July was a month of resilience, community, and celebration for FARUG. As we reflect on the past four weeks, our article provides a comprehensive look at the activities, discussions, and milestones that defined this period. This month’s article delves into our celebratory social Friday gathering, the crucial conversations held in our virtual spaces, and the ongoing efforts to strengthen activist leadership. In a context that continues to present challenges, this issue is a powerful reminder of our collective progress, the importance of self-care, and the enduring power of our community.”
Our Big Story: The LBQ Menstrual Health Summit. 2025
For FARUG, the recent LBQ menstrual health summit represented a significant and newsworthy event. This summit, while part of FARUG’s long-standing commitment to the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of LBQ womxn, stood out as a major story for several reasons. It not only highlighted a critical, often-overlooked aspect of health within the LBQ community but also demonstrated FARUG’s resilience and strategic advocacy in a challenging socio-political environment. The menstrual health summit further provided a bold, inclusive space where LBQ womxn convened on honest conversations about menstrual health, reimagining what dignified menstruation looks like in their community.
Furthermore, we launched the first of its kind, Claiming Dignified Menstruation, an Essential Guide for LBQ womxn. This publication seeks to challenge stigma and shame while centering the unique experiences of LBQ womxn navigating menstrual health. The publication further explores the intersections of gender, Sexual orientation and menstrual and further calls for dignified access to information, products, services and the policy changes needed to achieve menstrual equity. Grab your copy via here, https://linktr.ee/FARUG
FARUG @ 22
4th July is a significant day, not just a birthday but a powerful testament to the enduring spirit of community building and persistent of justice. We celebrated 22 years of dedicated work, an evidence to the unwavering strength of the LBQ womxn’s movement in Uganda. Community voices through their birthday messages, continued to appreciate the efforts rendered by FARUG and show solidarity.
Social Friday; Combating Misinformation and Hate Speech
In Uganda, persistent structural oppression which is deeply rooted in patriarchal norms, has historically shaped laws and policies that reinforce discrimination against LBQ womxn. However, some of these laws and policies are formed with bias and facts based on misinformation and disinformation. These systematic barriers have silenced womxn’s voices, limited their political agency and preventing them from shaping policies that reflect their realities. On 25th July, we convened a safe space for LBQ womxn focused on what misinformation is, the difference between misinformation and disinformation, propaganda and how its spreads especially during election times, understanding hate speech and its impact as well as response, safe and strategic communication. This social Friday safe space provided LBQ womxn with the ability to identify misinformation, respond to hate speech and practice safe communication online and offline especially during election period.
XSPACE: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT LEARNING FOR WOMXN IN UGANDA ‘LBQ WOMXN’S ROLE IN CIVIC PARTICIPATION’
As a follow up on our civic and political engagement learnings, we convened an X space on July 31/7/2025, a safe, affirming and, intentional virtual platform where LBQ womxn explored what meaningful civic participation looks like in the Ugandan context, as well facilitated a panel of young LBQ womxn who featured voices on guided conversations around; The Power of voice & Civic Engagement, Navigating the 2026 Elections and Leadership and future vision. The X space was also designed to inform, inspire, strengthen, LBQ womxn confidence and ability to participate in civic life while building a sense of collective power, thus, serving as a tool to keep LBQ womxn connected, engaged and safe beyond the life of the online space. Key learnings from the Civic Engagement Learning, why they have been inspired to participate meaningfully in the forth coming elections, why do they think it’s critical for them to participate in civic and political engagements? In case you missed out on the space, click here, https://x.com/i/spaces/1OdJrDXXyRXKX to catch up on the discussion.
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Thank you!.
