Dark side

In 2009, the government signed into law a new criminal code penalising same-sex relations between consenting adults. Penalties include imprisonment of up to two years and/or a fine of up to 100,000 francs (US$55).

Very little is known about lesbian rights in Burundi.

An often-cited report by Human Rights Watch in 2009 spoke with only 10 members of the LGBT+ community and only one lesbian was interviewed. The BBC has spoken to dozens.

There is little data, and there has been no large-scale collection of testimony, so it is almost impossible to get an accurate picture of their lives.

US government records say that a lesbian couple was arrested in 2012 but released. Other than that, little else is documented.

Nella says she heard of women being killed in rural Burundi for being gay. She also heard of a lesbian who was recently jailed in Bujumbura.

Leila, however, believes the case is not as cut and dried as it seems.

The woman, while being a lesbian, was not arrested for her sexuality - the authorities were unaware of it, she believes. It was because the woman had retaliated against domestic abuse in her family home, and lashed out against her abuser.

Leila thinks domestic abuse in families where a woman is suspected of being lesbian or bisexual is a big cause for concern. The group has heard of abuse as a result of sexuality but it is impossible to verify. Often women withdraw their stories for fear of what might happen to them.

Many members of the group say they have experienced violence at the hands of family members who became suspicious about their sexuality.

After being hit, one woman went to the police station only to be told that “the man who hit you deserves a prize, he was right to beat you up”.

Nella is now divorced but others in the group remain married. Their husbands are not aware of their sexuality.

“There is huge pressure for women to get married,” says Leila. “Many just accept it and get married. If you’re in Bujumbura, you’re lucky, because you have the internet and you can try to look for others like you out in the world. But it’s the rural women we’re concerned about.”

According to Internet World Stats only 4.4% of Burundi’s 11 million-strong population have access to the internet, and almost all of them are based in Bujumbura.

“It's no wonder members of the group are all in the city. But we have a duty to find our sisters who are not,” says Leila.

She and a few other women go out to speak to lesbian and bisexual women in the villages. They hear about them through loose local networks, both on and offline, and through friends of friends.

“We are thinking of ways we can do outreach there.”

“Our community is strong and it’s vibrant,” says Niya.

“Growing up, I used to wish that I was ‘normal’,” says Leila. “Now we joke about how we’re not normal. We say we’re aliens and we have superpowers.”

They hope this is the beginning of the conversation. The beginning of a Viola Revolution.