Badpuppy Gay Today |
Thursday, 22 May 1997 |
Three inspiring activists will be traveling to New York City next week to receive the 1997 Felipa de Souza Awards presented by the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) at a ceremony on June 2 at the New York Academy of Art. The award honors activists and organizations who have made significant contributions to the freedom of sexual minorities anywhere in the world, and are named in honor of a Brazilian woman convicted by the Portuguese Inquisition in 1591 for sexual relations with other women.
This year's awards will be given to an organization in Namibia and individual activists from Turkey and Albania.
Demet Demir is a transsexual woman from Turkey who was the first person in history taken as an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, due to persecution on account of her sexual orientation in 1991. Because of her various political activities she has been imprisoned numerous times, tortured, had her home broken into and telephone cables cut in efforts to silence her. Even in her efforts to attend this ceremony, the government has refused to issue her a passport.
The Sister Namibia Collective is a feminist organization and publication in Namibia which has been publicly fighting against the government's recent, blatant homophobic declarations. In glaring similarity to the public uproar against homosexuality in Zimbabwe caused by President Mugabe's outrageous statements about lesbians and gay men, Namibia's President Nujoma declared in December 1996 that "all necessary steps must be taken to combat influences that are influencing [sic] us and our children in a negative way. Homosexuals must be condemned and rejected in our society." The President's pronouncement was an echo of previous remarks by other high ranking government officials, such as, "Homosexuality is like cancer or AIDS..." and homosexuals should be "operated on to remove unnatural hormones in them."
Genc Xhelaj is the founder and president of the first and only gay and lesbian organization in Albania. He was instrumental in the repeal of an anti-gay law which penalized same-sex acts between consenting adults with up to ten years imprisonment. Despite extreme governmental and societal oppression--including police harassment and the loss of his job--and more recently, the onslaught of civil unrest, Xhelaj has continued to be actively involved in gay and lesbian activism in Albania.
The ceremony will be emceed by comedian Kate Clinton and presenters will include author Andrew Tobias and cultural historian, activist, and founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock, Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon. Press accreditation may be obtained for the event by calling 415-255-8680.
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