Queer Feminist Organizing in Ghana and Beyond: A Special Panel
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cover picture: Photograph by Stephen Tayo with graphic design by Wear Your Voice Mag
Our panel on queer feminist organizing in Ghana and beyond took place on April 6th 2021. This event was put together by Dr Wunpini Fatimata Mohammed and Dr Girish Daswani and featured Nana Yaa Agyepong, Fatima B. Derby, El-Farouk Khaki, and Zeeyyah Mudasir. It was made possible through the co-sponsorship of Silent Majority Ghana, Everyday Orientalism and Africa Proactive.
Abstract
This transnational panel expands on the issues that LGBTQ people face in Ghana, as immigrants and refugees, and within religious settings. The panelists bring their unique perspectives as feminist organizers, legal experts, and cultural critics to address how governmental and religious structures impede progress for LGBTQ peoples. The discussion will also offer collective strategies that panelists have found effective for challenging systems of inequality.
Participants
Dr Anima Adjepong (pronouns: they/them) is a sociologist, critical race, gender, and sexualities scholar. They primarily focus on Ghanaian cultural politics and social justice efforts across the African diaspora. Their book Afropolitan Projects: Redefining Blackness, Sexualities, and Culture from Houston to Accra is forthcoming from University of North Carolina Press.
Panelists
Zeeyyah Mudasir (pronouns: they/them) is a non-binary software engineer whose interest lies in societal computing. They are passionate about anarcho-communism and LGBT rights advocacy in Ghana.
Nana Yaa Agyepong (pronouns: she/her) is a Ghanaian feminist woman imagining a collective right to joy. She was born and raised in Ghana and lives in Accra, where she works as a Communications and Gender practitioner in Agriculture and Rural Development. Nana Yaa loves travel and her cat Winston.
Fatima B. Derby (pronouns: she/her; they/them) is a queer feminist writer and organizer based in Accra. She manages and writes for the blog, Adventures From the Bedrooms of African Women. She is a co-organizer of the Young Feminist Collective in Accra and a co-founding member of The Gathering, a space for LBQT women and non-binary people.
El-Farouk Khaki (pronouns: he/him) is a human rights and social justice advocate, and refugee lawyer. He is founder of Salaam: Queer Muslim Community (1991); and co-founder & imam of el-Tawhid Juma Circle (2009). El-Farouk spearheaded the presentation SOGIEG (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity/Expression & Gender) and HIV status based refugee claims. A public and media speaker on issues including Islam, LGBTIQ and human rights, refugees, race, politics and HIV, he has served in diverse capacities in groups and boards including Africans in Partnership against AIDS, The 519, & the Canadian Ethnocultural Council. El-Farouk is co-owner of the Glad Day Bookshop.
Further readings and resources
Anima Adjepong 2021. "The institutionalized repression of queer and transgender rights in Ghana", We Are Your Voice Mag.
Canadian Race Relations Foundation. 2020. “Accidental Activist: El-Farouk Khaki.” Directed and Produced by Jinung Chung.
Fatima B. Derby, Rita Nketiah, Golda Gatsey, and Sheila Adufutse 2020. "Queer feminists organizing offline in Ghana", Africa Is a Country.
Kwame Edwin Otu. 2019. “Skewing Sexuality”, Africa is a Country.
Matthew Blaise 2021. "Ghana's LGBTQ+ community in under attack – Here's how to help", Dazed Digital.
Nazia Parveen and Emmanuel Akinwotu 2021. "Idris Elba and Naomi Campbell sign letter backing gay rights in Ghana", The Guardian.
Shakia Asamoah 2021. “Ghana: Church, State and Media vs. LGBT+ Rights”, African Arguments.
Silent Majority Ghana 2021. "Government, media, and religious homophobia in Ghana", Ghanaweb.