Ugandan Lesbian Kasha Nabagesera Honored [Autostraddle]

Last week Ugandan lesbian activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera was awarded the 2011 Martin Ennals Human Rights Defenders Award, second only to the Nobel Peace Prize in prestige and the premiere award in human rights work.

Nabagesera runs the organization Freedom and Roam Uganda established in 2003 to “lobby and press for the recognition of same sex relationships, especially lesbians in Uganda and thereby attain full equal rights and freedom in all aspects of life.” Working for gay rights and acceptance in a country where homosexuality is illegal and  on a continent where this is the case in nearly 40 countries is clearly commendable.

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Update: Uganda's Anti-Gay Bill [CNN]

Uganda's parliament adjourned Friday without acting on a bill that would have made engaging in homosexual acts a capital offense, leaving the future of the widely condemned bill uncertain.

Though parliament's mandate ends May 18, next week has been reserved for the swearing in of new members. Friday's lack of action on the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill means that the issue will not be discussed this session.

The bill has been condemned internationally since October 2009, when it was introduced.

In addition to proposing the death penalty for certain gay acts, it proposed requiring anyone aware of violations of the bill to report them to the authorities within a day or face criminal sanction, said Human Rights Watch.

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