From a secret safe house, Kenyan mothers of LGBTQ+ children tell their stories of exile

 

As the debate in Kenya rages on over LGBTQ+ people's rights, one group is silently bearing the burden, paying the price simply for being their mothers

My son came out as gay via an Instagram video that went viral,” Njeri told LGBTQ Nation from a safe house in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. “My husband and his family rejected and disowned him and what followed was me being forced to bear the blame.”

Njeri said she was accused of being the cause of her son’s sexuality. They were both asked to leave the family home.

Rejected and abandoned with no money, no job and nowhere to go, Njeri and her son found themselves at a safe house that has been offering shelter and support to hundreds of LGBTQ+ peopl

“The majority of the mothers we are housing are victims of forced divorces after their sons or daughters came out of the closet,” Kibera said. “For the LGBTQ persons, most of them had been attacked while others had been threatened with attacks by neighbors, friends and family.”

In recent months, anti-LGBTQ+ hate speech has increased both online and offline following a ruling by the Kenyan Supreme Court that said the National Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) is allowed to officially register as a non-governmental organization (NGO).

The safe house is working with LGBTQ+ rights groups to help some of the mothers obtain access to legal aid in pursuit of their marital rights

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From a secret safe house, Kenyan mothers of LGBTQ+ children tell their stories of exile