It’s been a great week for gay rights around the world. This weekend Uganda hosted its first ever gay pride rally, just a few weeks after the constitutional court overturned a law that saw homosexuals facing life imprisonment, and encouraged Ugandans to denounce gay people to the authorities.
Though homosexuality remains illegal in Uganda, activists came together at the invitation-only “Uganda Pride” event on the shores of Lake Victoria, with some wearing masks to hide their identities. Organiser Sandra Ntebi, described it as a “happy day for all of us, getting together,” after many of her associates had gone to ground before the bill was repealed.
#Uganda gay pride march, following last week's nullification of Anti-Homosexuality Act #AHA. Masks to hide identities pic.twitter.com/ewcME2etaL
— Malcolm Webb (@MalcolmWebb) August 9, 2014
In Nepal today, hundreds of the LGBT community took to the streets of Kathmandu to celebrate Gaijatra, a Hindu festival to remember the dead. In the socially-conservative country, the festival was traditionally the only day people felt free to cross-dress, according to the Associated Press. But things are changing, and activists are hopeful that same sex-marriages will soon be enshrined in the constitution, a notion backed by all major political parties.
Both events contribute to packed programme of gay pride events across the world in 2014, from Rio to Reykjavik, Curacao to Cape Town.
Have you celebrated gay pride this year? Whether you were in Uganda, Nepal, or somewhere else around the world, we’d love to see your photos. Share them with us on GuardianWitness and tell us a bit more about the event and why you went. If you’re planning to attend later this year, or have been part of an organising committee, we’d love to hear about that too.
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