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Welcome to Fatteh, by Beza Lealem – 1 August 2025

From Fatteh

In their inaugural editor’s letter Beza Lealem explains why they launched Fatteh — the first magazine of its kind for LGBTQ+ people in Ethiopia and the global Habesha diaspora published in Amharic and English

Dear reader,

To say this magazine has been a long time coming would be an understatement. Between wanting it to be beautifully produced, its content to be high-quality, and — let’s be honest — a touch of procrastination from me thrown into the mix, it has taken a while to get here. But we’ve made it, and I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve achieved on a shoestring. It’s now time to introduce Fatteh to you and the rest of the community we created it for.

We may be a work-in-progress, but we’re also a one-of-a-kind. Fatteh is the first LGBTQ+ magazine of its kind in both English and Amharic, the working language of Ethiopia. Though we risk sounding a little grand, what we hope to do (in our own humble way) is shine a light on the millions of ‘invisible’ LGBTQ+ people living in Ethiopia and across the global Habesha diaspora. We are here to encourage all of you in this unique and vibrant community to step forward and be the authors and central characters of your own narrative.

Launching Fatteh in today’s world feels both urgent and deeply personal. We’re living at a time when LGBTQ+ rights are backsliding, even in some of the countries that were among the first to grant them.  Thankfully, there are pockets of progress, but throughout much of Africa, homophobia and transphobia are on the rise, with countries tightening laws against us and introducing harsher punishments. The LGBTQ+ community in Ethiopia, like those in many nations across the continent, faces growing hostility in daily life as people endure violence, persecution and criminalisation. This must end.

[READ THE REST]

Beza Lealem is the Editor-in-Chief of Fatteh.

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