Actor and LGBT+ rights campaigner Sir Ian McKellen launched the ‘Commonwealth Walk of Shame’ in London on Saturday 30 May, starting outside the Nigerian High Commission in London.
The walk protested against the criminalisation of LGBT+ people in 29 Commonwealth member states under colonial-era laws originally imposed by Britain.
Six Commonwealth countries have a maximum sentence of life in prison. In Uganda, Brunei and some northern Nigerian states, same-sex relations can carry the death penalty.
Many of those attending the protest were LGBT+ refugees who had fled persecution in Commonwealth nations.
The Peter Tatchell Foundation has highlighted that for 77 years, the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting has refused to recognise LGBT+ human rights, or even allow a discussion of the issue.
Campaigners say millions of LGBT+ people across the Commonwealth continue to face arrest, imprisonment, violence and discrimination solely because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The walk was organised by the Peter Tatchell Foundation alongside Out and Proud Africa LGBTI, Let Voice be Heard Bangladesh, Gay Indian Network GIN and the African Equality Foundation.
The ‘Commonwealth Walk of Shame’ began with a speech by Ian McKellen, the actor who is famous for playing Gandalf in the The Lord of the Rings films.
“No one should face prison, violence or death simply for being themselves and loving another person. Yet across most of the Commonwealth, LGBT+ people are still treated as criminals,” McKellen said.
“Many of these laws are relics of the British Empire. The least we in Britain can do is stand in solidarity with those fighting to overturn criminalisation. I am proud to support this march and the brave activists leading the struggle for LGBT+ equality.”
Sir Ian sent off the marchers to protest outside eight Commonwealth High Commissions that criminalise LGBT+ people: Nigeria, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana, Jamaica, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Campaigners said the protest aimed to challenge the contradiction between the Commonwealth’s stated commitments to democracy, equality and human rights, and the continued criminalisation of LGBT+ people in a majority of member states.
Veteran LGBTIQA+ rights campaigner Peter Tatchell urged the newly appointed Secretary-General of the Commonwealth to take action.
“For decades, Commonwealth leaders have failed to end the persecution of LGBT+ people. We urge the new Commonwealth Secretary-General, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey of Ghana, to begin her tenure by making clear that anti-LGBT+ victimisation is incompatible with Commonwealth values.
“Twenty-nine Commonwealth countries still criminalise homosexuality, mostly under British colonial-era laws, in direct violation of the Commonwealth Charter’s commitment to equality and non-discrimination. Across the Commonwealth, millions of LGBT+ people continue to face arrest, imprisonment, violence and discrimination in employment, housing, education and healthcare,” Tatchell said.
Deborah Birunji Nabisere of Out and Proud Africa LGBTI has first-hand experience of the effects of homophobic laws. As a lesbian, she had to flee Uganda due to persecution.
“I know what it means to live under laws designed to erase your humanity. We are marching because silence has protected persecution for far too long. Commonwealth leaders cannot celebrate unity while millions of LGBT+ citizens live in fear,” she said.
“For many LGBT+ people across Africa and the Commonwealth, these laws are not abstract. They shape every part of daily life: whether you can speak openly, whether you can find work, whether you are safe walking home.”
