Africa
Botswana celebrates historic decriminalisation of gay sex
Botswana’s High Court announced its decision this morning (June 11) to decriminalise gay sex, and people are rejoicing the “life-changing” decision. Scenes of celebration are flooding social media, after this historic victory for LGBT+ people in Botswana and worldwide. Anna Mmolai-Chalmers, CEO of Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (LEGABIBO) said in a press release:… Read more »
Gay rights in Kenya: ‘Why our fight isn’t over’
Kenya’s High Court has ruled against campaigners seeking to overturn a law banning gay sex. But there is much to be proud of in the fight for equality despite this setback, writes Kevin Mwachiro. Thirteen years ago, I would never have thought that Kenya could get to this point – that our LGBTQ community would… Read more »
Kenya’s High Court Upholds a Ban on Gay Sex
Nairobi, Kenya — Kenya’s High Court on Friday upheld laws that criminalize gay sex, declining to join the handful of nations that have recently abolished a prohibition imposed by Britain during the colonial era. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the court, announced in a courtroom packed with activists who wanted to see… Read more »
Kenya upholds law criminalising gay sex
Kenya’s High Court has ruled against campaigners seeking to overturn a law banning gay sex. The three judges rejected claims that the colonial-era law violated the new constitution, which guarantees equality, dignity and privacy. The penal code criminalises “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” – widely understood to refer to anal intercourse between men.… Read more »
Kenya: Court Upholds Archaic Anti-Homosexuality Laws
Activists Plan to Appeal (Nairobi) – Kenya’s High Court on May 24, 2019 upheld laws criminalizing homosexual acts between consenting adults, a step backward in the progress Kenya has made toward equality in recent years, Human Rights Watch said today. The court was addressing a petition filed in 2016 by three Kenyan organizations that work… Read more »
Binyavanga Wainaina: Kenyan author and LGBTI rights activist dies
He was named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people for his advocacy Kenyan LGBTI activist Kenneth Binyavanga Wainaina died yesterday (21 May) at the age of 48. Tom Maliti, the chairman of the Kwani Trust which Wainaina founded, told The Associated Press the journalist died Tuesday night in Nairobi after an illness. Born in… Read more »
Human Rights Watch call for the end of LGBTI persecution in Tunisia
Rights group calls for changes to mark the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia Human Rights Watch (HRW) have called on the Tunisian authorities to cease their discrimination of LGBTI people. HRW joined with the Civil Coalition for Individual Freedoms in Tunisia in issuing a statement advocating for LGBTI rights in the country. The… Read more »
In one week’s time, we will know whether Kenya is the next country to decriminalize gay sex.
The law has impacted LGBTI people living in the eastern African country for decades. Voices of Kenya, put together by All Out, gathers some of their experiences of discrimination and persecution. ‘The aim is to show that the question of legalisation is not a technical, purely legal, matter. Real people are getting hurt and suffer… Read more »
A Queer Film Festival in Tunisia — Where Being Gay Is Illegal
For four days in March, a sanctuary for queer and trans people sprung up in Tunisia — a country where being gay is illegal. Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival, in its second year, differs significantly from other film festivals: some participants wear badges that read “No Photos;” attendees were invited through a private Facebook page and… Read more »
Almost 90% of people in Ghana don’t want LGBTI people meeting
Most Ghanians think LGBTI should be excluded from work or school LGBTI groups have come together in Ghana. They want to create a plan of how to overcome violence and discrimination in the African country. Sisters of the Heart in partnership with Alliance for Dynamics Initiative came together to discuss how to protect the rights… Read more »
Tunisia invokes sharia law in bid to shut down LGBT rights group
Judicial harassment and rise in arrests under anti-sodomy law add to climate of tension and fear One of the Arab world’s most visible advocacy groups defending the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people is facing closure following legal threats by the government. Association Shams has been officially operating in Tunisia since 2015,… Read more »
What’s it like to go on the run after your boyfriend is jailed for being gay?
This 21-year-old college student left everything behind when his country, Egypt, started a homophobic crackdown Karim was holding his breath in the trunk of a car, the stale pungent air heavy in his lungs, when the officers came. He was already hundreds of miles from his home in Egypt. In his possession, he only had… Read more »
Opinion: Nigeria is a cold-blooded country for gay men — I have the scars to prove it
Editor’s Note: Richard Akuson is a Nigerian lawyer and founder of A Nasty Boy magazine which seeks to challenge conventional norms about gender and masculinity. Akuson is now based in New York. The views expressed here are solely his. (CNN) – In 2017, I started A Nasty Boy magazine to validate and affirm the lives… Read more »
Kenya’s refugee camp Pride will be back despite violence and death threats
For security reasons they’ll keep the location of the Pride parade secret until the last minute Organizers of the first Pride parade in a refugee camp will defiantly return despite violence after the inaugural event. Mbazira Moses and his organization, Refugee Flag Kenya, put together the 2018 Pride at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya.… Read more »
Selly Thiam’s Digital Media Organization Is Committed To Documenting Stories of Queer Africans
In 2004, Selly Thiam was working as a teacher in Chicago when she read about the murder of Sierra Leonean lesbian activist FannyAnn Eddy. Thiam, a Senegalese-American, was shaken by the news and also by how little she knew about LGBT activism in Africa. Harsh anti-LGBT laws across the African continent have kept many LGBT… Read more »
Kenyan gay man wants to change minds with new collection of LGBTI stories
Gay activist Denis Nzioka finds way around Kenyan anti-LGBTI discrimination in new anthology book #RafikiZetu: Kenyan LGBTIQ Stories, As Told By Allies is an anthology book aimed to promote acceptance of the LGBTI community in Kenya. Same-sex sexual acts are illegal per Section 162 of the Kenyan Penal Code and punishable by 5 to 14… Read more »
Botswana’s High Court postpones decision in gay sex case
Garborone (Reuters) – Botswana’s High Court on Thursday postponed its ruling on a case challenging the criminalisation of gay sex, which is being scrutinised by campaigners hoping the law could be overturned. Judge Abednico Tafa told a packed courtroom in Botswana’s capital Gaborone that a decision would be handed down on June 11 after a… Read more »
Botswana is set to decriminalize homosexuality, here’s everything you need to know
‘There’s nothing at this point that can completely break us’ Botswana’s resilient LGBTI community is hopeful their years long fight to decriminalize same-sex relations will be successful soon. On Thursday (14 March) the High Court in Gaborone – Botswana’s capital city – will hear arguments on the law criminalizing ‘unnatural offences’. Section 164 of Botswana’s… Read more »
Tunisia: Effort to Shut Down LGBT Group
Move Comes after Court Upheld Group’s Legality (Tunis) – The Tunisian government should halt its attempt to fight a court ruling that gave an LGBT association the right to operate, Human Rights Watch said today. The Tunis-based Shams association has vocally advocated the repeal of Tunisia’s anti-sodomy law and has defended many victims prosecuted on… Read more »
Tunisian government is fighting to shut down an LGBTI rights group
They fight anti-LGBTI laws in the country The Human Rights Watch is calling on the Tunisian government to cease their efforts of shutting down an LGBTI rights group within the country. According to HRW, Tunisia is fighting a court ruling which granted the LGBTI group Shams the right to operate. The government is arguing that… Read more »
Kenya is close to legalizing homosexuality. What about the rest of Africa?
Nairobi — Across Africa and the world, LGBT communities are anxiously watching a court case in Kenya’s capital. The court is expected to either retain a colonial-era law that criminalizes homosexuality, or scrap it, which would put Kenya in a small group of African nations that give LGBT people equal legal rights. A ruling in… Read more »
Cameroon: Crowd kills ‘man of God’ caught in the act
A pious shopkeeper in northern Cameroon was caught having sex with his 17-year-old male lover. Outraged, his neighbors killed him in the town’s central marketplace, local activists report. Diallo (a pseudonym), a human rights activist in Maroua, reports: A homosexual couple was surprised in the midst of love-making one morning last October in a shop… Read more »
Angola decriminalizes homosexuality, bans anti-gay discrimination
Lawmakers in Angola last week approved a new penal code that decriminalizes consensual same-sex sexual relations in the African country. The Angolan Parliament on Jan. 23 scrapped the law that had been in place since Portugal colonized the country. Lawmakers also banned discrimination based on sexual orientation. Associação Íris Angola, an Angolan LGBTI advocacy group,… Read more »
Angola Has Decriminalized Gay Sex, Human Rights Watch Says
According to rights group Human Rights Watch, Angola has decriminalized gay sex. “Angola has finally shed the divisive ‘vices against nature’ provision in its law, widely interpreted to be a ban on homosexual conduct,” the group wrote. Human Rights Watch said that the provision prohibiting same-sex relations was a holdover from its Portuguese colonizers. On… Read more »
Angola Decriminalizes Same-Sex Conduct
Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation Banned Angola has finally shed the divisive “vices against nature” provision in its law, widely interpreted to be a ban on homosexual conduct. Taking things one step further, the government has also prohibited discrimination against people on the basis of sexual orientation. And so anyone refusing to employ or provide… Read more »
Botswana president speaks up for LGBTI rights
There is new hope for LGBTI persons in Botswana because the south African country’s new president is advocating for LGBTI rights. In November, when Botswana‘s new president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, gave a speech against violence on women and children, he also emphasized the rights of LGBTI people. He made it clear that LGBTI people should have… Read more »
Egyptian TV host jailed for interviewing gay man on his show
TV host Mohamed al-Gheiti has expressed his own anti-gay views in the past An Egyptian TV host has been jailed for one year for interviewing a gay man on his TV show. Host Mohamed al-Gheiti, who has expressed his own anti-gay views in the past, was sentenced on Sunday. He was also fined 3,000 Egyptian… Read more »
The Cape Town schools learning from transgender students
As an increasing number of young South Africans reveal that their gender identities differ from their sex at birth, schools are learning about the challenges these students face, writes the BBC’s Mohammed Allie from Cape Town. Three years ago, Alex* transitioned from a boy to a girl. Now eight years old, she wears her blonde… Read more »
Attacks Prompt Push to Relocate LGBTQ Refugees in Kenya
Massive camp housing hundreds of thousands of dispossessed Africans now unsafe Advocacy groups in Kenya are rushing to relocate LGBTQ refugees who are facing brutal retaliation from local communities and authorities after they protested a spike in homophobic attacks at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in the northwestern region of the East African nation. Refugees, fed… Read more »
Tanzania Says Tolerating LGBT Community Would Be ‘Intolerable,’ As Donors Pull Funding
Tanzania said Friday that it would not comply with demands from donors to soften its opposition to LGBT rights. According to NBC News, Finance Minister Philip Mpango told officials that Tanzania could not comply with demands from donors to tolerate the LGBT community as a condition for aid. “[T]here is no way,” he said, calling… Read more »
UN moves LGBTI refugees to safe houses in Nairobi after Kenyan camp attacks
About 30 LGBTI refugees received injuries in a vicious attack after trying to rally for improved conditions at Kakuma Refugee Camp The UN has transferred LGBTI refugees to a safe house in Nairobi after they experienced violence from fellow refugees. About 30 LGBTI refugees received injuries in a vicious attack after trying to rally for… Read more »
End of mission – Visit to Mozambique
Excellencies, The mandate of UN Independent Expert on the protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity was established by the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution 32/2 in 2016. The mandate answers to the concern of the community of nations about the intolerance, discrimination and particularly egregious abuses against persons… Read more »
Africa’s first ever LGBTI games is happening this weekend
We’re promised the opening ceremony will be ‘extravagant’ and ‘colorful’ It took three years to turn from an idea into reality, but this weekend the first ever LGBTI AfroGames are happening in Durban, South Africa. Hlengiwe Buthelezi wanted to bring a Gay Games style event to Africa to help promote LGBTI rights across the continent.… Read more »
Gays, Lesbians look up to Masisi
Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans-gender and intersex persons (LGBTI) want President Mokgweetsi Masisi to allow same sex relationships which to date, are deemed unlawful in Botswana. Masisi had recently called for the respect and protection of LGBTI persons’ rights at the launch of the 16 Days of Activism against Violence on Women and Children last week.… Read more »
Tanzania Police Arrest Grooms and Guests in Homosexual Marriage
Tanzanian police invaded a homosexual marriage in Pongwe Beach on the island of Tanzania and arrested 10 people, along with the couple, because of their sexual orientation. According to Amnesty International, the policemen entered the place where the party took place and took all the men who were sitting in pairs, already assuming that they… Read more »
South Africa passes historic vote to protect civil unions from homophobes
More than half of South Africa’s marriage officers are exempted from performing same-sex marriages based on conscious or religious exemption The lower house of parliament (National Assembly) in South Africa has voted for a historic change to civil union laws. South Africa has recognized civil unions since 2006 but today’s changes will mean that officials… Read more »
Botswana High Court sets new date to consider decriminalising homosexuality
After a long delay, the Botswana High Court has announced that it will finally hear a case on the decriminalisation of homosexuality next year. A full bench of the court ordered that a hearing challenging the constitutionality of sections 164(a), 164(c) and 167 of the Penal Code, which criminalise same-sex sexual activities in Botswana, be… Read more »
South Africa still hasn’t won LGBTQ+ equality. Here are 5 reasons why
In the fight for LGBTQ+ rights on the African continent, South Africa leads the way for marriage equality and legal protection against discrimination. In fact it was the first country in the world to protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and the fifth to legalize same-sex marriage. On paper, this country is a haven… Read more »
Rights groups condemn ‘brutal and humiliating’ tests on gay men in Tunisia
Men suspected of sodomy are being subjected to anal examinations and confiscation of phones by police, with more than 70 gay men jailed last year More than 70 gay men were jailed by Tunisian authorities last year, according to activists, who warn anal tests and phone searches are being used to identify suspects. Mounir Baatour,… Read more »
This UK gay guy went to Swaziland’s 1st Pride: his story is shocking and inspiring
Interview: ‘Are there going to be petrol bombs? Rubber bullets?’ Riyadh Khalaf on tense journey making latest film ‘”We need kidnapping random insurance.’” That’s what Riyadh Khalaf’s director of photography told him right before they and their six-person crew set off to make documentary ‘Fighting For Pride: Swaziland’, about the country’s first-ever Pride parade this… Read more »
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