Sehakia : the Voice of North African and Arab Lesbians

The N'DéeSses is a collective of North African and Arab lesbians or lesbians of Arabic language and culture, living in native lands or lands of exile.
The attacks of September 11th, 2001 which occurred in New York have started the rise of arabophobia and islamophobia worldwide. Already stigmatized in the past, the demonization of the North Africans, the Arabs and the Muslims - without distinction - continues at an accelerated speed, and above all, openly : the Western States organized themselves and set up common policies under cover to take part in the world fight against terrorism.
In this international political context, and in the context of the still dramatic situation of lesbians and gays in Arabic countries, or in countries of Arabic language and culture, and particularly in Muslim countries, we have found necessary to organize ourselves in a collective as a place for reflection, action, and creation, for making our voices of North African and Arab lesbians or lesbians of Arabic language and culture heard. Indeed, these realities do not constitute simple headings of newspapers, anecdotes, or the Far East, but they constitute a chapter of our daily lives, our stories.
One of our objectives is to make known the existence of North African and Arab lesbians and to EXIST as North African and Arab lesbians everywhere, in native lands as well as in lands of exile. Our objective is also to create bonds or ties between North African and Arab lesbians in native lands and in lands of exile. Finally, we aim, the most possible, to make the Voices of these Lesbians heard.
In order to realize these objectives, we have set up a website, SEHAKIA. We have conceived this website as a tool for disseminating intellectual and cultural productions by North African and Arab lesbians and women, and as a tool for providing a wide range of information, with the emphasis put on the practical and legal/juridical dimensions in order to be used as an interface for lesbians and women who are in a critical situation.

SEHAKIA is the arabic word for LESBIAN. We choose this word according to our objective to give voice to the Arab lesbians.
This website will be, as much as possible, multilingual ( French, arabic, English, berbere ).

The N'DéeSses actively took part in the coordination of the issue N°7 of Bintelnas, "Native Lands, Lands of Exile: Looking for our Territory."
What does it mean for each of us to define ourselves as North African and Arab lesbians ?

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