Rise: Refocusing on Joy

Imagine a space, imbued with an energy so queer and effervescent that it feels like we have escaped our reality and slipped into a world of sexual and gender freedom unlike anything we have ever been allowed to imagine. This is what we aim to build here.

When you step into the RISE party, you are greeted by a house transformed. Various colors indicate the multiplicity of experiences available, each delicately designed with nostalgia in mind. The garage has turned into a salon, adorned with the same posters from the salons your mama, shangazi or dada would take you to. Here is where you first heard the word shoga in reference to friends or lovers, not quite sure where it lands. Between these familiar posters, you’ll notice some contemporary queer icons – from Kenyan writer and activist Kevin Mwachiro, to the legendary South African icon Brenda Fassie, to Ugandan feminist and activist Stella Nyanzi, and finally, to our own Tanzanian LGBTQI+ icons.

The living room is the dance-floor and the soundscape is disco, where you first move in synchronicity with a body you typically would not be able to get close to. The walls are masked by the repetitive, hard pink projection of the word Dar-es-Salaam, as if a silent reclamation of our place in this city. The projector light drowns everything in shadows, creating sharp silhouettes of the gyrating and vogueing bodies. The stairway, which is lit in hues of green and decorated in silver, blue and purple streamers, is reminiscent of the DIY ballroom aesthetics.

Glitter and bold make-up is a unifying aesthetic, and you are invited to adorn yourself. You are in a space that asks you to refocus on your joy, as it is worth living in. This space is private, yes, but it has been intentionally and ferociously created for you and all the other, forgotten queer Tanzanian citizens.

In Tanzania, homosexuality is criminalised in sections 154 - 157 of the penal code. Within these codes, acts of intimacy between LGBTQI+ people are described as “carnal knowledge… against the order of nature”1 and “act of gross indecency” 2; archaic, colonialist language that diminishes the lives of the Tanzanian citizens it refers to. These laws are frequently used by lawmakers and enforcers (the police) to unfairly target, prosecute and even ignore the violence against sexual and gender minorities in the country.

1 Penal Code 1945, Section 154 Unnatural Offences: “(1) Any person who–(a) has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature; or …(c) permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature, commits an offence, and is liable to imprisonment for life and in any case to imprisonment for a term of not less than thirty years.”

2 Penal Code 1945, Section 138A Acts of Gross Indecency Between Persons: “Any person who, in public or private commits, or is party to the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any person of, any act of gross indecency with another person, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year and not exceeding five years or to a fine not less than one hundred thousand shillings and not exceeding three hundred thousand shillings.”

Underreporting of these incidents leads to a lack of evidence, which makes anti-discrimination policy-making near impossible in this East African region. A prime example of this could be in our neighbouring country, Kenya, in which the Supreme Court upheld the criminalization of same-sex conduct under articles 162 and 165 of the penal code, stating that LGBTQI+ peoples are unfairly discriminated against as a group, despite the evidence given for the underreporting of such cases3. In Uganda, not only is homosexuality ciriminalised in sections 145 and 148 of the penal code, but in 2014 parliament did pass and eventually sign the “Anti-Homosexuality” bill into law before it was invalidated by the Constitutional Court of Uganda that same year4

[In early 2023, disinformation and anti-queer propaganda begun spreading online through social media throughout East Africa5. Various politicians proposed anti-queer bills in parliament in Tanzania 6, Kenya 7 and Uganda. Since then, there has been a rise in (underreported) anti-queer violence in Tanzania and Kenya, as well as large protests led by both Christian and Muslim religious leaders. On 29th May 2023, the Ugandan president signed into law one of the harshest anti-queer laws in the world 8.]

As a privileged queer individual, I attempt to engage with these facts, especially since I decided to relocate back to my home-town of Dar-es-Salaam. And in accepting this and my inexperience within the policy or law making space, I found myself battling with the reality that my country may never accept or celebrate an outwardly non-binary, pansexual artist or those I choose to love.

At least, not now. In finding my joy, I decided to refocus on my immediate community and see how I can “extend my privilege” and share the joys I’ve found with those who don’t live this reality often.

Thus, we imagine safe spaces. “Safer spaces”, as Erica Gachoka founder of METAMOUR, a Nairobi-based queer event, said to me while I revelled in a space unbelievably and uniquely occupied by only queer and femme individuals from the city. I have been lucky to experience multiple such spaces in Kenya, and it is truly awe-inspiring to see the communities there come together despite the horrendous policies and discrimination preserved by their country.

Mwamba Nyanda, executive director of Tanzania Trans Initiative (TTI) imagines a safer space in Dar-es-Salaam as a space where “one can be present and feel welcomed, like they are part of the country, that community and that space and security. They need to feel secure and… [that we can] go home in peace.”

TTI is an NGO that was established in 2013, and remains one of the only LGBTQI+ organizations still operational in Tanzania today. They focus on advocacy, capacity building, raising awareness and creating spaces where their members can come together.

5 Anti-LGBTQ disinformation surges online in East Africa, France24, <https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230531-anti-lgbtq-disinformation-surges-online-in-east-africa>

6 MPs call for tough laws on same-sex relations, The Citizen <https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/national/mps-call-for-tough-laws-on-same-sex-relations--4196442> 7 Kenyan anti-homosexuality bill would expel LGBTQ refugees, Al Jazeera, <https://www.washingtonblade.com/2023/04/26/kenyan-anti-homosexuality-bill-would-expel-lgbtq-refugees/> 8 Uganda enacts harsh anti-LGBTQ law including death penalty, Reuters, <https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ugandas-museveni-approves-anti-gay-law-parliament-speaker-says-2023-05-29/>

In studying and engaging all these different spaces, and how individuals choose to imagine and build safer spaces for their communities, we were able to build RISE. It is a queer space, intentionally created to provide secure spaces, facilitate joy and give experiences to queer people in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

Tura is a Dar-based visual artist and was one of the attendees of the first edition of the RISE party. Echoing Mwamba’s words, she says, “there is definitely a need for safe spaces in Dar. As an artist, I’ve been privileged to visit a few amazing safe spaces… but it is not the same case for other people in my community.” On the party itself, she says, “being in a place where I feel free and could be my true self was my highlight of the party! I loved the vibrant and authentic look of the space but mostly the vibe that everyone had! It was a good experience which I hope to be happening again soon but this time [with] even more people [from] the community.”

Another anonymous attendee also shared that the party was “an incredible experience. The set up and the theme were amazing, and it was incredible to be surrounded by so many people from the community. It was my first time in a space like that, and I do hope there are more.” They also added that, about a month on from the first party, they have stayed in touch with the new friends they connected with at the party and are “thankful for the space being a safe space to meet others like me.”

This is why RISE, and spaces like this, are important and necessary. Not only is it a space for us to come together, but it is also a call for us to remember who we are and the greatness that we can achieve. And while we can acknowledge and support those who advocate for our protection and rights to freedom, we can also spend time within our joy and live life as it was intended to be lived.

Article by a Tanzanian Artist, Photos by Lilian Flaviana written in 2021 for OFFTO Magazine, updated in 2023 for [BODY] Exhibition

[BODY]

Authored and Designed by:

Arafa C. Hamadi

Curated and Edited by:

Jepkorir Rose

Thank you to the contributers; Valerie Asiimwe Amani | www.valerieamani.com

Lilian Flaviana| www.instagram.com/lilianflaviana

Théa Gourdon | www.instagram.com/thea.gourdon

Find out more about Arafa’s works: arafabuilds@gmail.com www. linktr.ee/arafabuilds

Jepkorir Rose is a curator based in Nairobi, Kenya. Alongside artists and affiliating practices she works to create opportunities/spaces to encounter each other in areas of interest. Her recent work is in participatory design and space-making related to infrastructural or institutional forms enabling artistic and curatorial production.