LGBTIQA+ Partner Story: House of Guramayle
The Advocates is happy to spotlight our long-term partner, House of Guramayle.
What brought you to LGBTIQA+ advocacy?/Why do you do LGBTIQA+ advocacy?
House of Guramayle was founded in response to the discrimination and challenges experienced by our friends, community members, and ourselves. Our mission has been to advocate for the Ethiopian LGBTIQA+ community, providing a safe/softer and nurturing environment for sharing stories and addressing social, economic, health, and political concerns.
Allies can support by educating themselves, speaking out against discrimination, and actively participating in or donating to organizations championing LGBTIQA+ rights.
What were the challenges you saw in your community and what improvements have you seen because of your work?
The biggest challenges were the pervasive stigma (religious and social), lack of legal protections, and health disparities. Ethiopia does not recognize LGBTIQA+ as a key population, and it actively excludes from the national health policy both mental and physical, such discriminatory policy is a bottleneck for the eradication of HIV/AIDS by 2030. Through advocacy and community engagement, we have seen attitudes slowly changing amongst our community in acceptance of themselves in a very hostile environment.
How can others support you?
Allies can support by educating themselves, speaking out against discrimination, and actively participating in or donating to organizations championing LGBTIQA+ rights. Each voice and action contributes to meaningful change.
Given Ethiopia's vulnerable human rights landscape, we urge international organizations to acquaint themselves with the nuances of this reality and actively cultivate spaces that foster protection and empower grassroots collectives/organizations both within and outside of Ethiopia. Funders are encouraged to provide exceptional financial support for organizations operating in such hostile environments.
Lastly, we appeal for support in holding the Ethiopian government accountable for not fulfilling all commitments made through signatories and agreements at the UN level.
