LGBTQIA+ rights are not protected equally around the globe. According to Equaldex, Africa is the continent that ranks the worst in queer equality, due to the very restrictive and discriminatory laws, and societal disapproval, despite the diversity amongst countries.
In Kenya, country that ranks 155 in the index of LGBTQIA+ equality out of 197 countries, laws criminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults. However, it’s not illegal to identify as homosexual or to organise for LGBTQIA+ rights, despite the loud complaints of Christian and Muslim groups in the country. This peculiar setup has given activists and members of the community some space to associate and reunite, and to celebrate their identity in safe spaces through demonstrations of queer culture such as ballroom or drag performances.
When working on this issue, several associations were contacted in order to assess that the consent forms for were up to their standards.
Performers were invited to write down how they feel when they perform, and this was superimposed to their portraits to achieve a collaborative approach.
Laia Ros is a photographer and multimedia storyteller, graduated in journalism from Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona). She is currently based in Brussels.
She combines her photojournalistic and assignment work with documentary and long term projects, in which she intends to portray the subjective element, the emotions and feelings of the people she photographs, for which she often employs a collaborative practice to invite them to dive into their own experience.
She has collaborated with El País, El Diario, La Vanguardia, Getty Images, ID agency, Diari Ara, El Quinze-Diari Públic, El Salto, Pikara Magazine, Playground Magazine, or iDNES, amongst others.
She has been an apprentice for the BBC's Newsround program in Salford (United Kingdom) and a trainee for Europa Press, Catalan News Agency, and the European Parliament (Belgium).
Instagram: _laia_ros_
Website: www.laiaros.com
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