Alice Nkom
Alice Nkom (born January 14, 1945) is a Cameroonian lawyer, well known for her advocacy towards decriminalization of homosexuality in Cameroon.[1][2][3] She studied law in Toulouse and has been a lawyer in Douala[4] since 1969. At the age of 24, she was the first black French-speaking woman called to the bar in Cameroon.[5]
Alice Nkom | |
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Alice Nkom (2010) | |
Born | January 14, 1945 Poutkak, Cameroon |
Nationality | Cameroonian |
Occupation | lawyer |
Known for | LGBT advocacy, first black female French-speaking lawyer in Cameroon |
Her work involved the defence in a variety of situations, including young victims of police violence, but she became best known for her defence of people accused of homosexuality (criminalized in Cameroon). In 2003 she founded ADEFHO: the Association for the Defence of Homosexuality.[6] For her achievements in the fight against an "anti-gay crackdown", she was listed number two in The New Yorker's "The Eight Most Fascinating Africans of 2012" ranking.[7]
In January 2011, she was threatened with arrest by a representative of Cameroon's Ministry of Communication after ADEFHO was awarded a €300,000 grant by the European Union.[8] Later that year, she represented Jean-Claude Roger Mbede, a man imprisoned for three years for "homosexuality and attempted homosexuality" following a series of SMS messages to a male acquaintance,[8] and who was named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.[9]
In 2006 and 2013, she was a keynote speaker at the Human Rights conferences that took place in conjunction with the OutGames, in Montréal Canada (2006) and Antwerp Belgium (2013).[10] In March 2014, Alice Nkom was awarded with the "7. Menschenrechtspreis" (7th human rights award) by the German section of Amnesty International.[11]
See also
- First women lawyers around the world
- Joel Gustave Nana Ngongang, Cameroonian LGBT activist
- LGBT rights in Africa
- LGBT rights in Cameroon
References
- Duparc, Agathe (2010-03-22). "Au Cameroun, une avocate dénonce la répression de l'homosexualité". Le Monde (in French).
- Flick (2011-01-19). "Campaña de hostigamiento contra Alice Nkom, luchadora a favor de los derechos de gays y lesbianas en Camerún". Dos Manzanas (in Spanish).
- "Cameroon Human Rights – Alice Nkom to be arrested". Cameroon Today. January 2011.
- BIO Speakers Human Rights Conference Antwerp, 2013
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-24. Retrieved 2011-08-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Chonghaile, Clár Ní (2015-03-10). "Cameroon lawyer urges world to join her in fight against anti-gay legislation | Clár Ní Chonghaile". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
- Okeowo, Alexis (2012-12-07). "The Eight Most Fascinating Africans of 2012". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
- Andrew Harmon (28 November 2011). "A Lone Activist Crusades for Change in Cameroon". The Advocate. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- "Prisoner of Conscience, Imprisoned for Homosexuality". Amnesty International. 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- BIO Speakers at the Human Rights Conference in Antwerp, 2013
- "7. Menschenrechtspreis (in German)". Amnesty International. 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.