March 21 was a historic day for Namibia with the inauguration of Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the country’s first female president who resoundingly won last November’s presidential election.

Nandi-Ndaitwah in her inaugural speech vowed to uphold the rights of every Namibian by bringing shared prosperity for all, and pledged to enhance gender parity across the country.

“The task facing me, as the fifth president of the Republic of Namibia, is to preserve the gains of our independence on all fronts and to ensure that the unfinished agenda of economic and social advancement of our people is carried forward with vigor and determination to bring about shared, balanced prosperity for all,” she said. “I am optimistic that, as a nation, we can make a success of our country. We must work together as a united people with one heart and one mind.”

Nandi-Ndaitwah’s remarks come at a time when LGBTQ Namibians face the possibility of being criminalized.

MP Jerry Ekandjo in 2023 tabled the Marriage Amendment Private Members’ Bill and Spouse Bill, which would have made same-sex marriages illegal, regardless of whether they had been legally performed outside Namibia. Those who would have violated the proposed law would have faced up to six years in prison, a $5,000 fine, or both.

Former President Nangolo Mbumba earlier this month refused to sign the bills into law because a majority of MPs did not pass them, and they presented constitutional challenges. Former Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety, and Security Minister Albert Kawana last July tabled the marriage proposal in parliament, and labeled the two bills as redundant.

The Marriage Bill, which became law on Oct. 2, 2024, exactly four months after Kawana tabled it, repealed the Marriage Act of 1961 and all its subsequent amendments, including the Supreme Court decision which recognized same-sex marriages legally performed outside Namibia.

The Marriage Act of 2024 says a marriage or marital union between persons of the same sex wherever conducted, or a marriage or marital union conducted in a country other than Namibia which cannot be validly conducted in Namibia is illegal. Anyone who violates the law can face up to four years in prison, a $1,000 fine, or both.

“This law impacts all Namibians, from stricter marriage age requirements to mandatory public notification of intended unions,” said Equal Rights Namibia, a Namibian LGBTQ advocacy group. “Its effects extend beyond same-sex couples, complicating cross-national marriages and limiting personal freedoms. Equal Namibia calls for strategic litigation support and Namibians whose rights are violated by this unconstitutional law to join us in our fight.”

Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain decriminalized following last July’s landmark High Court ruling that struck down Namibia’s apartheid-era sodomy laws.

“The Namibia High Court’s decision to overturn these laws and decriminalize consensual same-sex sexual conduct is a victory for love, for equality and for human rights,” said Khanyo Farise, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for East and Southern Africa. “This ruling is a step toward ending discrimination in equal access to health care and other social services and ensuring that all people in Namibia can choose their partners without fear of reprisals and live their lives in dignity.”

Denmark is the latest country to issue a travel advisory for transgender people who plan to visit the U.S.

“When applying for an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) or visa to the United States, there are two gender designations to choose from: Male or female,” reads the travel advisory the Danish Foreign Affairs Ministry issued on Friday, according to the Associated Press. “If you have the gender designation ‘X’ in your passport, or you have changed your gender, it is recommended that you contact the U.S. Embassy prior to travel for guidance on how to proceed.”

President Donald Trump shortly after he took office on Jan. 20 issued an executive order that bans the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in response to directive ordered State Department personnel to “suspend any application requesting an ‘X’ sex marker and do not take any further action pending additional guidance from the department.”

Trump on Feb. 5 issued another executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams. The Guardian reported Rubio later instructed American consular officials to deny visas in “cases where applicants are suspected of misrepresenting their purpose of travel or sex.”

The German government earlier this month issued a travel advisory for trans and nonbinary people who are planning to visit the U.S. The AP notes Finland followed suit.

WorldPride is scheduled to take place in D.C. from May 17-June 8.

InterPride, the organization that coordinates WorldPride events, on March 12 issued its own travel advisory for trans and nonbinary people who want to travel to the U.S.

“Due to an executive order issued by the U.S. president on Jan. 20, all travelers must select either ‘male’ or ‘female’ when applying for entry or visas. The gender listed at birth will be considered valid,” reads the advisory. “If your passport has ‘X’ as a gender marker or differs from your birth-assigned gender, we strongly recommend contacting the U.S. diplomatic mission before traveling to confirm entry requirements.”

The Capital Pride Alliance is the local WorldPride host. Capital Pride said it is working on the guide mentioned in the InterPride advisory.

The guide has yet to be released.

The African Human Rights Coalition, a group that promotes LGBTQ rights in Africa, last week called for a boycott of WorldPride, noting an “antagonistic fascist regime which presents distinct dangers to foreign LGBTQI+ attendees” now governs the U.S. Egale Canada, one of Canada’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organizations, in February announced its members will not attend WorldPride and any other event in the U.S. because of the Trump-Vance administration’s policies.

Transgender Kenyans’ efforts to receive birth certificates that reflect their gender identity now hang in the balance, despite several legal victories.

Attorney General Dorcus Oduor has asked the High Court to dismiss a pending case that three trans people have filed. Oduor argues a person is born either “a boy or a girl” and existing laws do not allow for anyone to change their sex in adulthood.

Oduor in her written submission to Justice Bahati Mwamuye also argues gender identity and the government’s issuance of a birth certificate are based on a person’s physical appearance. Her argument, however, exempts intersex people.

The government last month officially recognized intersex people in a Kenya Gazette notice that said they can receive birth certificates with an “I” gender marker. The country’s historic intersex rights law took effect in 2022.

“The existing laws of the land do not contemplate change of gender, and marks of transgender are not a basis for determining one’s gender as either male or female,” Oduor states.  

Oduor further maintains that a person’s feeling they are “unwillingly living in a wrong body” cannot justify changing their gender. Oduor maintains a person’s gender is based on fact — not feelings — and the plaintiffs at birth were registered and named based on their gender status.

Audrey Mbugua, Maurene Muia, and Arnest Thaiya are the three trans people suing Oduor, the Registrar of Births and Deaths, the National Registration Bureau, and Immigration Services Director General Evelyn Cheluget in order to receive amended birth certificates.

The plaintiffs argue the current discrepancy in crucial documents — birth certificates, national identification cards, and passports — has denied them opportunities and rights. They disagree with Oduor’s position on determining one’s sex, arguing the process is “not scientific, but subjective.”

“There are no identifiers of sex or definitions of the biological or psychological components of sex,” the plaintiffs argue. “In any event, such biological components cannot be limited to genitalia only, but also chromosomes, gonads, hormones, and the brain.” 

They further maintain that trans people cannot be forced to live with names of the wrong gender as adults. Oduor, however, maintains that only mistakes, such as spelling errors or parents in ID documents, can be changed and not a gender marker.  

Amka Africa Justice, Jinsiangu (“my gender”) Kenya, and the Kenya Human Rights Commission are among the advocacy groups that have joined the case.

Mbugua, a well-known trans activist, has been pushing for legal rights in the court for more than a decade.

She filed a lawsuit in which she demanded the government identify her as a woman and to be allowed to live as one, not as a male as she was registered at birth. A landmark ruling in 2014 ordered the Kenya National Examinations Council to change Mbugua’s name and replace the gender marker on her academic certificates. 

Mbugua also founded Transgender Education and Advocacy, a group with more than 100 members. A long court battle that ultimately proved successful allowed Transgender Education and Advocacy to become the first publicly-funded trans rights organization in Kenya.

Transgender Education and Advocacy’s initiatives include offering legal aid to trans people seeking to change their names, photos, and gender markers in documents, pushing for legal reforms to end discrimination based on gender identity and expression, and providing economic assistance to trans people who want to overcome poverty and sexual exploitation.

Jinsiangu Kenya, established in 2018, also champions equal access to health care and other basic services without discrimination based on gender identity and expression.

A report that Jinsiangu Kenya released in July 2021 notes 63 percent of trans people surveyed did not have ID documents or records with gender markers that coincide with their gender identity. The report also notes 10 percent of trans people surveyed said officials denied them an ID card or passport, and they were unemployed because they did not have the proper documents.