Dayon Monson: Trans Woman Escapes Tanzania, Comes To Toronto
28 Jul 2019.  -

Dayon Monson on her second day in Toronto enjoying the liberties of the Queer Village on O’Grady’s patio. Photo by Raymond Helkio.

Earlier this year Kenyan authorities conducted a mass arrest of 14 queer people and jailed them for two weeks without anyone in the public knowing where they were. One of those people was Dayon Monson, a 25-year-old trans woman who was forced to flee her home in Tanzania, Kenya or face the very real possibility of being murdered because of who she is. (Read CBC’s post on why Ottawa is anxious about this)

Dayon Monson, a trans woman who appeared in a remake of “Same Love” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (see the video below that was banned throughout Kenya). The 2012 original single was a massive Billboard hit, featuring a rapper from Kenya named Nuludini Kabugo Mugerwa. Kabugo pitched the idea of reworking the song as a protest against Kenya’s draconian laws against LGBTQ people. The video sparked a backlash that included Dayon being interrogated by police and government officials.

The city of Tanzania, where Dayon is from, has such a hate-on for queer people that their genocide plans include 30 years to life in prison if you are found to be gay, body cavity examinations, $10,000 in fines which ensures queer people remain in poverty if they ever do get out of prison, plus restricted, or no access to health care and employment, making it impossible to live. And many don’t. LGBTQ people die of illnesses including HIV/AIDS because they are denied treatment access. Suicide rates among LGBTQ people continue to rise as the government-sanctioned homophobia ensures queer people are shunned and denied any meaningful participation in their community.

With the support of Rainbow Railroad, Dayon has escaped to safety here in Toronto. Having arrived only a few days ago she is staying with me and my partner until she gets settled. In talking with Dayon, it’s clear that she is grateful for Canada and having a place to go, yet there’s no getting around the fact that Tanzania was her home. Being forced to flee overnight, leaving your friends, family and most of your possessions behind is profoundly sad. And she is. She is also a passionate activist who sees clearly that the way to change the laws and attitudes toward LGBTQ people is by continuing to share her story, and the stories of those who have reached out to her in order to put global pressure on Tanzania's government to end it’s barbaric persecution of LGBTQ people.

If you’d like to help, please watch AND SHARE this video and the story with your friends. 

"Same Love" by Art Attack