My Father Hates Me, My Uncle Threw My Things on the Street

“My father is alive. My mother is dead. My father hates me because of my gender identity. As a teenager, I had to leave and stay with my grandmother. My granny sees me with boys only. Not girls.

One day, my grandmother asked me, ‘Why don’t I see you with girls, but only boys?’ Other people had told her that I am gay. She asked me pointedly whether I am gay or not. I told her that I am not gay, which was a lie. 

But one day, she found me in my bedroom with a boy having sex. She told my uncle, who came home, packed my things, and threw them in the street. I cried as they chased me. I took my things to a friend’s house. I took the case to my case manager. The NGO that the case manager works for arranged for my accommodation and rentals. Now I pay for the room myself. I pay the equivalent of 15 United States dollars (USD) monthly. Currently, I am looking for a job. I make money through sex work. Sometimes I pay the man to have sex with me. Sometimes it is the opposite. I can charge 4, 7, or 15 USD.

I have never taken any case to the Assemblyman (an elected representative of the community in the local assembly). He is part of the people who hate me. He is among my enemies. He is against the LGBTQI persons. During the election, the Assemblyman went on the radio and said if voted into power, he would catch all gay people and jail them. He won the elections. Now I am so afraid that he will catch me if I go there with my case.”