Petition demands Kenyan government stop discriminating against queer asylum seekers
This week, we start in Nigeria, where a media platform is helping fight sexual harassment in tertiary institutions. Next, we travel to Kenya, where there’s an ongoing petition to stop government discrimination against queer asylum seekers. Finally, we stop in Tanzania, where women turn to seaweed farming to earn extra income.
But first, in Tunisia, the UN is accusing the country’s authorities of severe human rights abuses against migrants. Security forces have been reported to use dangerous tactics, including the use of firearms, physical violence, and even capsizing boats to intercept migrants and asylum seekers at sea.
A recent UN report reveals that between January and July, 189 people, including children, died while crossing the Mediterranean Sea, while another 265 lost their lives during sea interception operations. The report also states that many migrants and asylum seekers, including pregnant women and children, are taken to desert areas near the borders of Algeria and Libya once they arrive in Tunisia. There, Tunisian border guards have reportedly shot at those trying to come back.
This continued mistreatment of migrants conflicts with the EU-Tunisia migration pact signed in July 2023, which provides Tunisia with $113 million in financial aid for border security. Many human rights organisations argue that the EU is complicit in these abuses by still recognising Tunisia as a safe country for migrants despite clear violations of their rights.
Despite the allegations and calls for an investigation by the EU, it’s still unclear whether the Tunisian authorities will cooperate. This lack of accountability raises severe concerns about the future of migrant rights in Tunisia and the EU’s role in allowing these ongoing violations.
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Petition demands Kenyan government stop discriminating against queer asylum seekers
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“Oga Lecturer”: The media platform combating sexual harassment in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions
Hajiya*, a student at Usmanu Danfodiyo University in Sokoto, decided to take a break from her late-night study session in one of the classes on campus. She stepped outside, found a secluded area, and sat on a long metal bench, chatting with a male friend at the other end. When they noticed a school security officer had seen them, Hajiya’s friend quickly left to avoid unwarranted insinuations. At their university, late-night interactions between men and women were often scrutinised due to its Islamic principles.
To Hajiya’s shock, the security officer approached her and accused her of having sex with her friend and demanded sexual favours in exchange for his silence.
“I engaged him in a mature way, but he insisted on taking me to the security office unless I did what he caught me doing with the guy. He didn’t see us doing anything [as] we were just talking as friends,” Hajiya recounted to Minority Africa.
“I have competition”: The realities of older sex workers in Kenya
Grace Nyarangi* decided to enter the sex work industry when she was just over 18 years old. In her early years, she managed to support her children, put food on the table, and provide for all their necessities solely through her earnings.
Despite facing significant backlash and stigma from her family and community upon learning about her choice of profession, Nyarangi remained resolute.
“After giving birth and being abandoned by my partner, I struggled to secure employment with no success,” she shares. “That’s when I turned to this line of work.”
However, as she grew older, her income from sex work began to decline. Nyarangi, who today also works at the Africa Sex Workers Alliance (ASWA) based in Kisumu, says that in Kenya, older sex workers are confronting two formidable challenges: technology and ageism.
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How Tigray war rape victims turned to Rwandan genocide survivors to heal
Women-to-women listening circles help heal trauma after brutal war left many with deep physical and psychological scars.
“I was angry all the time,” says Bezunesh, spinning wool in her small mud house in Bora, a remote district of deep valleys, sloping mountains and small terraced farms in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray.
It has been a few years since the mother of eight, whose real name we are not using to protect her privacy, suffered the worst attack of her life – and the trauma of what happened still haunts her.