West Asian and North African Lesbian and Queer Women's Pride Day
When I was initially doing research to plan my posts for this month I stumbled on WANA Lesbian and Queer Women's Pride Day. However, upon trying to do further research on it today, I have come to the realization that it only seemed to happen twice. Once in 2021 and again in 2022.
So instead here's a small history on it!
WANA LQWPD is honor of Sarah Hegazy (also spelled Hegazi or Higazy). Hegazy was an Egyptian activist, writer, tech professional, daughter and sister. In 2017 she was photographed at the concert of a gay musician waving a rainbow pride flag. As a result, Hegazy was detained and tortured for three months. The mental effects of this was tremendous. She suffered from PTSD, depression, anxiety, hallucinations and tremors among other things. Upon release Hegazy was granted Asylum in Canada. Shortly after arriving in Canada Hegazy's mother, who she cared very much for, passed from cancer in Egypt, but Hegazy was unable to return. Whilst in Canada, Hegazy remained a political and social activist. (You can read my full essay on Hegazy here)
During this time, Hegazy attempted suicide twice. Unfortunately, in June of 2020, she attempted a third time and succeeded.
This day was created in remembrance of Hegazy and as a way to highlight the struggles of lesbian, queer, and transgender women in the Middle East (later changed to West Asian) and North African regions.
On this day, it is asked that we remember and honor the lives of all of the women who fought for rights in the MENA and WANA regions.
Please take the time to look through the following sources and learn more about the who have, and who continue to fight.
As International Women’s Month wraps up, we remember eight women organizers from the region who fought for a better region and in whose stor
Through the years, the work of women journalists in the Middle East has gone far beyond reporting news and has become a vital force for trut
By Tasnim Nazeer Despite setbacks in the wake of the “Arab Spring”, the region’s female activists gained strength following the …
If you would like to read the joint statements from the first and second years of WANA LQWPD you can find them here:
A year later Hegazy’s memory lives on as a group of lesbian and queer feminists in Egypt and Tunisia launch their first MENA Lesbian and Que
Joint statement on the second anniversary of the death of the lesbian and queer activist Sarah Hegazy/ WANA Lesbian and Queer Woman's Pride
