Nigerian Humanist leader Leo Igwe and his Humanist colleagues have been awarded the Rainbow Humanist Award by Nordic Rainbow Humanists for their risky public support of LGBT rights in Nigeria.
The award was made to Leo Igwe and his colleagues “for their courageous defence of LGBT rights and dignity in the face of ferocious attacks from homophobic Nigerian politicians, parliamentarians and religious leaders calling for the imprisonment of those having homosexual relations and those who dare to support such relations, and for reminding fellow countrymen and women in Nigeria of the need to safeguard the spirit of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the need for reason, common sense, thoughtfulness, knowledge, love, tolerance, solidarity and empathy, instead of hate and homophobia.”
“We are very proud to salute African humanists for speaking out so forcefully on behalf of LGBT rights which have long been supported by the International Humanist and Ethical Union”, said Nordic Rainbow Humanists secretary Bill Schiller.
The award was announced at a ceremony at Stockholm’s LGBT centre and bookshop, Hallongrottan, by Carl Johan Kleberg, former chairman of the Swedish Humanist Association.
Leo Igwe is IHEU’s international representative in West Africa and executive secretary of the Nigerian Humanist Movement.
Earlier awards had been presented to outstanding European LGBT Humanist activists including George Broadhead a co-founder and former long-serving secretary of the UK Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association, Karen-Christine Friele, former long-serving president of the Norwegian Lesbian and Gay Society and still the unrivalled heroine of the country’s lesbian and gay movement, and Professor Rob Tielman of the Netherlands, a past president of the International Humanist & Ethical Union who has been honoured by the Dutch government for his campaigning activities.
Source: The Pink Triangle Trust http://www.pinktriangle.org.uk/