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{UAH} Ugandan Lesbian facing Deportation

 

United Kingdom Deporting Lesbian Mom To Face Possible Beatings, Imprisonment, Death In Uganda

Asaba_AidahA young Ugandan woman who fled her home country after being persecuted, beaten and raped because she is a lesbian will be deported from the United Kingdom this Saturday, May 24, according to Gay Star News. Aidah Asaba, 27, came to the UK last October seeking asylum after life in Uganda became untenable. If deported, Aidah fears she will be killed. 
Aidah's hell first began at 22 when her mother caught her with her then girlfriend: 

‘That’s when the problems started. My family rejected me, calling me weak and evil. My father locked me in my room almost 10 hours and beat me with a stick and with his fists. Then he kicked me out of the house.

‘I went back to the university. After some time he called me to come back home and told me he had a man to marry me. He said I didn’t have a choice, if I refused he would disown me or take me to prison.’

Aidah did marry and her husband eventually found out about her sexual identity. He raped and beat her on a repeated basis. She eventually gave birth to a daughter, now four, whom she had to leave in Uganda when she fled for the UK. 
As a demonstration of the anti-gay blood-lust that awaits her should she be forced to return, Aidah recounted a time she received an ominous summons from members of her community:

Community leaders sent me a letter and demanded I come to a meeting to discuss my sexuality. They said I was recruiting young girls to be lesbians.

I have been to meetings like that before. I have attended some meetings where they just started beating people. There is no control.

Earlier this year, Uganda passed a bill that criminalized homosexuality, punishing victims with up to life in prison. A report has since shown that anti-gay violence has been on the rise since the law was passed. Local officials have also wasted no time enforcing the law with many individuals already face charges in court. Ugandan newspapers have even published the names of individuals suspected of being homosexuals, Aidah among them. 
UgandaGiven the state of affairs in Uganda, Aidah has very real concerns for her safety should she be forced to return. And though the UK has a policy of not deporting LGBT asylum seekers who would face certain persecution if sent home, Aidah’s deportation has for some reason been fast-tracked: 

It harmed her case with the UK Home Office that she didn’t go out to gay bars in Britain as they didn’t believe she was lesbian. But she told GSN she was traumatized from what had happened to her and from leaving behind her daughter so stayed in the house rather than partying.

In January she applied for asylum but just six days later she was arrested and put in to an asylum detention center near London's Heathrow Airport. 

You’ll recall we previously reported on accounts that surfaced of other LGBT asylum seekers in the UK facing ‘extraordinary obstacles’ in proving to the UK Home Office that they were in fact gay. Though Keith Vaz, Labour MP and chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, previously remarked that "It is absurd for a judge or a caseworker to have to ask an individual to prove that they are lesbian or gay, to ask them what kind of films they watch, what kind of material they read” and that "People should accept the statement of sexuality by those who seek asylum,” it seems that Aidah’s statement of her sexuality has not been accepted by officials handling her case.
You can sign a petition calling on the Home Office to cancel Aidah’s deportation HERE.
 
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Comments

  1. "It harmed her case with the UK Home Office that she didn’t go out to gay bars in Britain as they didn’t believe she was lesbian"
    Since when did bar hopping become a requirement to be gay? What a load of shite.

    Posted by: LiamB | May 21, 2014 8:36:51 PM


  2. "she didn’t go out to gay bars in Britain"
    WTF?!
    I haven't been to a gay bar in nearly a decade. Am I straight?

    Posted by: Randy | May 21, 2014 8:43:42 PM


  3. Like someone who'd fled her country after being abused longterm, raped and beaten would feel like hanging around in bars or "proving" herself through socializing? After that level of trauma, it's pretty remarkable if she even feels like leaving her house at all. Good lord, maybe someone should work on deporting from the UK whoever put those kinds of offensive standards on granting asylum.

    Posted by: bobbyjoe | May 21, 2014 8:56:36 PM



  4. Sick. The "Home Office" didn't learn anything from the recent case of
    Jackie Nanyonjo, who WAS deported and WAS murdered. They have blood on their hands.
    http://oblogdeeoblogda.me/2013/03/14/protestors-call-for-uk-home-secretary-to-resign-after-deported-ugandan-lesbian-dies/

    Posted by: Clive | May 21, 2014 9:05:06 PM


  5. I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO A GAY BAR IN MY LIFE!
    OH MY GOD, COULD I BE STRAIGHT. YUK!

    Posted by: BRAINS | May 21, 2014 9:09:12 PM


  6. If I were an African who was lucky enough to make it to America or Europe I'd instantly claim to be gay whether I was or not. "DON'T SEND ME BACK THERE------PLEASE!!!! I CLAIM ASYLUM."

    Posted by: Conrad | May 21, 2014 9:41:29 PM


  7. so every underage gay isn't gay till they are 21 and go to a bar

    Posted by: Moz's | May 21, 2014 11:39:45 PM


  8. This is evil, sick and terrifying - they've sentenced her to death! I signed the petition but I don't see it helping. Is she really out of options?

    Posted by: JMC | May 22, 2014 4:10:52 AM


  9. This is horrible.

    Posted by: olympiasepiriot | May 22, 2014 7:58:35 AM


  10. Well, does Britan have the same policy as the US? If you marry a Brit you instantly gain citizenship? I wish she had found some guy (Gay or Straight) to marry her.
    And will that policy apply to Gay & Lesbian married couples in the 18 US states that allow marriage equality, or is it a federal government matter.
    I'd get married and divorced over and over again to stop someone from being sent to their home country to be murdered.

    Posted by: Derrick from Philly | May 22, 2014 11:56:57 AM


  11. Ofcourse, I meant "Britain"
    Y'all refrain from alcohol if you can.

    Posted by: Derrick from Philly | May 22, 2014 11:58:07 AM


  12. Why even have asylum then. Why can't she use it?

    Posted by: terryp | May 22, 2014 12:23:47 PM


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