Africa
TOGO : L’Eglise sensibilise ses homosexuels contre le Sida
L’initiative œcuménique de lutte contre le VIH/SIDA en Afrique (EHAIA) poursuit sa mission en faveur des groupes spécifiques, particulièrement exposés au fléau, au sein des églises. Les estimations sont suffisamment évocatrices de l’ampleur du phénomène au sein des églises au Togo. L’EHAIA estime à plus de 2000, la communauté d’homosexuels avec laquelle son programme travaille,… Read more »
Zimbabwe: The Mean Season for Gays
Harare — For Zimbabwe’s gay community, voting season is a time of dread. As political temperatures rise ahead of expected elections next year, gays and lesbians are being targeted by police in an apparent strategy to win over voters. On 11 August 2012, police raided a book launch at the headquarters of the Gays and… Read more »
Turning the Tide: Increasing Access to HIV Prevention and Care for Men Who Have Sex with Men in Ghana
A Q&A with Kim Green, Deputy Country Director for Ghana, FHI 360 According to the most recent Lancet issue, even though men who have sex with men (MSM) bear a disproportionate burden of HIV, they continue to be excluded from HIV services because of stigma, discrimination and criminalization. One of the primary challenges to reducing… Read more »
Nigeria gives man three months jail for gay sex
Bestwood Chukwuemeka was sentenced to three months in jail by a Karu Senior Magistrates’ Court, Abuja, Nigeria for having consexual gay sex with another man Chukwuemeka, a 28 year-old actor, resident of Gidan Mangoro, had pleaded guilty to having engaged in ‘homosexual acts’, yesterday 17 September, 2012. He was sentenced to a three months jail… Read more »
Uganda: British producer of gay play bailed from jail
British theatre producer David Cecil has been released on bail in Uganda, where he was charged over a play featuring a gay storyline. The play – the main character of which is a gay businessman killed by his own employees – was performed at two theatres in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, last month. According to… Read more »
Three Lesbians Beaten, Assaulted In Nairobi CBD
(UPDATED) Three lesbian women were reportedly assaulted last week on Thursday morning by persons known to them inside a lodging house in downtown Nairobi. The three women, it is alleged, had just spent a night together in the same bed and were chatting when two men – who are known to them – stormed into… Read more »
Thousands Demand Cameroon Drop Criminal Charges for Gay Text Message
Nearly 25,000 people have signed an AllOut.org petition asking the Cameroon President and Minister of Justice to reverse the decision to jail Roger Jean-Claude Mbédé for three years and to put a moratorium on the laws that sent him to jail in the first place. Roger was arrested last year for sending another man a… Read more »
Brit producer of gay play in Uganda held in jail
Kampala, Uganda (AP) — The British producer of a play about being gay in Uganda is in jail pending his trial on charges that he had the work performed without official authorization. David Cecil appeared in court Thursday charged with ‘‘disobeying lawful orders’’ from the Uganda Media Council, which says he staged ‘‘The River and… Read more »
GALCK AGM 2012 – 31st August and 1st September, Nairobi.
Hello Kenyas LGBTI community, It is a great week, a marvelous week actually. It is the first week at the community centre since the 2012 Annual General Meeting. Walking into the GALCK centre one can sense an aura of newness, anticipation and excitement. It would be a lie if we did not mention the anxiety… Read more »
South Africa: The (re)making of men
Johannesburg,(PlusNews) – Manhood might be hard to define but South African media make it even harder, according to editors of a new book, who argue that negative coverage of men is doing more harm than good, especially when it comes to HIV. Now they are looking to rewrite masculinity in a country that ranks among… Read more »
Owner of Tilapia Bar in Kampala Arrested for showing “gay themed play” The River and The Mountain
On the heels of a story posted yesterday about a transwoman being beaten in Kampala, David Cecil was arrested today for hosting the play “The River and The Mountain” a his Tilapia Bar. The cause for his arrest was showing a “gay themed play” in Uganda. This from a report on the play being shut… Read more »
GALZ UPDATE
Background The Zimbabwe Republic Police on Thursday 23 August 2012 charged The Co Chairperson of GALZ for running an “unregistered” organisation. Detectives at the Law and Order Section at the Harare Central Police Station on Thursday 23 August 2012 charged GALZ that was represented by Martha Tholanah, the organisation’s co-chairperson with running an “unregistered” organisation… Read more »
Zimbabwe: Gay Couple Arrested
A suspected gay couple, one of whom was wearing female apparel including a skirt, wig and blouse has been arrested in Kadoma. The couple confessed after a body search by policemen that one of them was not a “woman.” The “woman” had to show male organs to prove that indeed he was a man after… Read more »
Growing Up Gay in Senegal
Djamil Bangoura has known he is gay since childhood. Growing up in Pikine, a slum of Senegal’s sprawling capital city, Dakar, he kept his sexual orientation a secret for fear of violence, imprisonment, and alienation from his family — the core of Senegalese life. But one day in 2002, colleagues in the recording studio where… Read more »
ANC slams anti-gay violence
‘It is my belief that gay rights are human rights and that no homophobic violence or prejudice should be tolerated.’ – Western Cape ANC secretary. THE ANC has strongly condemned conservative and traditional communities use of culture as a justification for homophobic discrimination and violence. The ruling party made their stance clear during a meeting with… Read more »
Uganda: Play banned by authorities for gay storyline
A Ugandan play tackling the difficulties of being gay in the country has been cancelled, ahead of a planned run at the country’s National Theatre in Kampala, after an intervention by authorities. The play, titled ‘The River and the Mountain’, was set to be performed in the capital, but was cancelled when regulators intervened, The… Read more »
Zimbabwe: Police Harassment of LGBT NGOs and Activists Must Stop
(New York) — In the latest of what has become an alarming pattern of police harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights defenders, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) have charged the co-chairperson of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), Martha Tholanah, with running an “unregistered” organization. On August 23, detectives at the… Read more »
“Give me PRIDE, or give me Death!”
Sound familiar? It should. In 1775 at the Virginia Convention Sir Patrick Henry spoke about the abuses of Great Britain treating the colonies as subordinates and referenced all that his fellow Americans had done in an attempt to maintain peace. It was during that speech that he famously proclaimed “I know not what course others… Read more »
The infamous “Queen Boat”
I happen to be one of the men who were on the infamous “Queen Boat” that was raided by under cover police agents on the early morning of May 11, 2001. I currently live in the United States and would like to share my story with you. I had a rough day and I really… Read more »
Egyptian Gay Rights Magazine ‘Ehna’ Goes Dark After Single Issue
An online magazine devoted to gay rights in Egypt has shuttered after publishing its first issue. Ehna (We) was believed to be the first magazine to cater to Egypt’s LGBT community. A May 27 post on the magazine’s Facebook page read: “We have been forced to shut down the online magazine due to security reasons.… Read more »
US Ambassador revives gay debate; wants respectful dialogue
Outgoing US Ambassador to Ghana, Donald Teitelbaum says the country needs an open respectful dialogue on the issue of gay rights. The subject attracted a lot of controversy when some Western governments suggested African countries such as Ghana may have to review their stance on homosexuality if they are to enjoy continued economic support. However,… Read more »
Liberia: Gay War – Who Will Win And Why?
Homosexual practice has existed in Liberia for decades, according to some experts, but it has come to bitter public fight when a Liberian who claims not to be a gay assumed a pioneering proponent role for same-sex marriage this year. Entrenched traditional practices and religion on the one hand and deepening obsession for modernity and… Read more »
“Revolutionary” Gay Play Staged In Dangerously Homophobic Uganda
In Uganda, where homosexuality is illegal and LGBT people are forced to live their lives in secret over fears of violence and murder, a British playwright and producers are staging the country’s first gay-themed play. The River and the Mountain, written by Beau Hopkins, is a tragicomic portrait of a gay businessman in the East… Read more »
Play about gay man staged in Uganda, where death penalty was proposed for homosexuals
Kampala, Uganda — A play that revolves around the turbulent life of a gay man in Uganda is being staged in the East African nation, where three years ago a parliamentarian wrote a bill seeking the death penalty for homosexuals. This is the first time a play exploring homosexuality is being performed in Uganda, and… Read more »
Gay Hate Day: The opposite of pride
Rights groups condemn the idea of a homophobic celebration in Cameroon. There won’t be any rainbow flags at Cameroon’s gay hate day parade, and human rights leaders have called on the president to step in and decriminalize homosexuality. A group called Rassemblement de la Jeunesse Camerounaise association (Cameroonian Youth Rally, or RJC) has declared Tuesday,… Read more »
Honor Slain Tanzanian Activist, Maurice Mjomba With David Kato Award
The only similarities between Maurice Mjomba and David Kato are that they were both African and gay and died (for whatever reason) horribly. One was struck down with a fatal blow to the head and the other, suffered the most excruciating tortures and had his life squeezed out by strangulation. I was particularly impressed by… Read more »
RGOD2: Spirit of 76 delegate to AIDS conference faces horrendous retaliation back home in Africa
“They threw my clothes and furniture out from my home. I had nowhere to live but in my car and nothing to eat. My head was spinning – where to go, what to do?” Only 10 days after the Spirit of 76 initiative was celebrated in Washington, D.C., one of our bright and talented African… Read more »
Cyber hackers attack websites of Africa anti-gay countries
Hacktivist groups TheEliteSociety and Anonymous launch a joint operation to hack any African country that imprisons or kills LGBT people The Anonymous and TheEliteSociety hacking groups have launched a joint all-out attack against countries in Africa that kill or imprison LGBT people in an operation dubbed #OpFuckAfrica. So far websites in Botswana, Somalia, Sudan, and… Read more »
Gay Ugandans: Loud and Proud
About 10 years ago, when I first came out to my guardian and, later, to my closest colleagues at the Daily Monitor newspaper in Uganda, I was nothing short of terrified of losing both family and friends. As I had anticipated, declaring my love for fellow women got me my own share of homelessness, verbal… Read more »
Police raid headquarters of Zimbabwean LGBT rights group
A police raid took place on the headquarters of the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) association in Harare over the weekend, in which police arrested 44 gay rights activists. The raid, which took place on Saturday, came as activists were preparing to launch a report on the abuse suffered by LGBT people in Zimbabwe.… Read more »
Rumors Ghana’s new vice president is gay spark moral panic
Unproven allegations that new vice president of Ghana, Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, is gay have been circulating creating a moral panic in the country A political scandal has been rocking Ghana in the last two weeks with allegations circulating in the local media that the newly sworn vice president, Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, is gay. The Ghananian… Read more »
Ugandans Both Proud and Brave
Activists attended Gay Pride events this weekend in Uganda despite the country’s antigay climate, and their bravery earned the admiration of many worldwide. While the Anti-Homosexuality Bill from David Bahati languishes in Uganda’s Parliament, LGBT activists dared to declare their pride in public events this weekend. After months of preparation, and despite arrests, Uganda’s gay… Read more »
Hillary Clinton Honors Uganda Gay Rights Activists
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday honored gay rights activists in Uganda with the department’s 2011 Human Rights Defender Award. Clinton praised the coalition of groups which organized to oppose a draft law in Uganda which called for a death penalty against gay men and women under certain conditions, calling them an “inspiration for… Read more »
Liberian Senate OK’s Bill Criminalizing Gay Marriage
The Liberian Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a bill which would make marrying a member of the same sex a second degree felony in a nation where such unions are already not allowed by law. People found guilty of violating the law could face fees or prison sentences. The proposal was sponsored by Senator Jewel… Read more »
Ghana Supreme Court to rule on gay rights
Ghana has adopted a recommendation by a constitutional review commission to rule on legalizing same-sex acts The Constitution Review Commission (CRC) of Ghana has recommended the country’s Supreme Court should rule on whether the country should legalise same-sex acts. The suggestion was adopted by the country’s government earlier this week (16 July). Under Ghanaian law,… Read more »
David Kato’s life and death in Uganda
HIV/AIDS plays but a bit part in Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall’s documentary Call Me Kuchu, but its toxic shadow looms large in this depiction of violent, anti-gay sentiment in Uganda. Like many other African countries, colonial-era laws banning homosexuality remain on the books in Uganda. When the HIV/AIDS epidemic exploded there in the… Read more »
Police testify against gay men arrested in Gambia
Trial of 18 men arrested for being gay in Gambia hears how police officers raided a bar in the capital Banjul Police have described how they raided a gay bar in Gambia during a trial of 18 people arrested for being homosexual. Two officers were called by the prosecution to testify against the men who… Read more »
South Africa’s Mandela day protests against anti-gay hate
Thousands of LGBT people have marked Nelson Mandela’s birthday with protests across South Africa against rising levels of hate crimes and government inaction As South Africans celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 94th birthday the country’s LGBT communities call upon their leaders to take firm action against the rising tide of hate crimes. Thousands of LGBT people protested… Read more »
Cameroon to celebrate national anti-gay day
Cameroon association to mark the 21 August as a national anti-gay, promising a homophobic parade through the streets of the capital The Rassemblement de la Jeunesse Camerounaise association (Cameroonian Youth Rally, or RJC) announced that it will ‘celebrate’ a gay hate day. The association doesn’t want to hear about gay pride, instead it announced on… Read more »
Kenya’s HIV Challenge: Easing Stigma For Gay Men
Health officials in Kenya say reducing the transmission of HIV among gay men is a central part of their national AIDS strategy. But they face serious challenges, including the fact that homosexuality is still a crime in the East African nation. HIV rates among gay and bisexual men in Kenya are far higher than the… Read more »
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