Clare Byarugaba

Clare Byarugaba is an LGBT activist and feminist based in Uganda. She completed her Bachelors’ degree in International Business from Makerere University Business School. She briefly worked at the Parliament of Uganda as a Budget Officer in the Budget office. In 2011, driven by her passion to work for the realisation of the rights and freedom for the LGBTI community in Uganda, she became one of a handful of leaders of the movement who were determined to be visible and speak out for the voiceless. Clare worked as the Coordinator of the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CSCHRCL), a Coalition that successfully used its collective power to fight the notorious Anti-homosexuality Bill. She is one of the brains behind the first ever Ugandan gay pride of 2012. In addition to her courageous activism in Uganda, she is an advisor to the World Bank on LGBTI issues for the East African region. Clare was named the 2014 Oak Human Rights fellow at Colby College, where she led a lecture series for a seminar class about Human Rights in a global perspective. In recognition for her ground-breaking work, Clare and the Coalition received the 2011 U.S State Department Human Rights defenders award. She is currently working at Chapter Four Uganda as the Coordinator of the Equality and Non-discrimination program. Despite the immense risk that comes with being an activist in Uganda, Clare continues to tirelessly work towards fighting the social and institutional injustices that the LGBT community faces.