Queer Nigerians gathered in their numbers at the country’s capital Abuja on May 1st 2022 protesting the amendment to the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (“SSMPA”) seeking to criminalize crossdressing and the overall scapegoating of queer citizens that began in the early 2000s.
The protest was the first mass demonstration since the October 2020 #EndSars protests that left a lot of Nigerians injured and led to the death of many.
“I was infuriated when I heard the news about the proposed amendment to the SSMPA. I called my friends and talked to them about the possibility of organising a protest. We have become so used to hiding and running and the lawmakers keep coming up with new laws to make our lives uncomfortable. I felt like I had had enough so I started a whatsapp group with other activists and we did most of the organising online,” says Chizoba Okosa, a trans woman and activist, who coordinated the protest.
“We also reached out to some queer organizations for support and that was how the Queer Union for Economic and Social Transformation (“Quest”) got involved, providing the funds needed for the protest. She adds.
The motivation to join the protest was different for different people but the message was clear; enough is enough.
“As a minority, we are already going through a lot of marginalizition, discrimination and stigmatization by the Nigerian society. I am living my truth now and it has not been an easy journey, but I want it to be easier for the queer and trans kids growing up in Nigeria now. I want them to see that we did something to make their lives better.” Says Empress Cookie, a trans woman and one of the coordinators of the protest.
While the bill does not expressly mention trans folks, its provisions are ambiguous enough to affect trans people and they might be the real target of the bill.
“Nigerians are yet to understand gender as a social construct or what it means to be trans or even nonbinary. Trans persons who validate their identity through clothes will automatically be assumed to be crossdressers if they do not wear the clothes normalised for the gender they were assumed to be at birth,” says Agim Geejay, a trans man who was on the planning committee for the protest.
Chants of “When you hurt one of us, you hurt all of us,” – a call for everyone to stand in solidarity with trans folks and recognize their liberation as important as the liberation of other members of the queer community were heard at the protest. According to Okosa, “Seeing other queer folks encourage us and join us in this fight gave us the morale to go on.”
A major concern during the protest was the safety of the protesters. Even though it was a peaceful protest, the Nigerian government had proven during the #Endsars protests that they would not hesitate to kill unarmed protesters.
“There were a lot of safety and security concerns when we were planning the protest. We considered bringing in the police but we already faced so much brutalization from them so we did not think they could guarantee our safety. But eventually we had to involve them, so there was a police presence during the protest. We told the police we were protesting a discriminatory bill that failed to focus on the real issues of insecurity in the country without being clear on who we were or what our agenda was.” Okosa says. “We also considered queer folks who were closeted and how to protect their safety and identity and that was how the idea to use masks during the protest came about.” She adds.
The protest itself was a mixture of emotions. People angry at the government for the blatant disregard of queer lives but at the same time happy that for the first time they get to voice out their dissent. There was hope of something better.
“Nigeria never listens to its citizens but I am hopeful that this protest is seen by many and motivates them to join this fight. The bill affects us all whether you are queer or not. If you let the government take away our rights today, tomorrow they will come for yours.” Geejay says.
“I know change is coming, I can feel it. We won’t relax or stop at protesting now. We would continue to speak strongly for the demand of our rights and liberation.” says Okosa and I stand with her and every queer person marching for their right to be respected.
