Movement for Minority Rights is a Nigerian LGBT rights movement. One of their aims is to provide safety for LGBT people by offering temporary shelter to them.
Movement for Minority Rights is based in Maiduguri, in Bornu State, northern Nigeria. This area not only suffers from its encounters with Boko Haram terrorists but also from the Hisbah, the State Sharia Police. This police enforces the religious Sharia law, which criminalizes same-sex sexual activity with stoning to death.
Due to the Boko Haram threat the Nigerian Army is currently in control in Maiduguri in order to provide security, meaning that Hisbah has less power and control for now. This creates an opportunity for Movement for Minority Rights to open a shelter facility in the city.
With our funding, they set up a shelter in a five-bedroom apartment in a quiet suburban area. They also bought all the necessary furniture and equipment to accommodate up to 40 beneficiaries who can remain in the shelter for a maximum of 12 months, until they find a more permanent place to stay.
“Since I started living in the shelter, I have learnt to see others like me as part of my family and community, here I can be free to be who I am and not be afraid for my life. I hope one day I will go back to my village and still be who I am and no one will try to hurt me”
Project results
- A 5-bedroom apartment was found in a safe district in Maiduguri, and secured for 12 months upfront;
- Carpentry works were executed to prepare the apartment for the shelter beneficiaries;
- 42 beneficiaries are currently residing in the shelter.