Alice Nkom
Alice Nkom | |
---|---|
![]() Alice Nkom (2010) | |
Born |
1945 Putkak, Cameroon |
Nationality | Cameroonian |
Occupation | lawyer |
Known for | LGBT advocacy, first black female lawyer in Cameroon |
Alice Nkom is a Cameroonian lawyer, well known for her advocacy towards decriminalization of homosexuality in Cameroon.[1][2][3] She studied law in Toulouse and has been a lawyer in Douala [4] since 1969. At the age of 24, she was the first black woman called to the bar in Cameroon.[5]
Her work involved the defence in a variety of situations, including young victims of police violence, but she became best known for her defence of people accused of homosexuality (criminalized in Cameroon). In 2003 she founded ADEFHO: the Association for the Defence of Homosexuality, and she became more and more the shining example of a "ally to the LGBT cause".
In January 2011, she was threatened with arrest by a representative of Cameroon's Ministry of Communication after ADEFHO was awarded a €300,000 grant by the European Union.[6] Later that year, she represented Jean-Claude Roger Mbede, a man imprisoned for three years for "homosexuality and attempted homosexuality" following a series of SMS messages to a male acquaintance,[6] and who was named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.[7]
In 2006 and 2013, she was a keynote speaker at the Human Rights conferences that took place in conjunction with the OutGames, in Montréal Canada (2006) and Antwerp Belgium (2013).[8] In March 2014, Alice Nkom was awarded with the "7. Menschenrechtspreis" (7th human rights award) by the German section of Amnesty International.[9]
See also
- Joel Gustave Nana Ngongang, Cameroonian LGBT activist
- LGBT rights in Africa
- LGBT rights in Cameroon
References
- ↑ Duparc, Agathe (2010-03-22). "Au Cameroun, une avocate dénonce la répression de l'homosexualité". Le Monde (in French).
- ↑ Flick (2011-01-19). "Campaña de hostigamiento contra Alice Nkom, luchadora a favor de los derechos de gays y lesbianas en Camerún". Dos Manzanas (in Spanish).
- ↑ "Cameroon Human Rights – Alice Nkom to be arrested". Cameroon Today. January 2011.
- ↑ BIO Speakers Human Rights Conference Antwerp, 2013
- ↑ http://www.fiertemontrealpride.com/fierte/presidents-dhonneur/
- 1 2 Andrew Harmon (28 November 2011). "A Lone Activist Crusades for Change in Cameroon". The Advocate. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- ↑ "Prisoner of Conscience, Imprisoned for Homosexuality". Amnesty International. 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- ↑ BIO Speakers at the Human Rights Conference in Antwerp, 2013
- ↑ "7. Menschenrechtspreis (in German)". Amnesty International. 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.