Kenyan LGBTQ students took to the streets in the capital of Nairobi to protest against a Cabinet minister’s proposal to ban them from the country’s boarding schools.
The students are decrying the suggestion made by Cabinet Secretary for Education, Professor George Magoha, that lesbian, gay and queer students should be barred from boarding schools, which are common in Kenya.
Kenyan LGBTQ students march against discrimination
The students held their peaceful protest at the Ministry of Education, carrying placards denouncing Magoha’s suggestion.
The protestors, together with LGBTQ community leaders, presented a two-page petition to the education secretary urging him to withdraw his December remarks.
The petition also asks that the education ministry act on to curb violence and discrimination against LGBTQ students.
The LGBTQ community leaders are expected to meet with Magoha next week.
Currently, Kenya is one among the many African countries that outlaws homosexuality. This is punishable with 5 to 14 years in prison.
LGBTQ advocates blast proposed ban of vulnerable students
Activists said the proposed ban pushes the marginalization of the LGBTQ community to the outskirts of society.
This would make them vulnerable to poverty, crime, and inequality.
An organizer of the protest, MaryLiz Biubwa, said, “Education must be accessible to every child of a country despite any title attached to them.”
Biubwa added, “How will they understand their growth and development when the one supposed to guide them bans and excludes them from learning?”
Meanwhile, Makena Njeri, founder of Bold Africa, a gay rights network, said: “Personally, as a person who went through the Kenyan Education system, as a queer child, I know the pressure that they go through.”
“Now that the government is adding more pressure to institutions to continue discriminating [against] the kids [and] is something that we’ll not stand,” she added.
Kenyan government doubtful of pushing through
Magoha had said that instead of boarding schools, these students should be restricted to day schools closer to their homes so that they don’t influence other students.
Magoha told boarding schools that, “Your responsibility should be for the greater majority and not a few individuals. Do not allow yourself to be intimidated by children.”
Voice of America (VOA) reported that Magoha has yet to officially order schools to bar suspected gay students.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a state education official said the usual process would require a formal circular to be sent to all heads of boarding schools.
“Implementing such a directive would be very difficult and can lead to a lot of fury,” said the education official.