Stella Nyanzi

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Stella Nyanzi (born June 16, 1974 in Masaka , Uganda ) is a Ugandan gender researcher, medical anthropologist and feminist who was imprisoned in April 2017 after meeting Ugandan Prime Minister Yoweri Museveni and his wife and education minister of the country, Janet Museveni , had insulted in a dispute over catamenial products for girls. Nyanzi was released in February 2020.

Live and act

Stella Nyanzi studied from 1993 to 1996 at Makerere University in Kampala and completed a Bachelor of Arts in journalism, communication studies and literature. From 1999 to 2000, she studied at University College London and obtained a Master of Science degree in medical anthropology. She then completed a Master of Arts in development research and finance at Nkumba University .

After completing her doctorate (2003 to 2008) at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on the sexuality of women in Africa and gender-specific power politics, Nyanzi became a Research Fellow at Makerere University. She uses social media such as Facebook and Twitter for her feminist activism . Using the keyword # Pads4GirlsUG on Twitter and on a crowdfunding website, she raised funds to distribute free pads to girls in schools. The background to this is a strong taboo on menstruation in Uganda, while women are considered impure. Since modern menstrual hygiene is too expensive, many girls stay home during their periods and miss school.

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni (in office since 1986) had promised in his 2016 election campaign to distribute free sanitary pads for all girls in schools and garnered so many votes, especially among women. The appointment of his wife, Janet, as Minister of Education, who had announced plans to reform the education sector, initially raised hopes that the situation of women and girls in Uganda would fundamentally improve. After the Ministry of Education announced that there would be no free sanitary towels for lack of money, Nyanzi wrote on Facebook that the presidential couple were "a couple of ass cheeks". The quote in the original is: “That is what buttocks do. They shake, jiggle, shit and fart. Museveni is just another pair of buttocks… Ugandans should be shocked that we allowed these buttocks to continue leading our country. ”She was arrested in April 2017 because of this statement. She is accused of “cyber harassment” in two cases. Non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch protested what they believed to be unjustified detention. The head of the African Center for Media Excellence (ACME) in Kampala described Nyanzi's imprisonment as an attack on the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Ugandan constitution.

Under the Twitter hashtag #FreeStellaNyanzi , many African women voiced their protest and called for Nyanzi's immediate release.

Nyanzi was released on bail on May 10, 2017; the allegations against them were not dropped.

She was detained again in October 2018. She refused to be released on bail because, according to her own statement, she felt safer in prison, she wanted to continue her educational work with the imprisoned women in the prison of Luzira and would expect another immediate arrest if released:

“If I can't write what I want about Museveni on Facebook then I will remain here, and write from here. If I go home, it will be a matter of days before they arrest me again. I don't want to be free if I can't write and criticize Museveni. "

On February 20, 2020, an appeals court overturned the verdict on formal grounds and Nyanzi was released.

During a lockdown in Uganda due to the corona crisis, food prices rose in spring 2020 while it was banned from distributing food donations to those in need. Aid for the hungry, as announced by President Musevi, was largely absent. Stella Nyanzi demonstrated on May 18, 2020 in Kampala with some supporters who held banners with "We need food" and "Stop using Covid-19 to violate human rights". After a short while, Nyanzi was arrested by the police and detained for three days. In an interview, she then spoke about police violence and the suppression of freedom of expression by Musevi.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Who is Stella Nyanzi? Biography, CV, background, marriage, career and war against Museveni , article on ugblizz.com from April 11, 2017, accessed on April 14, 2017
  2. ↑ Uganda: Police Officer Who Came Up With 'Pair of Buttocks' Charge Speaks , AllAfrica.com on April 14, 2017, accessed on April 14, 2017
  3. ↑ Mao, human rights activists condemn Dr Nyanzi arrest , Daily Monitor April 11, 2017, accessed April 14, 2017
  4. ^ Fury over arrest of academic who called Uganda's president a pair of buttocks , The Guardian on April 13, 2017, accessed on April 14, 2017
  5. ↑ Bloody struggle for emancipation , taz on April 11, 2017, accessed on April 14, 2017
  6. ↑ Museveni critic Stella Nyanzi to appear in court , Al Jazeera on April 10, 2017, accessed on April 14, 2017
  7. ↑ allafrica.com
  8. ↑ www.monitor.co.ug
  9. ↑ URN: Nyanzi rejects bail, sent back to Luzira. In: The Observer - Uganda. November 9, 2018, accessed September 10, 2019 .
  10. ^ Baker Batte: I feel safer in prison - Stella Nyanzi. In: The Observer - Uganda. December 19, 2018, accessed September 10, 2019 .
  11. ^ Boniface Mwangi: I visited Stella Nyanzi in Luzira ... In: Twitter. September 10, 2019, accessed on September 10, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Ugandans celebrate acquittal of popular activist Stella Nyanzi. africanews.com on February 21, 2020, accessed February 26, 2020
  13. ↑ Police violence and hunger in Uganda: "The knee of dictator Museveni has been pressing on our neck for too long". In: Spiegel online. June 20, 2020, accessed June 20, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Nyanzi, Stella
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ugandan gender researcher, medical anthropologist and feminist
DATE OF BIRTH June 16, 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH Masaka , Uganda