Description
In this episode, we talk with Nazima Raghubir, who shares about the Guyana Together human rights campaign and discusses the current human rights situation for LGBTQ people in Guyana. You can learn more about the campaign by following their socials @GuyanaTogether
Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
Transcription
Making Rainbow Waves, a podcast by Ilga World. Welcome to another episode of Making Rainbow Waves. I'm Suelle Anglin, and I work on communications at Ilga World. In this episode, we are talking to Nazima, who leads the communication engagement with the Guyana Together campaign by SASOD. SASOD, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination, is a human rights organization and movement leading change to end discrimination based on sexuality and gender in Ghana. Welcome, and thanks for joining us, Nazima.
Thank you so much for having me, Suelle.
I am so excited to talk to you today, one, because we're in the region and I love hearing stories about what happens in the Caribbean region. And two, I'm so excited to hear more about the Ghana Together campaign. But before we get into the excitement, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and who you started in your advocacy journey?
Thank you so much. So I am a journalist. I am based in Guyana. I started my career in television. and I've worked in magazine, which is print, I've done online. Most of you, you know, anybody listening would say that as multimedia. And I'm a freelancer today. I'm also a consultant. And I got involved in the Guyana Together campaign last year. And, you know, it's so interesting because I've been asked this question before, you know, as a journalist, what are you doing in advocacy? I see a role for myself in advocacy and that is why I got involved in the Diana Together campaign. It's something I absolutely believe in and I wanted to be able to lend my face and my voice and my expertise to something that I feel is grounded in human rights and that is very important. Awesome.
And so I know a lot has happened in Guyana over the last couple of years. Can you kind of give us just like a general feel of what the atmosphere is like for LGBT people living in Guyana at the moment?
There is absolutely more visibility and there are a lot more conversations that are happening surrounding issues, both positive and negative, affecting the community. And, you know, it bodes well for the types of conversation that needs to be had regionally about LGBTQ rights. But. There is a lot that is also being unsaid at the moment. A lot of things are not spoken about. And a lot of that is also rooted in the legislation that a lot of our countries have and how those affects the very basic of rights for members of the community. The atmosphere here may not be as aggressive as in other countries. And there is a general acceptance, but there are still things that affect people like access to jobs, you know, access to health care in some instances, and obviously discrimination sometimes by the police because a lot of, I mean, when I say a lot, it's relative. Because of the issues with access to jobs, many of our members turn to sex work. And when they do that, the police, for instance, can discriminate against them. And there's a whole cycle of abuse that happens there. When I say visibility, I mean, like there is a lot more that we can see from where we are. There is a lot more. The person's been able to be themselves on the streets. There are more conversations happening around LGBTQ issues. And I'm saying this because of my involvement in the Guyana Together campaign, also what I've been seeing on social media, my own conversations that have been happening with people. And for me, that is an important indication. that we are prepared to have some conversation or prepared at least to talk about the community.
So awesome to hear Nazima. All right, so let's just jump into talking about the Ghana Together campaign. Can you tell us what led to the campaign and what exactly is the focus of the campaign?
So I'll talk first about the campaign. So Guyana Together campaign is a grassroots effort to really increase acceptance levels among Guyanese and reduce the level of stigma and prejudice for the LGBTQ community. And the campaign really focuses on sharing the stories of persons within the community who have found acceptance and support from family, co-workers, neighbors, friends, and even religious leaders. you know, among those persons that provide support. For us, and we have launched two videos to date, it's really about the support system and hearing from those people who have provided support over the years. So our first video is actually with Crystal and Sebi. Crystal is a lesbian. She is a contributing member of society. She works in the oil and gas industry. She actually works offshore. And Sebi is sort of like her adoptive mother. Crystal had lost her mother at a very young age. And Sebi stepped in. She is a social worker. That is her job. But she also has this unique connection with Crystal. And that is something we wanted to highlight because there are many other persons out there who have similar stories and similar relationships of acceptance and love. And we really wanted to highlight that sort of story and say, look, this is already happening in your life, and you're already showing support, you're already showing acceptance. And, you know, it's okay to be able to do that more publicly or talk about it. So that was our first video. Our second video was with Nash, a designer in Guyana, and his friend Crystal, who is a social media influencer, a businesswoman, and a model. And that also was able to bring out the same messages of love and support. Here is this mother of one supporting her friend who is gay. She really doesn't care about those things at the end of the day. This is her friend. So that is like the core messages that we've been able to use or to put out there. The idea is really to start this type of nationwide conversation on how we can help each other to make a change in terms of promoting acceptance and promoting support. I feel these things are already happening, you know. behind, well, I don't want to say behind closed doors, but they're already happening in some way or the other. And, you know, why not put a spotlight on them and, you know, help to promote a very genuine, organic conversation to be had. And it's interesting, I'm going to answer your first question now. When... It was in 2013 when there was a survey that was done by the Caribbean Development Research Services, CADREs, and it was a national poll, and the national poll had found that there was a 28.5% increase in support for LGBT people from the community. And that, by the way, we really noticed that acceptance level had risen and there was more tolerance than we had previously seen. Of course, there could be a number of contributing factors to this. Um... It could be that there was more discussions happening in the family years. They were seeing campaigns that were happening internationally. People were traveling more and more exposed to different norms and culture and changing tides. And also, obviously, the internet, social media were bringing real stories about members of the community. and acceptance and love and so many other things. So I think that was also a very crucial endpoint for us with this campaign to really ride that wave and say no.
this is the right time to have this conversation. And how can we contribute to that conversation? And we thought it best is you find real people, real voices. They're not being paid in any way. They are willing to tell their stories and willing to show their love in a very public way. And the launch has been very public. Since the launch, the videos have had airtime. They're played on prime television in prime television spots, for instance, news spots. And for us, that is like a core audience because there's a certain age group that sit and look at the news at 6.30 or 7.30. And we're also riding the wave on the Internet. So we are on TikTok. We're on Facebook, Instagram. Instagram. Twitter, well, X, formerly known as Twitter. And we have our website. And I think, you know, it's interesting because you see the instant reactions on those platforms. And they've all been very warm and welcoming, minus the few Bible verses that we get from time to time, which is expected.
It's so exciting and I'm so happy. I always love to hear stories, especially when it comes to human rights campaign. I always love hearing when people incorporate stories of, you know, families and friends and allies, because I think allyship plays such an important role in moving the movement forward overall. So I'm excited to know if people want to engage with the campaign, people want to know more about Sassad. where can we find you on social media? And if we want to engage, how can we do that?
The website is guyanatogether.gy. And on Facebook, it's Guyana Together. On Instagram, it's Guyana Together. On TikTok, it's Guyana Together. And likewise with X.
So I know you talked a little bit about the role of allyship and partnership in the Ghana Together campaign. But if you could expand a little bit more, can you tell us how do you think the stories of allies will really impact societal and behavioral change in Ghana? And if you have any specific examples that you can share with us, that would also be great.
You know, it's interesting because at our launch, we did have a religious leader. given remarks at our launch. We also had somebody within civil society. On our list of partners, we have the Guyana Press Association, of which I'm a part of, the Black Entrepreneurs Association, which is a vibrant body of Black entrepreneurs in Guyana. And we have a list of endorsers, and they range from private businesses to organizations to civil society bodies and persons who had no hesitation or organizations that had no hesitation. to getting on the campaign or endorsing the campaign. We also have as a partner, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, which also is a very reputable body with members being from the business society. So that for us was a good indication of the types of visibility that is there, but also the type of support and people actually wanting to be part of something that is progressive. When we had a session And in January, with the Rotary Club of Georgetown, we did have young business leaders along with the mature business leaders coming out to that lunch meeting for our presentation. And that presentation was delivered by a female businesswoman in Guyana who spoke of the need for inclusivity in the workplace and as an indication of the type of support that is there. Thank you. You know, like the type of organic support that we're seeing, that is always going to be tested when legislation or talks about legislative changes come up. And I'm a little bit confident that we live in a progressive society where people are going to say, You know, let us consider having this as something that we can discuss openly. And I am willing to put my name and my voice and my organization to a cause to ask you to repeal whatever discriminatory laws there are. I feel that is the road the Guyanese are going to go down. when you see the levels of support that you're getting. Because, as I said, we are being a little bit more observant to the things that are happening around us. And we are on that trajectory of recognizing what is human rights and what isn't, and what is a violation. And I think the endorsements and the partnerships that we've seen so far speak to the support that is necessary. Even as I say all of this, we have not engaged any politicians. We have not engaged the government. We have not engaged parliament, the opposition parliamentarians. We wanted to keep this very politics-free for now because we wanted to promote... and also show the fact that it's so much organic support that is out there. And that is what we needed to highlight. And I think that is very important for us. Down the road, if this comes, you know, if we have to get to this, I think there's room for discussion with the politicians on how this can be addressed.
All right. Interesting. So now a few countries throughout the region have decriminalized already.
Yeah.
How do you think the Guyana Together campaign and all the work that you've been doing on the ground, engaging different stakeholders from government to allies to persons in the private sector, how do you think all of this work together might help towards the decriminalization movement in Guyana?
So, you know, Asuel, when we did that poll back in 2013, it was a very clear majority of 53.9% of Guineas who... said they would likely support the elimination of the law that criminalizes sex between men. On 76.3% of Guyanese said that eliminating the law criminalizing sex between men would have a positive or no impact on their lives. And this was in 2013. Here we are 2003, 2000, sorry, 2023, 2024, a couple of years from then. talking about this. And I think that is a very important indication of the type of support that exists for this campaign, but also for decriminalizing the same-sex acts that are so criminalized. A couple of years ago, we did have the CCJ ruling on cross-dressing, and Guyana's actually struck. that law which is a colonial law like most of our Caribbean countries from its law books and I think for us it's just a matter of time and a matter of having that homegrown support being shown.
Okay so I know you spoke about like the launch that would have happened and like the videos that you'd have done so far. Is there anything else that you have done? relating to the camping, like any other activities that have been done so far? And what have those been like?
Most of our activities have been around other than the sessions that we did with the Rotary of Georgetown. We did some amount of media training and we've also been doing media support through interviews. And we have been doing some amount of... People have wanted media coverage of some of the candidates. And I think that's important for them to tell their stories, not only of the persons from the community, but the love and support. So a lot of our work has been surrounding that sort of coverage to amplify the campaign, amplify the persons involved in the campaign and let them talk about their own stories outside of what we have featured. So a lot of it has been related to that.
Okay, that sounds really great. So what else can we look forward to from the GAN to get a campaign? I know you spoke about the different ads on TV, you know, the launch and all of that. What else can we look forward to from the campaign?
We do have a few things that are coming up. I'm not at liberty right now to talk about them. Excuse my voice. I mean, those will have to come as some among the surprises right now. We do have a couple more videos that we are going to release, and this is going to be during the year. But we do have some key public engagements with stakeholders.
And is there anything else you want our listeners to know before we close out? Is there anything else you want persons to know about the campaign? Anything else they can look out for on the campaign? How you can share that with us?
sure um our website um guyanatogether.org all the information is there um you can you know visit you can take a pledge because um there is an opportunity for you to take a pledge there and on our socials on facebook on twitter on tiktok on instagram you can find us and like a video share a video we're also on youtube all our videos are there and um you You can share anything, you can share your thoughts with us, and let us know what you thought about the videos or the campaign. I think that feedback is absolutely necessary. And just let us know what your thoughts are or just share them.
Okay, Nazima, thank you so much. This has been such a really great episode. And again, I always love when we're able to share stories of what happens across the Caribbean region. So thank you so much for being here today. Thank you so much for sharing on the campaign, you know, all the activities that's happening in Ghana. And we really look forward to everything that's going to unfold. We know lots of exciting things are coming. And, you know, the partners throughout the region and our Ilga Well family at large, we're here to support. and to cheer you on in whatever activities you do. Making Rainbow Waves is a podcast by Ilga World. This episode was hosted by me, Suelle Anglin. You can find this and every episode on all streaming platforms. A transcript of this episode in English and its translation to Spanish are available on ilga.org. Thank you for listening.
Description
In this episode, we talk with Nazima Raghubir, who shares about the Guyana Together human rights campaign and discusses the current human rights situation for LGBTQ people in Guyana. You can learn more about the campaign by following their socials @GuyanaTogether
Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
Transcription
Making Rainbow Waves, a podcast by Ilga World. Welcome to another episode of Making Rainbow Waves. I'm Suelle Anglin, and I work on communications at Ilga World. In this episode, we are talking to Nazima, who leads the communication engagement with the Guyana Together campaign by SASOD. SASOD, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination, is a human rights organization and movement leading change to end discrimination based on sexuality and gender in Ghana. Welcome, and thanks for joining us, Nazima.
Thank you so much for having me, Suelle.
I am so excited to talk to you today, one, because we're in the region and I love hearing stories about what happens in the Caribbean region. And two, I'm so excited to hear more about the Ghana Together campaign. But before we get into the excitement, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and who you started in your advocacy journey?
Thank you so much. So I am a journalist. I am based in Guyana. I started my career in television. and I've worked in magazine, which is print, I've done online. Most of you, you know, anybody listening would say that as multimedia. And I'm a freelancer today. I'm also a consultant. And I got involved in the Guyana Together campaign last year. And, you know, it's so interesting because I've been asked this question before, you know, as a journalist, what are you doing in advocacy? I see a role for myself in advocacy and that is why I got involved in the Diana Together campaign. It's something I absolutely believe in and I wanted to be able to lend my face and my voice and my expertise to something that I feel is grounded in human rights and that is very important. Awesome.
And so I know a lot has happened in Guyana over the last couple of years. Can you kind of give us just like a general feel of what the atmosphere is like for LGBT people living in Guyana at the moment?
There is absolutely more visibility and there are a lot more conversations that are happening surrounding issues, both positive and negative, affecting the community. And, you know, it bodes well for the types of conversation that needs to be had regionally about LGBTQ rights. But. There is a lot that is also being unsaid at the moment. A lot of things are not spoken about. And a lot of that is also rooted in the legislation that a lot of our countries have and how those affects the very basic of rights for members of the community. The atmosphere here may not be as aggressive as in other countries. And there is a general acceptance, but there are still things that affect people like access to jobs, you know, access to health care in some instances, and obviously discrimination sometimes by the police because a lot of, I mean, when I say a lot, it's relative. Because of the issues with access to jobs, many of our members turn to sex work. And when they do that, the police, for instance, can discriminate against them. And there's a whole cycle of abuse that happens there. When I say visibility, I mean, like there is a lot more that we can see from where we are. There is a lot more. The person's been able to be themselves on the streets. There are more conversations happening around LGBTQ issues. And I'm saying this because of my involvement in the Guyana Together campaign, also what I've been seeing on social media, my own conversations that have been happening with people. And for me, that is an important indication. that we are prepared to have some conversation or prepared at least to talk about the community.
So awesome to hear Nazima. All right, so let's just jump into talking about the Ghana Together campaign. Can you tell us what led to the campaign and what exactly is the focus of the campaign?
So I'll talk first about the campaign. So Guyana Together campaign is a grassroots effort to really increase acceptance levels among Guyanese and reduce the level of stigma and prejudice for the LGBTQ community. And the campaign really focuses on sharing the stories of persons within the community who have found acceptance and support from family, co-workers, neighbors, friends, and even religious leaders. you know, among those persons that provide support. For us, and we have launched two videos to date, it's really about the support system and hearing from those people who have provided support over the years. So our first video is actually with Crystal and Sebi. Crystal is a lesbian. She is a contributing member of society. She works in the oil and gas industry. She actually works offshore. And Sebi is sort of like her adoptive mother. Crystal had lost her mother at a very young age. And Sebi stepped in. She is a social worker. That is her job. But she also has this unique connection with Crystal. And that is something we wanted to highlight because there are many other persons out there who have similar stories and similar relationships of acceptance and love. And we really wanted to highlight that sort of story and say, look, this is already happening in your life, and you're already showing support, you're already showing acceptance. And, you know, it's okay to be able to do that more publicly or talk about it. So that was our first video. Our second video was with Nash, a designer in Guyana, and his friend Crystal, who is a social media influencer, a businesswoman, and a model. And that also was able to bring out the same messages of love and support. Here is this mother of one supporting her friend who is gay. She really doesn't care about those things at the end of the day. This is her friend. So that is like the core messages that we've been able to use or to put out there. The idea is really to start this type of nationwide conversation on how we can help each other to make a change in terms of promoting acceptance and promoting support. I feel these things are already happening, you know. behind, well, I don't want to say behind closed doors, but they're already happening in some way or the other. And, you know, why not put a spotlight on them and, you know, help to promote a very genuine, organic conversation to be had. And it's interesting, I'm going to answer your first question now. When... It was in 2013 when there was a survey that was done by the Caribbean Development Research Services, CADREs, and it was a national poll, and the national poll had found that there was a 28.5% increase in support for LGBT people from the community. And that, by the way, we really noticed that acceptance level had risen and there was more tolerance than we had previously seen. Of course, there could be a number of contributing factors to this. Um... It could be that there was more discussions happening in the family years. They were seeing campaigns that were happening internationally. People were traveling more and more exposed to different norms and culture and changing tides. And also, obviously, the internet, social media were bringing real stories about members of the community. and acceptance and love and so many other things. So I think that was also a very crucial endpoint for us with this campaign to really ride that wave and say no.
this is the right time to have this conversation. And how can we contribute to that conversation? And we thought it best is you find real people, real voices. They're not being paid in any way. They are willing to tell their stories and willing to show their love in a very public way. And the launch has been very public. Since the launch, the videos have had airtime. They're played on prime television in prime television spots, for instance, news spots. And for us, that is like a core audience because there's a certain age group that sit and look at the news at 6.30 or 7.30. And we're also riding the wave on the Internet. So we are on TikTok. We're on Facebook, Instagram. Instagram. Twitter, well, X, formerly known as Twitter. And we have our website. And I think, you know, it's interesting because you see the instant reactions on those platforms. And they've all been very warm and welcoming, minus the few Bible verses that we get from time to time, which is expected.
It's so exciting and I'm so happy. I always love to hear stories, especially when it comes to human rights campaign. I always love hearing when people incorporate stories of, you know, families and friends and allies, because I think allyship plays such an important role in moving the movement forward overall. So I'm excited to know if people want to engage with the campaign, people want to know more about Sassad. where can we find you on social media? And if we want to engage, how can we do that?
The website is guyanatogether.gy. And on Facebook, it's Guyana Together. On Instagram, it's Guyana Together. On TikTok, it's Guyana Together. And likewise with X.
So I know you talked a little bit about the role of allyship and partnership in the Ghana Together campaign. But if you could expand a little bit more, can you tell us how do you think the stories of allies will really impact societal and behavioral change in Ghana? And if you have any specific examples that you can share with us, that would also be great.
You know, it's interesting because at our launch, we did have a religious leader. given remarks at our launch. We also had somebody within civil society. On our list of partners, we have the Guyana Press Association, of which I'm a part of, the Black Entrepreneurs Association, which is a vibrant body of Black entrepreneurs in Guyana. And we have a list of endorsers, and they range from private businesses to organizations to civil society bodies and persons who had no hesitation or organizations that had no hesitation. to getting on the campaign or endorsing the campaign. We also have as a partner, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, which also is a very reputable body with members being from the business society. So that for us was a good indication of the types of visibility that is there, but also the type of support and people actually wanting to be part of something that is progressive. When we had a session And in January, with the Rotary Club of Georgetown, we did have young business leaders along with the mature business leaders coming out to that lunch meeting for our presentation. And that presentation was delivered by a female businesswoman in Guyana who spoke of the need for inclusivity in the workplace and as an indication of the type of support that is there. Thank you. You know, like the type of organic support that we're seeing, that is always going to be tested when legislation or talks about legislative changes come up. And I'm a little bit confident that we live in a progressive society where people are going to say, You know, let us consider having this as something that we can discuss openly. And I am willing to put my name and my voice and my organization to a cause to ask you to repeal whatever discriminatory laws there are. I feel that is the road the Guyanese are going to go down. when you see the levels of support that you're getting. Because, as I said, we are being a little bit more observant to the things that are happening around us. And we are on that trajectory of recognizing what is human rights and what isn't, and what is a violation. And I think the endorsements and the partnerships that we've seen so far speak to the support that is necessary. Even as I say all of this, we have not engaged any politicians. We have not engaged the government. We have not engaged parliament, the opposition parliamentarians. We wanted to keep this very politics-free for now because we wanted to promote... and also show the fact that it's so much organic support that is out there. And that is what we needed to highlight. And I think that is very important for us. Down the road, if this comes, you know, if we have to get to this, I think there's room for discussion with the politicians on how this can be addressed.
All right. Interesting. So now a few countries throughout the region have decriminalized already.
Yeah.
How do you think the Guyana Together campaign and all the work that you've been doing on the ground, engaging different stakeholders from government to allies to persons in the private sector, how do you think all of this work together might help towards the decriminalization movement in Guyana?
So, you know, Asuel, when we did that poll back in 2013, it was a very clear majority of 53.9% of Guineas who... said they would likely support the elimination of the law that criminalizes sex between men. On 76.3% of Guyanese said that eliminating the law criminalizing sex between men would have a positive or no impact on their lives. And this was in 2013. Here we are 2003, 2000, sorry, 2023, 2024, a couple of years from then. talking about this. And I think that is a very important indication of the type of support that exists for this campaign, but also for decriminalizing the same-sex acts that are so criminalized. A couple of years ago, we did have the CCJ ruling on cross-dressing, and Guyana's actually struck. that law which is a colonial law like most of our Caribbean countries from its law books and I think for us it's just a matter of time and a matter of having that homegrown support being shown.
Okay so I know you spoke about like the launch that would have happened and like the videos that you'd have done so far. Is there anything else that you have done? relating to the camping, like any other activities that have been done so far? And what have those been like?
Most of our activities have been around other than the sessions that we did with the Rotary of Georgetown. We did some amount of media training and we've also been doing media support through interviews. And we have been doing some amount of... People have wanted media coverage of some of the candidates. And I think that's important for them to tell their stories, not only of the persons from the community, but the love and support. So a lot of our work has been surrounding that sort of coverage to amplify the campaign, amplify the persons involved in the campaign and let them talk about their own stories outside of what we have featured. So a lot of it has been related to that.
Okay, that sounds really great. So what else can we look forward to from the GAN to get a campaign? I know you spoke about the different ads on TV, you know, the launch and all of that. What else can we look forward to from the campaign?
We do have a few things that are coming up. I'm not at liberty right now to talk about them. Excuse my voice. I mean, those will have to come as some among the surprises right now. We do have a couple more videos that we are going to release, and this is going to be during the year. But we do have some key public engagements with stakeholders.
And is there anything else you want our listeners to know before we close out? Is there anything else you want persons to know about the campaign? Anything else they can look out for on the campaign? How you can share that with us?
sure um our website um guyanatogether.org all the information is there um you can you know visit you can take a pledge because um there is an opportunity for you to take a pledge there and on our socials on facebook on twitter on tiktok on instagram you can find us and like a video share a video we're also on youtube all our videos are there and um you You can share anything, you can share your thoughts with us, and let us know what you thought about the videos or the campaign. I think that feedback is absolutely necessary. And just let us know what your thoughts are or just share them.
Okay, Nazima, thank you so much. This has been such a really great episode. And again, I always love when we're able to share stories of what happens across the Caribbean region. So thank you so much for being here today. Thank you so much for sharing on the campaign, you know, all the activities that's happening in Ghana. And we really look forward to everything that's going to unfold. We know lots of exciting things are coming. And, you know, the partners throughout the region and our Ilga Well family at large, we're here to support. and to cheer you on in whatever activities you do. Making Rainbow Waves is a podcast by Ilga World. This episode was hosted by me, Suelle Anglin. You can find this and every episode on all streaming platforms. A transcript of this episode in English and its translation to Spanish are available on ilga.org. Thank you for listening.
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Description
In this episode, we talk with Nazima Raghubir, who shares about the Guyana Together human rights campaign and discusses the current human rights situation for LGBTQ people in Guyana. You can learn more about the campaign by following their socials @GuyanaTogether
Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
Transcription
Making Rainbow Waves, a podcast by Ilga World. Welcome to another episode of Making Rainbow Waves. I'm Suelle Anglin, and I work on communications at Ilga World. In this episode, we are talking to Nazima, who leads the communication engagement with the Guyana Together campaign by SASOD. SASOD, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination, is a human rights organization and movement leading change to end discrimination based on sexuality and gender in Ghana. Welcome, and thanks for joining us, Nazima.
Thank you so much for having me, Suelle.
I am so excited to talk to you today, one, because we're in the region and I love hearing stories about what happens in the Caribbean region. And two, I'm so excited to hear more about the Ghana Together campaign. But before we get into the excitement, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and who you started in your advocacy journey?
Thank you so much. So I am a journalist. I am based in Guyana. I started my career in television. and I've worked in magazine, which is print, I've done online. Most of you, you know, anybody listening would say that as multimedia. And I'm a freelancer today. I'm also a consultant. And I got involved in the Guyana Together campaign last year. And, you know, it's so interesting because I've been asked this question before, you know, as a journalist, what are you doing in advocacy? I see a role for myself in advocacy and that is why I got involved in the Diana Together campaign. It's something I absolutely believe in and I wanted to be able to lend my face and my voice and my expertise to something that I feel is grounded in human rights and that is very important. Awesome.
And so I know a lot has happened in Guyana over the last couple of years. Can you kind of give us just like a general feel of what the atmosphere is like for LGBT people living in Guyana at the moment?
There is absolutely more visibility and there are a lot more conversations that are happening surrounding issues, both positive and negative, affecting the community. And, you know, it bodes well for the types of conversation that needs to be had regionally about LGBTQ rights. But. There is a lot that is also being unsaid at the moment. A lot of things are not spoken about. And a lot of that is also rooted in the legislation that a lot of our countries have and how those affects the very basic of rights for members of the community. The atmosphere here may not be as aggressive as in other countries. And there is a general acceptance, but there are still things that affect people like access to jobs, you know, access to health care in some instances, and obviously discrimination sometimes by the police because a lot of, I mean, when I say a lot, it's relative. Because of the issues with access to jobs, many of our members turn to sex work. And when they do that, the police, for instance, can discriminate against them. And there's a whole cycle of abuse that happens there. When I say visibility, I mean, like there is a lot more that we can see from where we are. There is a lot more. The person's been able to be themselves on the streets. There are more conversations happening around LGBTQ issues. And I'm saying this because of my involvement in the Guyana Together campaign, also what I've been seeing on social media, my own conversations that have been happening with people. And for me, that is an important indication. that we are prepared to have some conversation or prepared at least to talk about the community.
So awesome to hear Nazima. All right, so let's just jump into talking about the Ghana Together campaign. Can you tell us what led to the campaign and what exactly is the focus of the campaign?
So I'll talk first about the campaign. So Guyana Together campaign is a grassroots effort to really increase acceptance levels among Guyanese and reduce the level of stigma and prejudice for the LGBTQ community. And the campaign really focuses on sharing the stories of persons within the community who have found acceptance and support from family, co-workers, neighbors, friends, and even religious leaders. you know, among those persons that provide support. For us, and we have launched two videos to date, it's really about the support system and hearing from those people who have provided support over the years. So our first video is actually with Crystal and Sebi. Crystal is a lesbian. She is a contributing member of society. She works in the oil and gas industry. She actually works offshore. And Sebi is sort of like her adoptive mother. Crystal had lost her mother at a very young age. And Sebi stepped in. She is a social worker. That is her job. But she also has this unique connection with Crystal. And that is something we wanted to highlight because there are many other persons out there who have similar stories and similar relationships of acceptance and love. And we really wanted to highlight that sort of story and say, look, this is already happening in your life, and you're already showing support, you're already showing acceptance. And, you know, it's okay to be able to do that more publicly or talk about it. So that was our first video. Our second video was with Nash, a designer in Guyana, and his friend Crystal, who is a social media influencer, a businesswoman, and a model. And that also was able to bring out the same messages of love and support. Here is this mother of one supporting her friend who is gay. She really doesn't care about those things at the end of the day. This is her friend. So that is like the core messages that we've been able to use or to put out there. The idea is really to start this type of nationwide conversation on how we can help each other to make a change in terms of promoting acceptance and promoting support. I feel these things are already happening, you know. behind, well, I don't want to say behind closed doors, but they're already happening in some way or the other. And, you know, why not put a spotlight on them and, you know, help to promote a very genuine, organic conversation to be had. And it's interesting, I'm going to answer your first question now. When... It was in 2013 when there was a survey that was done by the Caribbean Development Research Services, CADREs, and it was a national poll, and the national poll had found that there was a 28.5% increase in support for LGBT people from the community. And that, by the way, we really noticed that acceptance level had risen and there was more tolerance than we had previously seen. Of course, there could be a number of contributing factors to this. Um... It could be that there was more discussions happening in the family years. They were seeing campaigns that were happening internationally. People were traveling more and more exposed to different norms and culture and changing tides. And also, obviously, the internet, social media were bringing real stories about members of the community. and acceptance and love and so many other things. So I think that was also a very crucial endpoint for us with this campaign to really ride that wave and say no.
this is the right time to have this conversation. And how can we contribute to that conversation? And we thought it best is you find real people, real voices. They're not being paid in any way. They are willing to tell their stories and willing to show their love in a very public way. And the launch has been very public. Since the launch, the videos have had airtime. They're played on prime television in prime television spots, for instance, news spots. And for us, that is like a core audience because there's a certain age group that sit and look at the news at 6.30 or 7.30. And we're also riding the wave on the Internet. So we are on TikTok. We're on Facebook, Instagram. Instagram. Twitter, well, X, formerly known as Twitter. And we have our website. And I think, you know, it's interesting because you see the instant reactions on those platforms. And they've all been very warm and welcoming, minus the few Bible verses that we get from time to time, which is expected.
It's so exciting and I'm so happy. I always love to hear stories, especially when it comes to human rights campaign. I always love hearing when people incorporate stories of, you know, families and friends and allies, because I think allyship plays such an important role in moving the movement forward overall. So I'm excited to know if people want to engage with the campaign, people want to know more about Sassad. where can we find you on social media? And if we want to engage, how can we do that?
The website is guyanatogether.gy. And on Facebook, it's Guyana Together. On Instagram, it's Guyana Together. On TikTok, it's Guyana Together. And likewise with X.
So I know you talked a little bit about the role of allyship and partnership in the Ghana Together campaign. But if you could expand a little bit more, can you tell us how do you think the stories of allies will really impact societal and behavioral change in Ghana? And if you have any specific examples that you can share with us, that would also be great.
You know, it's interesting because at our launch, we did have a religious leader. given remarks at our launch. We also had somebody within civil society. On our list of partners, we have the Guyana Press Association, of which I'm a part of, the Black Entrepreneurs Association, which is a vibrant body of Black entrepreneurs in Guyana. And we have a list of endorsers, and they range from private businesses to organizations to civil society bodies and persons who had no hesitation or organizations that had no hesitation. to getting on the campaign or endorsing the campaign. We also have as a partner, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, which also is a very reputable body with members being from the business society. So that for us was a good indication of the types of visibility that is there, but also the type of support and people actually wanting to be part of something that is progressive. When we had a session And in January, with the Rotary Club of Georgetown, we did have young business leaders along with the mature business leaders coming out to that lunch meeting for our presentation. And that presentation was delivered by a female businesswoman in Guyana who spoke of the need for inclusivity in the workplace and as an indication of the type of support that is there. Thank you. You know, like the type of organic support that we're seeing, that is always going to be tested when legislation or talks about legislative changes come up. And I'm a little bit confident that we live in a progressive society where people are going to say, You know, let us consider having this as something that we can discuss openly. And I am willing to put my name and my voice and my organization to a cause to ask you to repeal whatever discriminatory laws there are. I feel that is the road the Guyanese are going to go down. when you see the levels of support that you're getting. Because, as I said, we are being a little bit more observant to the things that are happening around us. And we are on that trajectory of recognizing what is human rights and what isn't, and what is a violation. And I think the endorsements and the partnerships that we've seen so far speak to the support that is necessary. Even as I say all of this, we have not engaged any politicians. We have not engaged the government. We have not engaged parliament, the opposition parliamentarians. We wanted to keep this very politics-free for now because we wanted to promote... and also show the fact that it's so much organic support that is out there. And that is what we needed to highlight. And I think that is very important for us. Down the road, if this comes, you know, if we have to get to this, I think there's room for discussion with the politicians on how this can be addressed.
All right. Interesting. So now a few countries throughout the region have decriminalized already.
Yeah.
How do you think the Guyana Together campaign and all the work that you've been doing on the ground, engaging different stakeholders from government to allies to persons in the private sector, how do you think all of this work together might help towards the decriminalization movement in Guyana?
So, you know, Asuel, when we did that poll back in 2013, it was a very clear majority of 53.9% of Guineas who... said they would likely support the elimination of the law that criminalizes sex between men. On 76.3% of Guyanese said that eliminating the law criminalizing sex between men would have a positive or no impact on their lives. And this was in 2013. Here we are 2003, 2000, sorry, 2023, 2024, a couple of years from then. talking about this. And I think that is a very important indication of the type of support that exists for this campaign, but also for decriminalizing the same-sex acts that are so criminalized. A couple of years ago, we did have the CCJ ruling on cross-dressing, and Guyana's actually struck. that law which is a colonial law like most of our Caribbean countries from its law books and I think for us it's just a matter of time and a matter of having that homegrown support being shown.
Okay so I know you spoke about like the launch that would have happened and like the videos that you'd have done so far. Is there anything else that you have done? relating to the camping, like any other activities that have been done so far? And what have those been like?
Most of our activities have been around other than the sessions that we did with the Rotary of Georgetown. We did some amount of media training and we've also been doing media support through interviews. And we have been doing some amount of... People have wanted media coverage of some of the candidates. And I think that's important for them to tell their stories, not only of the persons from the community, but the love and support. So a lot of our work has been surrounding that sort of coverage to amplify the campaign, amplify the persons involved in the campaign and let them talk about their own stories outside of what we have featured. So a lot of it has been related to that.
Okay, that sounds really great. So what else can we look forward to from the GAN to get a campaign? I know you spoke about the different ads on TV, you know, the launch and all of that. What else can we look forward to from the campaign?
We do have a few things that are coming up. I'm not at liberty right now to talk about them. Excuse my voice. I mean, those will have to come as some among the surprises right now. We do have a couple more videos that we are going to release, and this is going to be during the year. But we do have some key public engagements with stakeholders.
And is there anything else you want our listeners to know before we close out? Is there anything else you want persons to know about the campaign? Anything else they can look out for on the campaign? How you can share that with us?
sure um our website um guyanatogether.org all the information is there um you can you know visit you can take a pledge because um there is an opportunity for you to take a pledge there and on our socials on facebook on twitter on tiktok on instagram you can find us and like a video share a video we're also on youtube all our videos are there and um you You can share anything, you can share your thoughts with us, and let us know what you thought about the videos or the campaign. I think that feedback is absolutely necessary. And just let us know what your thoughts are or just share them.
Okay, Nazima, thank you so much. This has been such a really great episode. And again, I always love when we're able to share stories of what happens across the Caribbean region. So thank you so much for being here today. Thank you so much for sharing on the campaign, you know, all the activities that's happening in Ghana. And we really look forward to everything that's going to unfold. We know lots of exciting things are coming. And, you know, the partners throughout the region and our Ilga Well family at large, we're here to support. and to cheer you on in whatever activities you do. Making Rainbow Waves is a podcast by Ilga World. This episode was hosted by me, Suelle Anglin. You can find this and every episode on all streaming platforms. A transcript of this episode in English and its translation to Spanish are available on ilga.org. Thank you for listening.
Description
In this episode, we talk with Nazima Raghubir, who shares about the Guyana Together human rights campaign and discusses the current human rights situation for LGBTQ people in Guyana. You can learn more about the campaign by following their socials @GuyanaTogether
Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
Transcription
Making Rainbow Waves, a podcast by Ilga World. Welcome to another episode of Making Rainbow Waves. I'm Suelle Anglin, and I work on communications at Ilga World. In this episode, we are talking to Nazima, who leads the communication engagement with the Guyana Together campaign by SASOD. SASOD, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination, is a human rights organization and movement leading change to end discrimination based on sexuality and gender in Ghana. Welcome, and thanks for joining us, Nazima.
Thank you so much for having me, Suelle.
I am so excited to talk to you today, one, because we're in the region and I love hearing stories about what happens in the Caribbean region. And two, I'm so excited to hear more about the Ghana Together campaign. But before we get into the excitement, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and who you started in your advocacy journey?
Thank you so much. So I am a journalist. I am based in Guyana. I started my career in television. and I've worked in magazine, which is print, I've done online. Most of you, you know, anybody listening would say that as multimedia. And I'm a freelancer today. I'm also a consultant. And I got involved in the Guyana Together campaign last year. And, you know, it's so interesting because I've been asked this question before, you know, as a journalist, what are you doing in advocacy? I see a role for myself in advocacy and that is why I got involved in the Diana Together campaign. It's something I absolutely believe in and I wanted to be able to lend my face and my voice and my expertise to something that I feel is grounded in human rights and that is very important. Awesome.
And so I know a lot has happened in Guyana over the last couple of years. Can you kind of give us just like a general feel of what the atmosphere is like for LGBT people living in Guyana at the moment?
There is absolutely more visibility and there are a lot more conversations that are happening surrounding issues, both positive and negative, affecting the community. And, you know, it bodes well for the types of conversation that needs to be had regionally about LGBTQ rights. But. There is a lot that is also being unsaid at the moment. A lot of things are not spoken about. And a lot of that is also rooted in the legislation that a lot of our countries have and how those affects the very basic of rights for members of the community. The atmosphere here may not be as aggressive as in other countries. And there is a general acceptance, but there are still things that affect people like access to jobs, you know, access to health care in some instances, and obviously discrimination sometimes by the police because a lot of, I mean, when I say a lot, it's relative. Because of the issues with access to jobs, many of our members turn to sex work. And when they do that, the police, for instance, can discriminate against them. And there's a whole cycle of abuse that happens there. When I say visibility, I mean, like there is a lot more that we can see from where we are. There is a lot more. The person's been able to be themselves on the streets. There are more conversations happening around LGBTQ issues. And I'm saying this because of my involvement in the Guyana Together campaign, also what I've been seeing on social media, my own conversations that have been happening with people. And for me, that is an important indication. that we are prepared to have some conversation or prepared at least to talk about the community.
So awesome to hear Nazima. All right, so let's just jump into talking about the Ghana Together campaign. Can you tell us what led to the campaign and what exactly is the focus of the campaign?
So I'll talk first about the campaign. So Guyana Together campaign is a grassroots effort to really increase acceptance levels among Guyanese and reduce the level of stigma and prejudice for the LGBTQ community. And the campaign really focuses on sharing the stories of persons within the community who have found acceptance and support from family, co-workers, neighbors, friends, and even religious leaders. you know, among those persons that provide support. For us, and we have launched two videos to date, it's really about the support system and hearing from those people who have provided support over the years. So our first video is actually with Crystal and Sebi. Crystal is a lesbian. She is a contributing member of society. She works in the oil and gas industry. She actually works offshore. And Sebi is sort of like her adoptive mother. Crystal had lost her mother at a very young age. And Sebi stepped in. She is a social worker. That is her job. But she also has this unique connection with Crystal. And that is something we wanted to highlight because there are many other persons out there who have similar stories and similar relationships of acceptance and love. And we really wanted to highlight that sort of story and say, look, this is already happening in your life, and you're already showing support, you're already showing acceptance. And, you know, it's okay to be able to do that more publicly or talk about it. So that was our first video. Our second video was with Nash, a designer in Guyana, and his friend Crystal, who is a social media influencer, a businesswoman, and a model. And that also was able to bring out the same messages of love and support. Here is this mother of one supporting her friend who is gay. She really doesn't care about those things at the end of the day. This is her friend. So that is like the core messages that we've been able to use or to put out there. The idea is really to start this type of nationwide conversation on how we can help each other to make a change in terms of promoting acceptance and promoting support. I feel these things are already happening, you know. behind, well, I don't want to say behind closed doors, but they're already happening in some way or the other. And, you know, why not put a spotlight on them and, you know, help to promote a very genuine, organic conversation to be had. And it's interesting, I'm going to answer your first question now. When... It was in 2013 when there was a survey that was done by the Caribbean Development Research Services, CADREs, and it was a national poll, and the national poll had found that there was a 28.5% increase in support for LGBT people from the community. And that, by the way, we really noticed that acceptance level had risen and there was more tolerance than we had previously seen. Of course, there could be a number of contributing factors to this. Um... It could be that there was more discussions happening in the family years. They were seeing campaigns that were happening internationally. People were traveling more and more exposed to different norms and culture and changing tides. And also, obviously, the internet, social media were bringing real stories about members of the community. and acceptance and love and so many other things. So I think that was also a very crucial endpoint for us with this campaign to really ride that wave and say no.
this is the right time to have this conversation. And how can we contribute to that conversation? And we thought it best is you find real people, real voices. They're not being paid in any way. They are willing to tell their stories and willing to show their love in a very public way. And the launch has been very public. Since the launch, the videos have had airtime. They're played on prime television in prime television spots, for instance, news spots. And for us, that is like a core audience because there's a certain age group that sit and look at the news at 6.30 or 7.30. And we're also riding the wave on the Internet. So we are on TikTok. We're on Facebook, Instagram. Instagram. Twitter, well, X, formerly known as Twitter. And we have our website. And I think, you know, it's interesting because you see the instant reactions on those platforms. And they've all been very warm and welcoming, minus the few Bible verses that we get from time to time, which is expected.
It's so exciting and I'm so happy. I always love to hear stories, especially when it comes to human rights campaign. I always love hearing when people incorporate stories of, you know, families and friends and allies, because I think allyship plays such an important role in moving the movement forward overall. So I'm excited to know if people want to engage with the campaign, people want to know more about Sassad. where can we find you on social media? And if we want to engage, how can we do that?
The website is guyanatogether.gy. And on Facebook, it's Guyana Together. On Instagram, it's Guyana Together. On TikTok, it's Guyana Together. And likewise with X.
So I know you talked a little bit about the role of allyship and partnership in the Ghana Together campaign. But if you could expand a little bit more, can you tell us how do you think the stories of allies will really impact societal and behavioral change in Ghana? And if you have any specific examples that you can share with us, that would also be great.
You know, it's interesting because at our launch, we did have a religious leader. given remarks at our launch. We also had somebody within civil society. On our list of partners, we have the Guyana Press Association, of which I'm a part of, the Black Entrepreneurs Association, which is a vibrant body of Black entrepreneurs in Guyana. And we have a list of endorsers, and they range from private businesses to organizations to civil society bodies and persons who had no hesitation or organizations that had no hesitation. to getting on the campaign or endorsing the campaign. We also have as a partner, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, which also is a very reputable body with members being from the business society. So that for us was a good indication of the types of visibility that is there, but also the type of support and people actually wanting to be part of something that is progressive. When we had a session And in January, with the Rotary Club of Georgetown, we did have young business leaders along with the mature business leaders coming out to that lunch meeting for our presentation. And that presentation was delivered by a female businesswoman in Guyana who spoke of the need for inclusivity in the workplace and as an indication of the type of support that is there. Thank you. You know, like the type of organic support that we're seeing, that is always going to be tested when legislation or talks about legislative changes come up. And I'm a little bit confident that we live in a progressive society where people are going to say, You know, let us consider having this as something that we can discuss openly. And I am willing to put my name and my voice and my organization to a cause to ask you to repeal whatever discriminatory laws there are. I feel that is the road the Guyanese are going to go down. when you see the levels of support that you're getting. Because, as I said, we are being a little bit more observant to the things that are happening around us. And we are on that trajectory of recognizing what is human rights and what isn't, and what is a violation. And I think the endorsements and the partnerships that we've seen so far speak to the support that is necessary. Even as I say all of this, we have not engaged any politicians. We have not engaged the government. We have not engaged parliament, the opposition parliamentarians. We wanted to keep this very politics-free for now because we wanted to promote... and also show the fact that it's so much organic support that is out there. And that is what we needed to highlight. And I think that is very important for us. Down the road, if this comes, you know, if we have to get to this, I think there's room for discussion with the politicians on how this can be addressed.
All right. Interesting. So now a few countries throughout the region have decriminalized already.
Yeah.
How do you think the Guyana Together campaign and all the work that you've been doing on the ground, engaging different stakeholders from government to allies to persons in the private sector, how do you think all of this work together might help towards the decriminalization movement in Guyana?
So, you know, Asuel, when we did that poll back in 2013, it was a very clear majority of 53.9% of Guineas who... said they would likely support the elimination of the law that criminalizes sex between men. On 76.3% of Guyanese said that eliminating the law criminalizing sex between men would have a positive or no impact on their lives. And this was in 2013. Here we are 2003, 2000, sorry, 2023, 2024, a couple of years from then. talking about this. And I think that is a very important indication of the type of support that exists for this campaign, but also for decriminalizing the same-sex acts that are so criminalized. A couple of years ago, we did have the CCJ ruling on cross-dressing, and Guyana's actually struck. that law which is a colonial law like most of our Caribbean countries from its law books and I think for us it's just a matter of time and a matter of having that homegrown support being shown.
Okay so I know you spoke about like the launch that would have happened and like the videos that you'd have done so far. Is there anything else that you have done? relating to the camping, like any other activities that have been done so far? And what have those been like?
Most of our activities have been around other than the sessions that we did with the Rotary of Georgetown. We did some amount of media training and we've also been doing media support through interviews. And we have been doing some amount of... People have wanted media coverage of some of the candidates. And I think that's important for them to tell their stories, not only of the persons from the community, but the love and support. So a lot of our work has been surrounding that sort of coverage to amplify the campaign, amplify the persons involved in the campaign and let them talk about their own stories outside of what we have featured. So a lot of it has been related to that.
Okay, that sounds really great. So what else can we look forward to from the GAN to get a campaign? I know you spoke about the different ads on TV, you know, the launch and all of that. What else can we look forward to from the campaign?
We do have a few things that are coming up. I'm not at liberty right now to talk about them. Excuse my voice. I mean, those will have to come as some among the surprises right now. We do have a couple more videos that we are going to release, and this is going to be during the year. But we do have some key public engagements with stakeholders.
And is there anything else you want our listeners to know before we close out? Is there anything else you want persons to know about the campaign? Anything else they can look out for on the campaign? How you can share that with us?
sure um our website um guyanatogether.org all the information is there um you can you know visit you can take a pledge because um there is an opportunity for you to take a pledge there and on our socials on facebook on twitter on tiktok on instagram you can find us and like a video share a video we're also on youtube all our videos are there and um you You can share anything, you can share your thoughts with us, and let us know what you thought about the videos or the campaign. I think that feedback is absolutely necessary. And just let us know what your thoughts are or just share them.
Okay, Nazima, thank you so much. This has been such a really great episode. And again, I always love when we're able to share stories of what happens across the Caribbean region. So thank you so much for being here today. Thank you so much for sharing on the campaign, you know, all the activities that's happening in Ghana. And we really look forward to everything that's going to unfold. We know lots of exciting things are coming. And, you know, the partners throughout the region and our Ilga Well family at large, we're here to support. and to cheer you on in whatever activities you do. Making Rainbow Waves is a podcast by Ilga World. This episode was hosted by me, Suelle Anglin. You can find this and every episode on all streaming platforms. A transcript of this episode in English and its translation to Spanish are available on ilga.org. Thank you for listening.
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