Abbreviation CAL | ||
Type Non-Profit Organisation Headquarters Johannesburg, South Africa Key people Brigdett Oliphant, Dorothy Aken’Ova, Liz Frank, Nikki Mawanda Slogan Resist oppression, celebrate activism, defy unjust laws, resist violation | ||
The Coalition of African Lesbians is a lesbian-rights non-profit organisation based in South Africa. It is a coalition of more than 30 different organisations based in 19 countries throughout Africa. It is the mission of the organisation to advance justice, equality and visibility for lesbian and bisexual women as well as "trans diverse" people on the continent of Africa. The organisation was first founded by 50 activists attending the Sex and Secrecy Conference held by the International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2003.
In 2010, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights declined to give the CAL observer status and rejected the group's May 2008 application. The commission initially rejected the charter stating, "that, the activities of the said organisation do not promote and protect any of the rights enshrined in the African Charter." However, in 2014, the CAL submitted another application, which in 2015 was accepted.
Objectives
The Coalition of African Lesbians outlines several broad objectives within its 2006 constitution: to advocate and lobby for the equal political, sexual, cultural and economic rights of African lesbian, bisexual and trans diverse people by engaging strategically with African and international structures and allies, to eradicate stigma and discrimination against lesbians in Africa, to build and strengthen our voices and visibility through research, media and publications, and through participation in local and international forms, to build the capacity of African lesbians and our organisations to use African radical feminist analysis as a means of understanding and challenging the discrimination and oppression we experience in all spheres of our lives, to build a strong and sustainable LBGT coalition supporting the development of national organisations working on LBGT issues in every country in Africa and, to support the work of these national organisations in all the foregoing areas including the facilitation of the personal growth of African LBGT people and the building of capacity within their organisations.