Public recognition of the human rights of LGBTI people remains rare in the many Middle Eastern and North African countries that still have laws against same-sex intimacy. In most of those countries, even advocacy of those rights is unusual. Such advocacy is mostly underground, online or abroad for Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Morocco, Syria … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Iran
Iran rejects U.N. plea to stop abuse of LGBTI youths
By Jack Flanagan Iran has rejected a series of proposals that the country stop abusing LGBTI youths. The proposals, released Feb. 4 by the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, were discussed during a January meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, between committee members and Iranian delegates. According to 6rang, an Iranian lesbian and transgender … Continue reading
LGBTI news from Middle East, Africa, Singapore
LGBTI news in brief from Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Nigeria, Singapore and Uganda — all of them countries that have anti-LGBTI policies or have considered adopting them. These items are excerpted with slight modifications from UNAIDS Equal Eyes recaps of the world’s LGBTI-related news: The UK’s Human Dignity Trust and the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association warned that the … Continue reading
Honors in U.K. for LGBTI activists from Africa, Asia
Leaders of the African LGBTI rights organization Out and Proud Diamond Group were honored this week in a British listing of 101 pioneers who are paving the way for LGBTI equality. Abbey Kiwanuka and Edwin Sesange, directors of OPDG, were two of many advocates on the Rainbow List who have their roots outside the United … Continue reading
Yemen’s hidden gay community under siege
The Tower magazine reports: Being gay in an Arab state is never easy. Since the Houthis made their move on Yemen, it’s become unlivable. Excerpts from the article are below, with subheads added: Since the civil war in Yemen began, Kamal Al-Solaylee has received more pleas for help than ever. Al-Solaylee is a gay Yemeni … Continue reading
10 nations where the penalty for gay sex is death
Ten nations with large Muslim populations have laws providing for the death penalty for same-sex activity. How many actually impose the death sentence is a difficult question. According to the 2015 State-Sponsored Homophobia report from ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association: In relation to death penalty, eight States officially legislate for … Continue reading
Bogus hanging in Iran, bogus tweets in Egypt
Activist/analyst Scott Long here exposes: Unsubstantiated news reports that an Iranian teenager was hanged for being gay; and A fake Twitter account that apparently was set up to convince Egyptian authorities to arrest Long. Excerpts from Long’s blog post, with breaker heads added: Gay hanging in Iran: Atrocities and impersonations THE BOGUS HANGING [After … Continue reading
Nigeria criticizes U.N. for seeking end to LGBTI repression
The hate-crime murders of thousands of LGBTI people worldwide aren’t enough to convince Nigerian officials or their anti-gay American supporters that tolerance for sexual minorities is a good idea. Nigeria claims that an appeal by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights for recognition of the human rights of LGBTI people is an infringement on … Continue reading
LGBTI news 2: Iran, Morocco, ISIS, Kenya, Gambia, Uganda
News briefs about countries with anti-gay laws or considering anti-gay legislation, excerpted with slight modifications from UNAIDS’s Equal Eyes recap of the world’s LGBTI-related news. (This is the second of three posts. The first one reported news from Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Brunei. The third will report news from Jamaica, Russia and Ukraine.) … Continue reading
Recount: 75 (or 79) nations where homosexuality is illegal
The number of countries with anti-homosexuality laws is currently 75, according to the latest tally from ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. That’s down one from earlier this month, when the African nation of Chad was incorrectly included in the list. This blog now lists a total of 79, including four … Continue reading
