Monica Tabengwa is a human rights lawyer from Botswana. She holds an LLB from the University of Botswana and an LLM degree from the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights. Formerly the Executive Director of Pan Africa International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), she is an experienced human rights defender, activist and feminist with extensive experience in human rights and social justice advocacy, extending to regional and international human rights mechanisms. She is also a former Human Rights Watch LGBTI researcher, conducting research and documenting human rights violations, with specific focus on the rights of sexual and gender minorities in Africa. She has extensive experience in gender and rights-based training and strategic litigation. She managed many multi-country projects and funding, including the UK Department for International Development (DFID) funded HIVOS LGBTI inclusion project. Monica is one of the founders of the Envisioning LGBTI project, which worked to build networks of knowledge across Commonwealth countries on LGBT issues, and is a founder and supporter of LEGABIBO, an LGBTI organisation in Botswana that has been behind the campaign to decriminalise same-sex relations in Botswana. Monica Tabengwa is now based at the United Nations Development Programme Africa regional office as a Programme Specialist with the Inclusive Governance Initiative project. The Inclusive Governance Initiative is a regional project that seeks to support countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region to become increasingly accountable to, and inclusive of, their entire populations, including sexual and gender minorities – who are often particularly marginalized and excluded.