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‘This is not just my win’: trans Ugandan wins official gender change

Cleopatra Kambugu’s new ID has been celebrated by fellow rights activists – but gender recognition remains out of reach for most

By Soita Khatondi Wepukhulu
‘This is not just my win’: trans Ugandan wins official gender change
Photo: Cleopatra Kambugu. Photo edit: Inge Snip. All rights reserved
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In October 2021, Cleopatra Kambugu publicly celebrated receiving a new national identity card bearing her preferred gender marker and name.

“My ID says that I am also here,” the Ugandan trans woman and human rights activist said in an interview with openDemocracy. “This is not just my win, it’s also the community’s win,” she added.

This is only the latest milestone for trans people in Uganda in Kambugu’s life. In 2015, she had sex reassignment surgery. In 2018, she received a new passport with her preferred gender marker and name (though getting her new ID card is more significant).

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