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Six years in the making, The Pink Line: The World’s Queer Frontiers by Mark Gevisser follows protagonists from nine countries across four continents to tell the story of how LGBTQ+ rights became one of the world’s central human rights frontiers in the second decade of the twenty-first century. The Pink Line folds intimate and deeply affecting stories of individuals, families and communities into a definitive account of how the world has changed, so dramatically, in such a short space of time.

In this special event, Kenyan writer and activist Kevin Mwachiro joins the author Mark Gevisser and fellow African activists, Nickita Maesala and Xeenarh Mohammed, to discuss the many themes that permeate the book. Drawing from their wide knowledge and experience of LGBTQ+ Rights and activism on the African continent, the panellists explore the importance of writers and gay icons in shifting the narrative around queerness; the gains and losses of the past decade; the impact of colonialism and globalisation; the ‘awkward dance’ between legal reform and social change; and the role of the Church in the debate around issues of gender identity and sexuality in Africa.