Between August 5th and 9th, 2015, the LGBT community in Uganda held their fourth Pride celebration despite the country being one of the worst in the world for LGBT rights. Moreover, the turnout was larger than ever before. As with previous Pride celebrations, the events were held in “secret”: they were not advertised to the public, and took place in private locations disclosed to members of the LGBT community and their supporters only a few days before an event. The program included presentations on issues of concern to LGBTs, a Mister and Miss Pride competition, a Pride march, and various other performances and festivities.
A transgender woman prepares for the festivities that evening. Kampala, Uganda. August 6, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
A transgender woman prepares for the festivities that evening. Kampala, Uganda. August 6, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
A DJ plays music on the opening night of Pride Week, in the courtyard of a “secret” location that was disclosed to members of the LGBT community and their supporters just two days prior, in order to ensure the security of participants. Kampala, Uganda. August 6, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
Members and supporters of the LGBT community gather in the courtyard of a “secret” location to watch dances after the opening reception of Pride week. Kampala, Uganda. August 7, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
A contestant prepares backstage for the Mister and Miss Pride competition. Kampala, Uganda. August 7, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
Contestants prepare backstage for the Mister and Miss Pride competition. Kampala, Uganda. August 7, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
Contestants prepare backstage for the Mister and Miss Pride competition. Kampala, Uganda. August 7, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
A member of the LGBT community performs a dance for for those who have gathered in the courtyard of a “secret” location for the opening reception of Pride week. Kampala, Uganda. August 7, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
Contestants prepare backstage for the Mister and Miss Pride competition. Kampala, Uganda. August 7, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
Contestants wait backstage at the Mister and Miss Pride competition. Kampala, Uganda. August 7, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
Contestants prepare backstage for the Mister and Miss Pride competition. Kampala, Uganda. August 7, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
Contestants wait backstage at the Mister and Miss Pride competition. Kampala, Uganda. August 7, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
The audience watches and celebrates at the Mister and Miss Pride competition. Kampala, Uganda. August 7, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
Contestants walk the runway at the Mister and Miss Pride competition. Kampala, Uganda. August 7, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
After the Pride march, members of the LGBT community and their supporters celebrate into the evening on the shores of Lake Victoria in Entebbe, 40 km from Kampala. Safety concerns made it impossible to hold the march in a more public or central location. Entebbe, Uganda. August 8, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
Contestants compete in the Mister and Miss Pride competition. Kampala, Uganda. August 7, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
Miss Pride Uganda is announced and crowned. Kampala, Uganda. August 7, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
Members of the LGBT community and their supporters participate in a Pride march in a park on the banks of Lake Victoria in Entebbe, 40 km from Kampala. Safety concerns made it impossible to hod the march in a more public location like downtown Kampala. Entebbe, Uganda. August 8, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
Contestants compete in the Mister and Miss Pride competition. Kampala, Uganda. August 7, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
After the Pride march, members of the LGBT community and their supporters celebrate into the evening on the shores of Lake Victoria in Entebbe, 40 km from Kampala. Safety concerns made it impossible to hold the march in a more public or central location. Entebbe, Uganda. August 8, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
After the Pride march, members of the LGBT community and their supporters celebrate into the evening on the shores of Lake Victoria in Entebbe, 40 km from Kampala. Safety concerns made it impossible to hold the march in a more public location like downtown Kampala. Entebbe, Uganda. August 8, 2015. © Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
Bio
Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi uses photography to explore the human condition across a variety of political and cultural contexts. She is based in Brooklyn, USA, but usually works in areas experiencing social unrest or humanitarian emergencies. Her photography has been published and showcased by various media outlets, including the New York Times, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde and Vice Magazine, and by international NGOs like Doctors without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières, Human Rights Watch and International Committee of the Red Cross. In 2014, she was named one of Lens Culture’s Top 50 Emerging Talents for 2014. In 2015, she received the ICRC Humanitarian Visa d’Or Award for her coverage of the Minova Rape Trial, eastern Congo’s most significant mass rape trial to date.
Diana’s interests reflect her multicultural background and upbringing: born in rural Romania to a Romanian mother and Iraqi father, Diana witnessed her family experience political circumstances that landed them as refugees in the former Yugoslavia, after which they were resettled to Canada. These early experiences led her to pursue careers in humanitarian aid and in human rights. For several years, she managed programs for the United Nations, and international nonprofits like Save the Children USA and Oxfam Great Britain, working on the ground in areas affected by conflict or natural disasters. In mid-2013, she decided to focus her professional efforts entirely on photography.
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Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi
Nice work but id really to see this go deeper.