An
asylum-seeking Ugandan lesbian now in the United
Kingdom is being told by a U.K. judge that she
will be sent back to Africa because "lesbians are not
homosexuals" and that only gay males in Uganda face
persecution.
Elizabeth Muhwezi
could face deportation to Uganda as soon as Sunday.
Muhwezi was set to be deported last week; however, human
rights organizations temporarily prevented it. The
judge also questioned Muhwezi's lesbian identity
because she is a mother.
While living in
Uganda, Muhwezi was kidnapped from her home shortly after
visiting an underground gay club, according to the British
gay rights organization OutRage! She was held for five
months at a "safe house," where she was raped and
beaten. Uganda is one of the most homophobic nations
in the world, according to OutRage!
"I am desperate,"
Muhwezi said in a statement. "I fled to the U.K.
hoping for protection. Now I am in a prison fearful that any
moment I will be sent back to Uganda. I am terrified
of what will happen to me."
"Elizabeth Must
Stay," a campaign fighting Muhwezi's deportation, is
rallying U.K. supporters to keep her in the United Kingdom.
(The Advocate)
