Pride month is a confusing time for me. As a lesbian who lives in Addis Ababa, nothing different happens here. Life is the same. We don’t see rainbow flags, pride parades, or people wishing us happy pride.

On the other hand, I love seeing all the events that happen everywhere else in the world and the excitement that people feel. TikTok and Facebook are filled with content from different countries. That makes me happy and makes me feel that we have hope in Ethiopia. My hope is that we will one day be able to have a march or a pride parade here in Addis Ababa. I think that will take a long time but I know in my heart that will happen one day.

I talk about this with my lesbian friends and some of them agree that this will happen. Others think I am being silly and that the chances are almost zero. The chances of things improving is what keeps me motivated. I imagine waving the rainbow flag in Addis Ababa one day. Until that happens, I am proud that I have accepted myself as a lesbian and that I can be open with my gay and lesbian friends. They are my family.

I hope we all have a happy pride. I hope one day we can celebrate openly.