Nick Hadikwa Mwaluko

Waafrika 123: 1992. Kenya. Two Womyn Fall in Love. Nick Hadikwa Mwaluko Revised Version of the 2013 Shorter Waafrika edition

1992. Kenya. On the eve of the country's first democratic elections, everyone is brewing with expression, even in the tiny, rural village, Luoland, with no elec - tricity or running water some 250 kilometers northwest of Nairobi. There, although lesbians 'don't exist' in Kenya, two women fall in love: Bobby, a blond American development worker and Awino from the Luo tribe. To complicate matters, Awino's father is also the Chief who enforces traditions and codes. So when famine strikes, the villagers blame the lesbians for the many, many deaths by starvation. To regain equilibrium, to make everything "normal" once again, Awino - butch bordering on trans - must be "circumcised" - by force - so s/he can act like a real woman rather than a woman "who wants to be" a man, and Bobby must leave. Will Awino and Bobby agree to separate for the good of their community? Or will the village itself change?