, smallholder farmers in Kenya are currently engaged in a legal battle with the government pushing for the review of the regulation which has been in force for 12 years.
Women fishmongers in Kenya have had little choice in the widespread sex for fish culture. Until now
Emelda has been a fishmonger at Lake Victoria’s Dunga beach in Kisumu City, 165 miles west of Kenya’s Capital, Nairobi, for the last 27 years. The mother of five says her late brother, a fisherman, introduced her to the business.
“After clearing my high school, I was unable to join college, this led me into an early marriage as the only option. With the help of my brother, I ventured into fish trading to help my husband, who was a small-scale farmer,’’ Emelda tells Minority Africa.
Emelda started buying fish from fishermen and selling it for a profit. While she was able to make money, she quickly realised that fish stocks for female fishmongers, who rely on fishermen and boat owners for supply, were never guaranteed. And it’s for this reason that she decided to venture into cage fish farming.
“It is survival for the fittest and bravest. You can have money and go back home without fish. It is never easy for the faint-hearted,’’ Emelda narrates.
For decades, female fishmongers along the vast, expansive Lake Victoria beaches have fallen victim to the rampant sex for fish culture (locally referred to as jaboya in the Dholuo language) propagated by fishermen and boat owners who take advantage of desperation among women waiting for the fish. Now, many of these women fishmongers are turning to cage fish farming as an alternative.
Around the world
LGBTQ Nation
LGBTQ+ apps & online spaces are no longer safe for Ugandans
The landscape of LGBTQ rights in Africa has seen significant challenges and setbacks over the past years. For decades, LGBTQ+ communities across Africa have faced discrimination and violence, but the reintroduction of draconian anti-LGBTQ+ laws took their persecutions to another level.
An unsettling trend has emerged across various countries where stringent anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has not only curtailed rights but also increased the dangers of using social media and dating apps for the LGBTQ community.
In this digital age, the internet and social media serve as critical platforms for LGBTQ+ individuals to find a community, express themselves, and connect with others more safely. However, the pervasive anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and legislation significantly affect how these platforms are used; homophobes are infiltrating and saturating the digital spaces, transforming previously safe havens into high-risk zones.
Washington Blade
Report finds more Argentina businesses adopting LGBTQ-inclusive policies
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and LGBT+ Public Policy Institute of Argentina last week released their third annual report on the inclusion of LGBTQ people in the country’s workplaces.
The Global Workplace Equity Program: Equidad AR evaluates major Argentine and multinational companies and policies for their LGBTQ employees.
The total number of participating companies in this year’s survey increased from 76 to 82, which reflects a growing commitment to creating LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices in Argentine workplaces. The report also notes 224,649 queer employees, which is a 120 percent increase over last year.
The HRC Foundation’s AR Equity Program is based on the HRC Corporate Equity Index, the leading survey that assesses LGBTQ workplace in the U.S. Companies that lead the way in LGBTQ inclusion and equity earn the HRC Foundation’s “Best Places to Work LGBT+ 2024” designation.
Washington Blade
Burkina Faso moves to criminalize homosexuality
Burkina Faso has become the latest African country to move to criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations.
Justice Minister Edasso Bayala on July 10 after a Cabinet meeting said same-sex sexual acts and similar practices would now be prohibited and seen as a violation of the law. Unlike other countries where lawmakers have to introduce and pass bills, this scenario will likely not be the case in Burkina Faso because the country is currently under military role. Captain Ibrahim Traorè in 2022 led a coup that removed President Roch Kaboré and Prime Minister Lassina Zerbo.
Although some have signaled there still needs to be a parliamentary vote, there will be “legal” ramifications for those who are found to be LGBTQ or advocating for the community.
Consensual same-sex sexual relations or identifying as LGBTQ were regarded as legal in Burkina Faso before the July 10 announcement. Same-sex marriages were — and remain — illegal.
Stories we’ve enjoyed reading
Washington Blade
Schools in India’s Kerala state adopt gender-neutral curricula
When schools in India’s Kerala state reopened on June 3 after a long summer break, students walked into classrooms with the usual excitement. This year, however, they were greeted with a surprising and groundbreaking change. The textbooks they received were unlike any they had seen before — filled with gender-neutral images and instructions.
The initiative, driven by the state’s commitment to fostering equality from a young age, aimed to break down traditional gender roles and promote inclusivity. Students found pictures of boys and girls engaging in various activities without gender-specific expectations.
One of the images showed the father grating coconut in the kitchen while his wife cooked food. Another picture showed the father cooking food for his daughter.
In an unprecedented move, some schools in Kerala have committed to gender neutrality beyond textbooks, introducing gender-neutral uniforms. This change marks a significant departure from the traditional Indian school uniform, where boys typically wear shirts and pants, and girls don skirts, often in different colors. Many schools in Kerala have introduced the same school uniform for all students including shirts and knee-length pant