In this special an exploration of the concept of 'sexual rights' and what this means in the context of state-sponsored and publicly supported homophobia across the African continent. It explores the growth of the movement for sexual rights in Africa and internationally, and looks at recent interventions by activist women. the contributions to this issue attest, an exciting genre of feminist studies on sexualities and identities in Africa suggest that in postcolonial contexts, the discourses, norms and practices of heterosexuality, centrally anchored in male authority, are emerging or have hardened into the central basis for defining personhood, gender and sexuality. The contributors to this issue seek to explore the diversity of sexualities that exist across normative heterosexuality and homosexuality.