Makerere University Researcher, Dr Stella Nyanzi turns 46 years today (16th June). Through the up and down falls of her life-time, this indeed, is a day she celebrates for the life-long expedition she has sailed through.
Campus Bee takes you through her life journey that has made her one of “Africa’s most prominent gender rights activists and leading scholar in the emerging field of African queer studies” according to the International Press Institute (IPI).
Who is Dr. Stella Nyanzi?
Born on 16th June 1974, Dr Stella Nyanzi is a Ugandan medical anthropologist, feminist, queer rights activist, and scholar of sexuality, family planning, and public health.
She received her Bachelor’s of Arts in Mass Communication and Literature at Makerere University, Master’s of Science in Medical Anthropology at University College London and also, received her PhD in Anthropology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where she studied social anthropology and sexuality.
Highlights of her Life
In April 2016, Dr. Nyanzi staged a nude protest after she was locked out of her office by the Makerere University Institute of Social Research (MISR) director, Prof Mahmood Mamdani, who justified the lockout on the grounds that the fellow refused to teach in the institute’s doctoral program. The dispute at the Ugandan Premier university attracted attention of dozens of international Africanist scholars.
In 2017, Dr. Nyanzi was sentenced to jail after being convicted for cyber harassment. Nyanzi was charged with insulting President Yoweri Museveni and First Lady Janet Museveni.
In 2019, the High Court in Kampala awarded her Shs50m in damages for violation of her right to movement after the government slapped her with a travel ban.
And just last week, the High Court in Kampala, awarded her Shs120 million in damages after the institution defied the orders of the Staff Appeals Tribunal to reinstate her.
Dr Stella Nyanzi has received several awards of recognition for her writings, human rights activism and scholarship some of which include Oxfam Novib/PEN International Award for Freedom of Expression, Solidarity Ugandan Human Rights Award.
As she kicks off her new age, she hints to engage in a yet to be identified position in the forthcoming 2021 Political Campaign, which according to her, is a ‘leap into the unknown.’
“I still menstruate. Yeah, let’s blow apart the myth that all women start menopause by 45 years old.” She joyfully satires, in her Facebook birthday-celebration post.
From us, it’s a happy birthday to her!
