Meet The Woman Challenging The Stereotype Of Being Trans In Africa: "It's Not Sadness All The Time"
When Cleo Kambugu agreed to be the focus of a documentary about her life as a trans woman in Africa, she had a few stipulations.
“I wanted it be humanizing," she told Variety about the film, The Pearl of Africa. "I didn’t want it to focus on my victimhood or trivialize my reality. I wanted it to tell my story while also being able to talk about my resilience – I didn’t want to be portrayed as a weak person that needs to be saved."
The 28-year-old said she also wanted the movie, which tells the story of her romance with her cisgender male partner, Nelson Kasaija, to be able to start a conversation in her home country—a place she says is currently misunderstood.
“It’s about how Africa has been portrayed [in the media] – there’s no hope there. But that’s not true, and I’m happy to challenge that narrative," she said. "We also have fun. It’s not sadness all the time. It’s not Ebola all the time."
Even still, Cleo explained to Variety that she faced issues in her town because of being so open about who she is.
“I had to leave [Uganda] with Nelson because the homosexuality act was passed by our parliament, and what it meant was that the people who were homophobic in my country felt like they had a right to act on their hatred," she shared.
"It was scary for me, scary for my family, my partner and my friends. My activist self wanted to stay and do something, but I guess my weakness is my family and friends," she added. "So I had to lay low for a while."
The couple moved to Kenya, about 45 minutes away from their families, and Cleo now works as an LGBT rights activist.
"A lot of people tell me I’m so courageous, but I just think it’s life," she said. "When life throws you lemons you eat the rinds."
Watch a trailer for The Pearl of Africa below.
For more stories about LGBT people from around the world, visit Logo's Global Ally storytelling project, designed to provide inside looks into the lives of international LGBT people and feature ways to send direct messages of solidarity and support to activists everywhere.
