Botswana: Judgement Day Looms for Botswana LGBT Group

13 November 2014
Human Rights Watch (Washington, DC)
press release

It's not illegal to be gay in Botswana, but sometimes it must feel like it. Just ask Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (LEGABIBO), a non-profit group that's been fighting for a decade to get official standing in the country, a battle that will come to a head over the next couple of weeks.

I started working for LEGABIBO in 2004. We needed funds, but I hit a wall every time we approached donors, because the organization was not registered with the Botswana Registrar of Societies - a necessary step to open a bank account and receive funds. From 2005 to 2012, LEGABIBO made a series of unsuccessful applications to register the organization. In October 2012 the Registrar of Societies denied LEGABIBO on the basis that the country's constitution 'does not recognize homosexuals'.

...

Tagged:
Copyright © 2014 Human Rights Watch. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.