LGBTI people, sex workers and drug users in Uganda have moved a step closer to having representatives on the health policy panel that could improve their access to HIV services. A previous election to choose representatives of those key population groups — groups with elevated risk of HIV infection — was ruled invalid earlier this … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: January 2015
Tanzania: Trans man, wife arrested on gay-sex charges
Police in Tanzania have arrested a trans man and his female partner on suspicion of violating the Tanzanian law against same-sex intimacy. News of the Jan. 12 arrest, and the couple’s photos, were splashed across the pages of Uwazi, a local Swahili-language newspaper published by Global Publishers with the headline “Beautiful girls arrested for homosexuality.” … Continue reading
Video: Malaysian prison turned her into a trans activist
“They asked me to strip naked in front of everyone. They made fun of me, because my body doesn’t conform to what men and women are supposed to be.” — Nisha Ayub of Malaysia, describing her three months in prison for being trans. In a 6:25-minute video, Nisha Ayub tells about growing up transgender in … Continue reading
My clash with a rabidly angry anti-gay Christian
Here’s a distressing look into the sort of violently anti-gay thinking that leads people to imprison, abuse and kill LGBTI people, especially in the world’s most homophobic countries. Don’t read much further if you want to be spared from abusive language. This exchange with Val Ep, a self-described Christian from Uganda, is far beyond what … Continue reading
Anti-gay Anglicans blast archbishop for friendly chats in U.S.
The idea that anti-gay African Christians could be friends with gay-affirming church leaders in the United States is “offensive,” “unbiblical,” and “a tremendous obstacle,” according to hard-line anti-gay Anglican leaders in Africa. In a letter to Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi of Burundi, five conservative Anglican leaders last month publicly criticized him for attending a meeting in … Continue reading
Gambia: Grim tale of torture; man expects to die in captivity
By Colin Stewart A man arrested on homosexuality charges in the Gambia has apparently been tortured and now has been locked in a heavily guarded hospital room where he expects to die, according to an eyewitness and a second source. In a harrowing account first published by BuzzFeed and then by Gambia’s online Freedom Newspaper … Continue reading
Uganda: 9 gay men threatened by mob, arrested by police
Nine young gay men have been released after being held in police custody for five days in western Uganda. Without knowing it, the men had put their lives in jeopardy by visiting an STI screening clinic, which attracted the attention of a homophobic mob. Police at first detained the men on Jan. 15 to protect … Continue reading
Nigeria: 12 arrests at party; police call it ‘gay wedding’
Sharia police in northern Nigeria have arrested 12 “feminine” young men in the middle of a party that police allege was actually a gathering to celebrate a gay wedding. It wasn’t a marriage ceremony, said 18- to 20-year-old Faruk Maiduguri, whom police accuse of planning to marry 25-year-old Abba Mohammed. ” ‘It was my birthday … Continue reading
Blogger risks jail for comments on Singapore anti-gay law
A blogger in Singapore has been found in contempt of court — a finding that puts him at risk of a jail sentence — for his coverage of legal proceedings that dismissed lawsuits seeking to overturn Singapore’s anti-gay law, Section 377A. The blogger, Alex Au Wai Pang, 61, suggested that Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon acted … Continue reading
Activists want Gambia’s president banned from USA
A coalition of fourteen organisations joined forces to write to President Obama last week requesting the United States hold “President Yahya Jammeh and his associates accountable for their deplorable human rights record,” particularly with regard to LGBT people in the Gambia. Their letter stated: “It is not too late for the United States to send … Continue reading
