“It is to put the fact that LGBT+ persons exist in Lagos.”
“(It) was birthed from the need for there to be Pride,” said the event organiser Olaide Kayode Timileyin. Nigerian LGBTQ+ events have been growing in number and size in recent years, although they remain behind closed doors due to safety and legal concerns.Ĭelebrations this year are centred around the week-long Pride in Lagos event which will include art exhibitions, a drag contest and a ball. Gay sex is illegal in more than half of African countries, according to global LGBTQ+ rights tracker Equaldex, although Gabon, Kenya, and Botswana have all decriminalised same-sex relations in recent years.īut despite the risks, activists are pushing to express themselves and demand change this June, a month which is marked around the world with LGBTQ+ Pride rallies and parties.
In 2014, the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act was signed into law, which bars not only gay relationships but also any public sign of same-sex affection or membership of LGBTQ+ groups, with punishments of up to 14 years in prison. “It is when I can actually sit and celebrate.” Nigeria is a deeply religious country, where many reject homosexuality as a corrupting Western import.
