Changes

==Entering lesbian lifestyle==

==Entering lesbian lifestyle==

Kalende grew up as a preacher's kid in a [[Pentecostal]] household in [[Uganda]]. According to her own words she "joined lesbianism right after Makerere University" and "became rebellious". Kalende, the only child of her father and mother, has been openly gay since 2002, several years before she became a rights activist. In 2007 she left behind her family, and focused on [[Gay rights activism|LGBT activism]] instead. She traveled the globe speaking on so called "gay rights" issues and spearheaded the ''Sexual Minorities of Uganda'' (SMUG), an umbrella body for LGBT organizations in the country. She also worked with other organizations such as Freedom and Roam Uganda, and the Dignity Initiative. In November 2008, she befriended another woman with whom she soon found the connection that inspired them to exchange rings in a private ceremony. The couple met through a mutual friend, with Kalende as the more enthusiastic and stronger partner, until their relationship grew strong enough for them to start sharing a house. One openly gay and the other closeted, they enjoyed each other’s company, even going for an [[HIV]] test together.  

Kalende grew up as a preacher's kid in a [[Pentecostal]] household in [[Uganda]]. According to her own words she "joined lesbianism right after Makerere University" and "became rebellious". Kalende, the only child of her father and mother, has been openly gay since 2002, several years before she became a rights activist. In 2007 she left behind her family, and focused on [[Gay rights activism|LGBT activism]] instead. She traveled the globe speaking on so called "gay rights" issues and spearheaded the ''Sexual Minorities of Uganda'' (SMUG), an umbrella body for LGBT organizations in the country. She also worked with other organizations such as Freedom and Roam Uganda, and the Dignity Initiative. In November 2008, she befriended another woman with whom she soon found the connection that inspired them to exchange rings in a private ceremony. The couple met through a mutual friend, with Kalende as the more enthusiastic and stronger partner, until their relationship grew strong enough for them to start sharing a house. One openly gay and the other closeted, they enjoyed each other's company, even going for an [[HIV]] test together.  

In October 2009, Kalende’s partner, a 25-year-old woman whom she affectionately called Mimi, left for the United States as student. The same year, Kalende, then 27, let leading Ugandan newspaper ''Daily Monitor'' to publish her own picture alongside an article on lesbianism written from LGBT+ ideological perspective. There in, she gave more details on her then lesbian lifestyle: ''"she wasn’t my first partner, but I know that she is the last…I was her first serious partner... My partner is not like me, she’s not yet brave enough to be open, because she doesn’t want her family to know. I can’t approach my mother-in-law and tell her I am in love with her daughter. It would give her a heart attack."''<ref>{{cite web |title=The story of a young Ugandan gay couple |author= |url=http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/688334-823318-cbuo73z/index.html |}}</ref>  

In October 2009, Kalende's partner, a 25-year-old woman whom she affectionately called Mimi, left for the United States as student. The same year, Kalende, then 27, let leading Ugandan newspaper ''Daily Monitor'' to publish her own picture alongside an article on lesbianism written from LGBT+ ideological perspective. There in, she gave more details on her then lesbian lifestyle: ''"she wasn’t my first partner, but I know that she is the last…I was her first serious partner... My partner is not like me, she’s not yet brave enough to be open, because she doesn’t want her family to know. I can’t approach my mother-in-law and tell her I am in love with her daughter. It would give her a heart attack."''<ref>{{cite web |title=The story of a young Ugandan gay couple |author= |url=http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/688334-823318-cbuo73z/index.html |}}</ref>  

When the Ugandan parliament criminalized homosexual behavior in 2014, Kalende gained asylum in [[Canada]] as a refugee next year and became a fellow at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.  

When the Ugandan parliament criminalized homosexual behavior in 2014, Kalende gained asylum in [[Canada]] as a refugee next year and became a fellow at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.  

==Reaction of LGBT [[interest group]]==

==Reaction of LGBT [[interest group]]==

Kalende's defection leaves a sizeable hole in Ugandan LGBT activism. ''Sexual Minorities Uganda'' executive director Frank Mugisha gave a statement to the UK’s PinkNews, a self-described "LGBT+ media", which quotes him as saying ''“The news is shocking to me and many of my colleagues. I am very much worried about her”''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Popular LGBT activist declares she’s no longer a lesbian, shocking the community in Uganda |author=Sofia Lotto Persio |publisher=PinkNews |date=30 Jul 2018 |url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/07/30/popular-lgbt-activist-declares-shes-no-longer-a-lesbian-shocking-the-community-in-uganda/ |accessdate=3 Nov 2018}}</ref> LGBT activist Stella Nyanzi tried to question Kalende's honesty and suggested that “dangerous” religion’s ''“tenterhooks that can reach even the strongest among us”'' may be the true cause of her conversion while expecting Kalende could still “relapse” back into homosexuality, because − in line with [[dialectical unity of self-contradictions]] − ''“sexuality is fluid”''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Val’s sexuality is her business, Stella Nyanzi says on Kalende’s exit from lesbianism |publisher=Nairobi News |date=31 Jul 2018 |url=https://nairobinews.nation.co.ke/news/vals-sexuality-stella-nyanzi/ |accessdate=3 Nov 2018}}</ref>

Kalende's defection leaves a sizeable hole in Ugandan LGBT activism. ''Sexual Minorities Uganda'' executive director Frank Mugisha gave a statement to the UK's PinkNews, a self-described "LGBT+ media", which quotes him as saying ''“The news is shocking to me and many of my colleagues. I am very much worried about her”''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Popular LGBT activist declares she’s no longer a lesbian, shocking the community in Uganda |author=Sofia Lotto Persio |publisher=PinkNews |date=30 Jul 2018 |url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/07/30/popular-lgbt-activist-declares-shes-no-longer-a-lesbian-shocking-the-community-in-uganda/ |accessdate=3 Nov 2018}}</ref> LGBT activist Stella Nyanzi tried to question Kalende's honesty and suggested that “dangerous” religion's ''“tenterhooks that can reach even the strongest among us”'' may be the true cause of her conversion while expecting Kalende could still “relapse” back into homosexuality, because − in line with [[dialectical unity of self-contradictions]] − ''“sexuality is fluid”''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Val’s sexuality is her business, Stella Nyanzi says on Kalende’s exit from lesbianism |publisher=Nairobi News |date=31 Jul 2018 |url=https://nairobinews.nation.co.ke/news/vals-sexuality-stella-nyanzi/ |accessdate=3 Nov 2018}}</ref>

==See also==

==See also==