The diaspora African LGBTI activists of Out and Proud Diamond Group appealed for justice and LGBTI rights in their home countries as they took part in the Pride celebration in Birmingham, United Kingdom, on May 28-29. The organization issued this press release (modestly edited here). It was a marriage proposal rather than a starting pistol … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: May 2016
Lesotho: Celebrating LGBT pride in a homophobic nation
HOLAAfrica, the PanAfricanist queer womanist collective, reports on the success of the south African country of Lesotho’s IDAHOT celebration on May 21. Same-sex intimacy was a crime in Lesotho until 2012, when the country updated its Penal Code: Lesotho IDAHOT 2016: Faces & Voices Reporting by Leila Hall, photos by Meri Hyöky On Saturday May … Continue reading
Bangladeshi fundamentalists incite anti-gay violence
Riaz Osmani, a Bangladeshi activist currently living in London, writes: Below is a screenshot of a Facebook page of a Bangladeshi Islamic fundamentalist group called Basherkella. That page is the online face of the discredited political party called Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir. That party once opposed Bangladesh’s independence and assisted the … Continue reading
A dangerous life if you’re gay in Malawi (excerpts)
By Charles Pensulo Failure by the government to come up with a clear-cut stance on homosexuality is endangering the lives of gays and lesbians in Malawi. This is the clear message from activists lobbying for the rights of minority groups … In Malawi homosexuality is illegal and the offence attracts up to ten years in … Continue reading
Nigeria’s anti-gay law: ‘We kill our children’
“We kill our children, or make them flee abroad, carrying all the blessings that God put in them for our own good.” That’s the effect of Nigeria’s anti-gay law, according to Nnanna Ikpo, a Nigerian lawyer, storyteller and human rights activist. In an interview with NoStrings, Ikpo spoke about many problems that the Nigerian Same … Continue reading
Nauru: Another country repeals anti-homosexuality law
The tiny Pacific island country of Nauru has repealed its law against same-sex intimacy, reducing the total number of countries with anti-homosexuality laws to 77 worldwide, by this blog’s count. By another count, the total is now 73 countries, according to an adjusted version of a list from ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans … Continue reading
Proposal for Antigua officials: Repeal anti-gay law
The Caribbean nation of Antigua will soon repeal its law against same-sex intimacy, if the Antiguan minister of social transformation has her way. Minister Samantha Marshall told the local newspaper, the Antigua Observer, that she’s willing to make such a recommendation to the Cabinet. “I have no difficulty in making [such a recommendation],” she said. … Continue reading
Pakistani trans activist shot, dies; hospital rejected her
Front Line Defenders reports: Transgender human rights defender Alesha shot dead PAKISTAN — On 25 May 2016, transgender human rights defender Alesha died from six gunshot wounds received three days earlier, on 22 May 2016, in front of Asia Plaza in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Alesha was the Peshawar Coordinator of the Trans Action Alliance, … Continue reading
This must stop: Jamaican homophobia leads to 2 murders
Yesterday (May 26) Jamaica’s major newspaper, the Jamaica Gleaner, selected another anti-LGBTI piece written by a notorious evangelical Christian as its “Letter of the Day.” Today, the same newspaper reported on the gruesome results of this homophobic crusade. Marsha Thomas is a member of the oddly named “Love March Movement,” which campaigns against human rights … Continue reading
Anti-‘gay propaganda’ bill is back in Kyrgyzstan
A proposal for a Russian-style anti-“gay propaganda” law in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan is back in the Kyrgyz parliament. Reporter Anna Lelik, writing for EurasiaNet, sees some reasons for optimism in the latest developments. However, continued inaction on the homophobic bill would have been more encouraging. [Note for non-British readers: The online Free … Continue reading
