Noor Sultan, a 29-year-old Sudanese lesbian woman based in Cairo, is the Deputy Director and media officer of the Bedayaa Organization in Nile Valley Area Egypt and Sudan – an area in change.

– The situation in the Middle East is very shaky. Since early 2011, heads of state of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya were driven to exile and put behind bars. Yemeni leaders were forced to step aside, while the Syrian regime is fighting a desperate battle for survival. And recently the Sudanese government witnessed heavy protests in different parts of the country. In the last two years it has been made clear that no present government of can escape challenges to their rule. But despite the huge shift in the political situation nothing has changed regarding discrimination against homosexuals.

Bedayaa is an LGBTQI organization established in 2010. The organisation consists of community members who use peer education to educate and empower the community to stand up for their rights. The organization uses incremental and gradual approaches for social change. Bedayaa communicates regularly and networks with many local organizations such as:Helem (Lebanon), Meem (Lebanon), Aswat (Palestine), KifKif (Morocco),Abu Nawas (Algeria),Freedom Sudan (Sudan), and Alqaws (Palestine).

Noor Sultan herself is a lesbian woman who suffered from double discrimination, as woman and as a lesbian; she found her motivation in her private life and also in her network.

Bedayaa Organisation for LGBTQI of the Nile Valley Area official website

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