Val Kalende

Val Kalende is a Ugandan human rights advocate and LGBTQ+ activist whose work has contributed to the development of organized lesbian and LGBTQ+ advocacy in Uganda. She was a founding member of Freedom and Roam Uganda (FARUG), one of Uganda's earliest organizations dedicated to advancing the rights, visibility, and well-being of lesbian, bisexual, and queer women. Through grassroots organizing, public education, writing, and international advocacy, Kalende became a prominent voice on discrimination, violence, and human rights affecting LGBTQ+ people in Uganda.

Kalende's advocacy extended beyond Uganda through her involvement with international human rights networks, including the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), now Outright International. Her work and public speaking helped bring international attention to the experiences of LGBTQ+ Ugandans and to the challenges facing African LGBTQ+ movements. She also participated in advocacy opposing discriminatory legislation and policies targeting LGBTQ+ people in Uganda.

Her public journey has included a significant and highly personal intersection of faith, sexuality, and identity. In 2018, Kalende publicly renounced her lesbian identity after becoming involved with evangelical Christianity and conversion-oriented teachings. In her 2022 first-person essay, Unchanged: A Lesbian Christian's Journey Through 'Ex-Gay' Life, she reflected on that period and explained that attempts to change her sexual orientation had not succeeded. She reaffirmed her identity as a lesbian while writing about faith, healing, conversion therapy, and the importance of acceptance. Her story provides a personal perspective on the pressures LGBTQ+ people can experience when sexuality and religious beliefs come into conflict.