Africa
Homophobia not only affects human rights, but also growth
As a gay man living in Nigeria, my biggest challenge was choosing between my sexuality and my job. In 2004, I was at the start of my acting career. I had just left university, and I was featured in “Roses and Thorns,” a prime-time soap opera on Galaxy Television, one of Nigeria’s most popular TV… Read more »
Ugandan Court Rules Government Can Stop LGBT Groups
“This is like a second or third nail into our coffin.” A Ugandan court essentially sanctioned a crackdown on LGBTI rights organizations in a ruling issued Monday morning, worrying activists that government officials will be further empowered to pursue a witch hunt among civil society organizations under the guise of combating homosexuality. Although LGBTI activists… Read more »
What does it mean to be gay in Tanzania?
The International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) releases a map which shows gay rights by country. The countries with the most homophobic laws are shown in red and the countries with the most open laws are green. In between are various shades of orange, yellow and light green. Tanzania is colored a bright red, indicating… Read more »
Tanzanian LGBT group seeks facts about harassment
Human rights activists in Tanzania are raising money for a survey of LGBT people in Tanzania to measure how much harassment and discrimination they face from police, health-care professionals and businesses. So far LGBT Voice of Tanzania has raised $4,181 of its $21,020 goal for the project. Harassment and discrimination are facts of life for… Read more »
Pretoria Trans Pupil Attempts Suicide After School Abuse
A young transgender pupil in Pretoria has attempted suicide after he was abused by his schoolmates. Activists from Transgender and Intersex Africa (TIA) have reported that Tshepo (not his real name) has been targeted by his fellow pupils, and their older friends who are not pupils at the school. They tried to disrobe him, threatened… Read more »
Zambian Minister Confirms Government Won’t Recognize Gay Citizens’ Rights
The foreign affairs minister of Zambia says his government will not recognize the rights of its gay citizens because to do so would contradict that country’s Christian values. Zambia’s foreign affairs minister, Gabriel Namulambe, says homosexuality is an affront to Zambia as a Christian Nation and that foreign dignitaries who came to his country should… Read more »
African Homophobes Are Politicians, Not Lunatics, Writer Says
“To think that the Africans are doing something that has never been heard of — it’s not fair,” says the writer of new book about the impact of American anti-LGBT activists in Africa. Rev. Dr. Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian priest, was instrumental in drawing attention to the connection between American anti-LGBT religious activists and the… Read more »
South Africa’s Terrible Solution to the Gay Blood Donation Ban
The widespread ban on blood donations by men who have sex with men is idiotic not because it’s homophobic—which it is—but because it’s based on bad science. Ignore the FDA’s panicky anti-gay animus for a moment and consider its stated rationale: to “maximally protect the recipients of blood products” from diseases, namely HIV. The problem… Read more »
Marching against homophobia in anti-gay Lesotho
In Lesotho, where same-sex intimacy between men is illegal, a local LGBTI advocacy organization has held a peaceful march for the second year in a row, seeking justice and fair treatment for LGBT people. More than 200 people attended this week’s event, according to The Hub, a Lesotho-based website that supports human rights and protection… Read more »
Zimbabwe: Zanu PF councillor calls for gay rights to be respected
In a move likely to anger the party’s leadership, a Zanu PF councillor in central Zimbabwe said he supports gay rights. Richman Rangwani, a councillor and HIV campaigner in Mhondoro-Ngezi, attended an event in the Netherlands on Saturday for International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. He told delegates that many Zimbabweans were opposed to homosexuality… Read more »
Report: Anti-Gay Abuse Surges in Uganda After Bill Passage
Nairobi — Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International say homosexuals in Uganda have faced increased discrimination since the passage of an anti-gay bill last December. In Uganda, members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community, known by the acronym LGBT, say life has not been the same since the passage and signing of the… Read more »
Life on the run from homophobia
Gay and trans Africans often seek asylum in South Africa, supposedly a “safe haven” for LGBTI people. But it’s no bed of roses here either. In recent months Uganda and Nigeria attracted international attention when they decided to tighten laws criminalising homosexuality. Allies by circumstance, Muslims and Christians joined forces in the witch-hunt for gays,… Read more »
US HIV/AIDS funding to Uganda to continue
The United States has assured Uganda of continued funding for HIV/AIDS research and treatment despite the recent storm over the passing of the controversial anti-homosexuality Act. Dan Travis, the public affairs officer at the US embassy in Kampala, said Uganda has been allocated $323m (about sh805b) for this fiscal year 2014 under the US President’s… Read more »
Gambian president threatens Gambian gay asylum-seekers
Gambia’s young president Yahya Jammeh says he will “kill” any of his compatriots who seek asylum abroad claiming that their lives were in danger because they were homosexuals or lesbians. “Those who are doing that to tarnish the image of Gambia just to gain asylum, were doing so at their detriment….If I catch them, I’ll… Read more »
The LGBT Refugees Who Are Seeking Asylum In the World’s Most Notoriously Anti-Gay Country
If they’re seeking sanctuary in Uganda, just imagine what they must be running from. Kampala, Uganda — With one of the world’s most infamous anti-gay laws, Uganda seems like the last place on Earth an LGBTI person would go seeking safety. But almost 100 LGBTI refugees have sought help from an NGO in Uganda’s capital… Read more »
How One Reverend Is Defying Uganda’s ‘Kill The Gays’ Act
Uganda made international headlines when President Yoweri Museveni signed Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” Act into law, jailing people for 14 years to life for loving someone of the same sex and leading to massive spikes in hate crime violence. But one Reverend in the country is generating press for a different reason: hosting prayer sessions… Read more »
Uganda Drafts New Anti-Gay Law Targeting NGOs
Kampala (Reuters) – Uganda has drafted a new law that would bar non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from promoting homosexuality, tightening rules further after anti-gay legislation in February was widely condemned as draconian. The draft, now being studied by the cabinet before being introduced in parliament, would also ban foreign NGOs from meddling in the east African… Read more »
GALZ Wins Human Rights Award
GALZ was awarded the, 2014 AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa(ARASA) Human Rights, HIV and TB Award at a ceremony hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa on 16 April 2014. “The ARASA Human Rights, HIV and TB Award was established in 2007 to recognise and support organisations across southern Africa undertaking groundbreaking work to protect… Read more »
Surprise: Ethiopia’s Government Says ‘No’ to Anti-Gay Movement
Much to the joy of LGBT rights groups and the chagrin of the religious right, Ethiopia has pushed back against the anti-gay movement this past week. Here’s why that matters, and what it might mean. As we had previously reported, Ethiopia’s lawmakers had been considering legislation which would have enhanced the country’s existing ban on… Read more »
Cameroon: Prison sentence ends for man denounced as gay
A Cameroon man, age 29, has been released from prison, putting an end to incarceration that began when a friend reportedly claimed the man was a homosexual, attorney Michel Togué reports. The man (called Myan in this blog to protect him from homophobic attacks) was one of 10 prisoners who had all been arrested for… Read more »
Egypt’s gay community fears government crackdown
Recent series of raids and long jail terms fan fears that gay people may be new target of authoritarian government Egypt’s gay community fears it is the latest target of the country’s authoritarian government following a series of recent raids on gay people. Activists interviewed by the Guardian said they had documented up to nine… Read more »
Ethiopian government cancels anti-gay rally
Homosexuality ‘not a serious crime’ says government official, in country where gay sex punishable by 15 years in prison A planned anti-gay rally in Ethiopia has been cancelled by the government, according to officials. In addition, a plan by the legislature to add gay sex to a list of crimes ineligible for presidential pardons has… Read more »
Fear Drives African Gays to Seek Asylum in US
Homosexuality is a crime in 38 African countries and new laws in Nigeria and Uganda have increased potential punishments for engaging in gay sex. These strictures have driven some gay and transgender Ugandans to seek asylum in the United States. “I can tell you that it’s so bad in Uganda. People just don’t know what… Read more »
Egypt: 4 sentenced to 3-8 years on gay sex charges
Agence France-Presse reports via Al Arabiya News: A court in Egypt sentenced four men to up to eight years in prison on Monday for practicing homosexuality, a judicial official said. Prosecutors had accused the men of holding “deviant parties” and dressing in women’s clothes. Three were sentenced to eight years and the fourth to three… Read more »
Uganda police raid U.S. military AIDS clinic, order it shut
Activists in Uganda report that plain-clothes police raided a U.S. military-affiliated AIDS services clinic in Kampala today, accused it of promoting homosexuality, and ordered it to close. [A spokesperson for the clinic said the program decided to temporarily suspend operations to ensure the safety of its staff. — Editor] The clinic has been one of… Read more »
Church Abandons Ugandan Cleric Who Ministers To Gays
The Anglican church has severed ties with a Ugandan cleric who ministers to gays. Rev. Christopher Senyonjo, 82, told the AP that he now lives off “gifts” to support himself after the Anglican church cut off his pension. Senyonjo’s sympathetic views toward gay people got him barred from presiding over church events in 2006. He… Read more »
GALZ Statement On Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa’s Remarks.
Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa’s statements as reported in the Sunday Mail 30 March 2014 perpetuate hate and wrong perceptions about LGBTI people. It is unfortunate coming from a high-ranking church leader of his calibre. As a man of the church, one would expect Prophet Makandiwa to do his gospel duty by standing alongside the marginalised and… Read more »
Gay Nigerians stripped naked and whipped in public after sex party
A gay man from Lagos reported a group of gay Nigerians to the authorities after they refused to give him money for sex Five gay Nigerian men were detained, stripped naked and beaten in public last week after they refused to give money to a sexual partner from Lagos who was blackmailing them. According to… Read more »
LeGaBiBo raises awareness about homosexuality in Botswana
When one day, I was in a taxi bus with my gay friends, a passenger talked about things that are offensive to Botswanan culture. He stated that ‘the youth of today’ are imitating the Western lifestyle. When the driver brought up the issue of homosexuality, the bus became a podium of indirect remarks aimed at… Read more »
LGBT in Zambia: ‘How many more lives will be ruined?’
In response to the latest court case against alleged homosexuals in Zambia, the leader of the Zambian human rights organization Friends of Rainka has called for an end to persecution of LGBT people. Juliet Mphande, executive director of Friends of Rainka, said: ”The situation for LGBTI persons in Zambia becomes more urgent than ever. How… Read more »
Dar plans to introduce tougher anti-gay Bill
As Uganda battles donor backlash for passing a law that outlaws homosexuality, a Tanzanian MP is working on a private member’s Bill that seeks to tighten the law against same sex relationships. Ezekiel Wenje from the main opposition Chama cha Democrasia na Maendeleo party told The EastAfrican that he had already given parliament notice of… Read more »
Cape Teens Watch As Gay Man Beaten, Set On Fire
A young gay man has been brutally tortured and killed in a horror hate murder in the Western Cape. The Son daily Afrikaans newspaper reported that 23-year-old David Olyne from Ceres was killed over the weekend while a group of teens blithely watched on. Senior Reporter Maahir Pretorius told Mambaonline that his investigation had led… Read more »
Leading Kenyan MP says homosexuality ‘as serious as terrorism’
Homosexuality in Kenya is as bad a problem as terrorism, the ruling party’s parliamentary leader said on Wednesday, but argued against stepping up legal sanctions on the grounds that existing laws were tough enough. Aden Duale, the majority leader from President Uhuru Kenyatta’s ruling Jubilee coalition, was responding to a group of MPs demanding tougher… Read more »
New Film Explores Homophobia and Hatred Towards LGBTI Community in Cameroon
The silhouettes of two women are concealed amongst the gradients of quivering candlelight. The interviewer asks, “Can you kiss each other in public?”, one women responds “We hug each other in public. Even the hugs are discreet. But kiss on the mouth? No.” The other adds: “People would yell at us ‘Ooh lesbians. You can’t… Read more »
Gays flee Mombasa over public attacks
Hundreds of men who have sex with men at the Coast have moved away from major towns for fear of their lives. According to statistics by the Mtwapa Initiative for Positive Empowerment, an organisation working with MSMs in Mombasa and Kilifi counties, more than 200 of the men now avoid public health facilities. Mipe says… Read more »
I am a gay Ugandan about to go home. This law will tyrannise my life
A day after the anti-homosexuality act was passed, a tabloid listed me as a ‘homo’. This hatred is new to my country, and driven by US evangelicals Growing up in Uganda, homosexuality was not something we talked about much. I knew I was gay from a young age, and I came out to those close… Read more »
John Kerry To Send Homosexuality ‘Experts’ To Tackle Uganda Anti-Gay Law
Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Tuesday U.S. plans to send homosexuality “experts” to Uganda to discuss the country’s new Anti-Homosexuality Act with President Yoweri Museveni, according to Buzzfeed. “I talked personally to President Museveni just a few weeks ago, and he committed to meet with some of our experts so that we could… Read more »
Uganda anti-gay law claims first victims with arrests
According to reports, two men have been arrested under Uganda’s new anti-gay law after they were caught having sex in a hotel room The first arrests under Uganda’s new anti-gay law are thought to have been made this week after two men were heard having sex in a hotel room The first arrests are believed… Read more »
‘Anti-homosexuals apartheid’ in Cameroon says pro-gay lawyer
Alice Nkom, a Cameroonian lawyer who has defended gay men and women for the last decade, says the country is battling an ‘anti-homosexuals apartheid’, comparing the situation to slavery Alice Nkom, a pro-gay lawyer from Cameroon has spoken out about the treatment of gay people in her country, calling it an ‘anti-homosexuals apartheid’. She also… Read more »
Anglican leader James Tengatenga, free to speak, opens up on homophobia
Palm Springs, Calif. – “Hi, my name is James.” He looks like your typical tourist in the desert oasis that is Palm Springs, Calif., wearing white walking shorts and a casual shirt in a green-and-white plaid. No socks, no belt. No pretense. He flashes a friendly smile and extends his right hand, giving a warm… Read more »
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