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# The life and death of LGBTQ+ activist Sara Hegazy
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/the-life-and-death-of-lgbtq-activist-sara-hegazy/
- Published: 2020-08-04T08:49:23.000Z
- Updated: 2020-08-04T08:49:23.000Z
- Description: Egyptian LGBTQ+ activist Sara Hegazy was found dead in July after taking her own life, following a traumatic period in prison.
- Author: Rachel Badham
- Tags: Community, Features & Longread, HIV, Information, Mental Health, News, Out & About, Queer Corner, Travel

[![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/screenshot-202600.png)](https://www.gscene.com/screenshot-202600-3/?ref=scenemag.co.uk)

Egyptian LGBTQ+ activist **Sara Hegazy** was found dead in July after taking her own life, following a traumatic period in prison.

Sara identified openly as a lesbian and lived as a writer and queer activist; in 2017 she was arrested and imprisoned for raising a rainbow flag at a concert in **Cairo**, which coincided with a crackdown in the country to end public support for LGBTQ+ rights. She was later granted asylum in **Canada**, which is where she was found dead at the age of 30.

Sara said in an[ interview with NPR](https://www.npr.org/2018/06/18/620110576/after-crackdown-egypts-lgbt-community-contemplates-dark-future?t=1592233234302&t=1596101832283&ref=scenemag.co.uk) that raising the LGBTQ+ flag in Cairo was an act of ‘support and solidarity’ and that she was ‘proud to hold the flag’ despite soon after being branded a criminal for supposedly promoting sexual deviance.

[![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/mural_of_sarah_hegazi_in_amman600.png)](https://www.gscene.com/mural%5Fof%5Fsarah%5Fhegazi%5Fin%5Famman600/?ref=scenemag.co.uk)

She was subjected to torture such as electrocutions during her time in prison and [reportedly suffered](https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/06/15/sara-hegazy-egypt-lgbt-activist-pride-flag-death-suicide-tribute-mashrou-leila-canada/?ref=scenemag.co.uk) PTSD and depression as a result, which drove her to commit suicide. In a note left by Sara, she wrote ‘I tried to find redemption and failed, forgive me’.

Tributes poured in for her, with fellow Egyptian writer and activist **Reem Abdellatif** [saying](https://twitter.com/Reem%5FAbdellatif/status/1272289684744482818?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1272289684744482818%7Ctwgr%5E&ref%5Furl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinknews.co.uk%2F2020%2F06%2F15%2Fsara-hegazy-egypt-lgbt-activist-pride-flag-death-suicide-tribute-mashrou-leila-canada%2F&ref=scenemag.co.uk) in a tweet that ‘violence against women and LGBTQ+ \[people\] will no longer be worn as a badge of honour in Egypt’. Homosexuality is still [punishable by imprisonment](https://www.equaldex.com/region/egypt?ref=scenemag.co.uk) in Egypt, and there are no protections against discrimination. Gay conversion therapy is still legal.

Multiple African countries, including **Sudan**, have more severe punishments for homosexuality; the death penalty for LGBTQ+ citizens was only recently removed in the region, and queer people may still face up to a lifetime imprisonment.

[![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/sara-hegazy-belati600400.png)](https://www.gscene.com/sara-hegazy-belati600400/?ref=scenemag.co.uk)