Proposal

Research Topic: Production and Reproduction of Inequalities: Elimination of Homosexual

Liberties in Uganda

Take note of the following and see how you can incorporate this into your proposal.

The Ugandan political establishment manipulates culture in order to criminalize

homosexuality and victimize gay and lesbian people.

The question of citizenship and belonging for those who identify as gay becomes prominent
at the outset of this discriminatory legislation.

Exclusion and suppression of homosexual liberties erode the pluralities of being.

In Uganda, the state abuses and enforces its monopoly on violence to eliminate the gay
community, necessitating research into how human rights and homosexual rights activists
navigate this rugged terrain in seeking equal existence.

It is vital to do an ethnographic study on the everyday search for existence for the LGBTI
community and human rights activists who are organizing to retain their rights in a shrinking
space.

Through my research, I intend to use a human rights-based approach to better understand the
complicated and dynamic circumstances of Uganda's gay communities, which are targeted by
both society and state-sponsored hatred, eroding their right to exist.

The government's response to homosexual communities echoes Uganda's everyday state-

making, which is monolithic and authoritarian in character.

Also, add a statement of how the state is mobilising all societal institutions like churches to
advance the date against the homosexual community. ------- so there are not only facing
political pressure/suppression but also a socio-cultural elimination.

Lastly, look for at least two books (international ) that talk about the gay communities in
Africa just to add on the references and your citations.
Abstract

Recently, the Ugandan Parliament passed the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Bill, a law that
criminalizes consensual sexual activity between adults of the same sex. During the debate in
the Parliament, MPs passed to impose life imprisonment punishment for same-sex conduct,
10 years for attempted same-sex conduct and the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality.
It also criminalizes the promotion of homosexuality, a provision that encourages
homophobia. The deeply repressive legislation will institutionalize discrimination, hatred,
and prejudice against LGBTI people, including those who are perceived to be LGBTI and
block the legitimate work of civil society, public health professionals, and community
leaders. This research will examine the extent to which this proposed law will curtail human
rights observance in Uganda and whether it represents the weaponization of the law by
Ugandan institutions to arrest the freedom of people identifying as LGBTQI. The research
will play a positive role in encouraging human rights campaigners in Uganda, raising the
salience of LGBTQI rights in the country and advocating for the inclusion of sexual
minorities in designing policies and laws that affects the people of Uganda.

Context

The unwillingness to accept same-sex conduct or homosexuality stems from profound

prejudice and is considered to be un-African. In a study by Nyoni (2020), discriminatory laws
against LGBTQI people in Sub-Saharan Africa contributed to persecutory environments and
provided society with justification for hatred and violence against LGBTQI people. Mbaru et
al (2018) in their study they examined the challenges encountered by Africans, specifically in
Uganda with different sexual orientations and how this affected the rights-based order. These
studies form a foundation for this study. However, recent studies are not clear on how the
criminalization of LGBTQI communities is a human rights problem in Africa. This study
challenges this confinement by looking at how several Human rights statutes are being
violated through the weaponization of the law against LGBTQI people. The study also goes
further to proffer advocacy strategies to activists and LGBTQI people in Uganda on how to
internationalize their advocacy efforts and raise salience on the sexuality authoritarianism
unfolding in Uganda.

Research questions

1. To what extent does the criminalization of LGBTQI in Uganda a threat to human

rights?

2. What implications does the bill pose to the LGBTQI communities in Sub-Saharan
Africa?

3. What strategies can be used by human rights groups and civic society to defend the
LGBTQI community in Uganda

Research methods

Unlike its predecessors, the research envisages using a hybrid methodology to gain a
comprehensive understanding of the human rights situation in Uganda in the face of the
draconian LGBTQI and anti-gay Bill. To provide empirical answers to the study, the main
research questions will directly demand the respondents' perspectives on the implications that
the anti-gay Bill on human rights in Uganda. The research will collect data through
interviews, and primary and secondary sources, given the opportunity of a field-based study
and to better understand the obtaining situation on the ground.

Significance

The study is a significant undertaking in Africa, given the increased risk of LGBTQI people
in Uganda as a result of lawfare against their activities. A rights-based order is an important
aspect of human rights observance and given the anti-gay Bill in Uganda, the human rights
situation needs to be explored more through research development and knowledge production
to find ways to assist LGBTQI people and civic society in Uganda.

Bibliography

Nyoni, Z. (2020) The Struggle for Equality: LGBT Rights Activism in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Human Rights Law Review. ISSN 1461-7781
Maguire, S (2004). The human rights of sexual minorities in Africa. CA: California Western
International Journal

SOP

My academic and non-academic achievements justify my application for doctoral research at

the University of Stirling. I am academically talented and this explains why I was awarded a
First Class Degree on my bachelor's at Great Zimbabwe University, justifying my capacity to
deliver independent research and contribute to knowledge production and development. Due
to my passion to study more on human wellness and equality, I enrolled on the Master of
Science Social Work in China and my thesis looked at psycho-social challenges faced by
female paternal orphans in Zimbabwe. This allowed me to carry out independent research
using qualitative research methodology and aligned research tools and data collection
instruments and software such as Raven’s eye, Qiqqa, Nvivo and many others. This is
indicative of my suitability for doctoral research.

Realizing the importance of the LGBTQI community and how African countries are lagging
in terms of allowing such rights to be part of societal inclusion, I participated in MyAge
Zimbabwe Trust, a non-governmental organization advocating for the rights of LGBTQI,
gender equality and sexual health reproduction. In addition, I was trained by the Young Africa
Leaders Initiative (YALI) at the Southern Africa Regional Leadership Centre and was
awarded a Certificate in Civic Leadership. This was due to my contribution towards advocacy
efforts for the recognition and inclusion of the LGBTQI communities as part of an inclusive
society that promotes human rights and equality. Thus, my participation in the South African
civic leadership space gave me the power to influence change of policy in terms of the
recognition of the LGBTQI communities in Zimbabwe. This also positions me to take a
leading role in research development and knowledge production at the doctoral level, to try
and advocate for policy change in several African countries in terms of recognizing the
existence of LGBQTI communities and their democratic rights to choose whom they want to
be.

The recent Homosexuality Bill in Uganda has motivated me to take part in doctoral research
in this cluster, to try and research more in terms of the implications of criminalising LGBTQI
activities on human rights and equality in Uganda. The bill is a threat to human rights and this
is why I find it suitable for me to be admitted into this doctoral research program, and
participate in research because it represents something that I have always advocated for in
Zimbabwe. My experience in dealing with LGBTQI communities and advancing their rights
in Zimbabwe makes me suitable to carry out independent doctoral research in this cluster. I
plan to do field research in Uganda in response to Bill's criminalization of homosexuality,
which will allow me to contribute to knowledge production and advise policy based on my
findings.

My current study at SOAS University of London, MA International Studies and Diplomacy

has also exposed my knowledge and skills of advocacy. I studied the United Nations course,
and this exposed me to statutory human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. The criminalization of the LGBTQI communities in Uganda is against the
UDHR and given my knowledge of human rights issues, I am suitable to enrol for doctoral
research given my vast academic experience, civic society participation and training. I,
therefore, have a strong conviction that my academic and non-academic achievements make
me a suitable candidate to study and interrogate gender issues especially LGBTQI rights and
their exclusion in society and criminalization in Uganda and several other African countries.
Finally, my studies at SOAS have introduced me to a variety of human rights concerns, such
as lobbying for transgender rights in Europe. I have engaged in the Unfinished Business-
Voices of the LGBTQI +Revolution campaigns at SOAS and I feel my participation with the
LGBTQI is as vital for this cluster.