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LGBTIQ students kicked out of school in East Africa are fighting back

Homophobia, religion and the legacy of colonialism are hurting gay and lesbian school students in Kenya and Uganda – but they won’t be defeated

LGBTIQ students kicked out of school in East Africa are fighting back
Protest in Nairobi, Kenya in support of LGBTIQ school students, 13 January 2022 | John Ochieng / ZUMA Press Inc / Alamy Stock Photo. All rights reserved
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A young basketball player was branded a lesbian and kicked out of her Christian school.

A male student accused of “gayism” was beaten, interrogated and then expelled from his Muslim school.

These are among the shocking stories told to openDemocracy by victims of the homophobic, religious and colonial laws and attitudes that have seen generations of LGBTIQ children driven out of schools in East Africa.