Africa
Cameroon: LGBT victim could become a businesswoman
Carine, a 26-year-old Cameroonian lesbian, was released in September 2016 after four years in jail because of her sexual orientation. Now she wants to resume a productive and happy life. By PSF In November, recently released from prison, Carine (a pseudonym) visited the Douala offices of PEP Sans Frontière (Peer Educators and Promoters Without Borders,… Read more »
Tanzania orders gay men to report to police
Homosexuality is punishable with up to 30 years in prison Tanzania has ordered men accused of being gay to report to police. Deputy health minister Hamis Kingwangala has ordered three men accused of ‘spreading homosexual activity’ through social media to be questioned by the authorities. Gay sex is illegal in Tanzania and punishable by up… Read more »
Two Gay Men in Ivory Coast Still Seek Explanation for their Imprisonment
Two Ivorian men who were arrested in October and released from prison this week remain unclear as to their offense. While it is presumed that a public indecency law was used to inculpate both openly gay men, they deny any improper behavior or even sexual involvement with each other. Ivory Coast does not outlaw same-sex… Read more »
Two men jailed after uncle walks in on them having sex
Two gay men were arrested and jailed after being caught having sex. The men received 18 month sentences, despite living in a country where same-sex activities are not illegal. The men live in Ivory Coast, which does not criminalise homosexuality. No law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, or intersex status… Read more »
Teenager sentenced to four months behind bars for being trans
A teenager is currently behind bars for the ‘crime’ of being trans. The 19-year-old woman has been sentenced to four months in prison on the grounds of “harm to good morals”. According to her lawyer, Mounir Baatour, she was arrested in November of last year while celebrating at a Halloween party. The lawyer says she… Read more »
A Colonial-Era Wound Opens in Namibia
Swakopmund, Namibia — The statue, depicting a German marine holding a rifle in his hands and standing guard over a dying comrade, has stood undisturbed for decades in the most prominent spot in Swakopmund, a city on Namibia’s coast. It has survived the end of colonial rule in this corner of southern Africa, the subsequent… Read more »
Cameroon: Thugs attack 2 friends; widespread trauma
A gang of homophobic thugs assaulted and robbed two young men in Cameroon, claiming that they were homosexuals who needed to be scared straight. It’s an all-too-familiar story in Cameroon, where such attacks lead to depression and passivity in the LGBTI community: P. and T. are friends. Just friends. On the night of Dec. 29,… Read more »
Meeting the needs of MSM in the Middle East and North Africa
Manuel Couffignal is a Senior Advisor: Funding and Influence at the Alliance. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), men who have sex with men (MSM) are a particularly vulnerable and highly stigmatised community, and their burden of HIV infection is significantly higher than the general population. From 2005 to 2015, the Alliance worked… Read more »
Chad criminalises homosexuality by vote of 111 to 1
Chad has made homosexuality a crime, adopting a penal code that bans gay sex for both men and women. The West African former French territory, which has a population of 13 million, green-lit a new penal code this week. Under the terms of the new code, homosexuality will be criminalised for the first time, listed… Read more »
Non, merci: English-speaking Cameroon rises up, wants Republic of Ambazonia
A middle-aged man stands in front of a freshly covered grave, a flag tied around his neck. The flag has blue and white stripes and a white dove in its top left quadrant, but these are not the colours of any country recognised by the United Nations. That is something this man and thousands like… Read more »
Teenage girls who faced jail in Morocco for ‘hugging and kissing’ are acquitted
The teenage girls who faced prison after being accused of “hugging and kissing” on a rooftop have been acquitted. The two girls were arrested in Morocco over the accusation earlier this year. The women faced up to three years in prison under the country’s strict laws Reports suggest that 16-year-old Sanaa invited 17-year-old Hajar –… Read more »
Thousands march over Malawi’s plans to legalise homosexuality
The peaceful marches were organised by Catholic and evangelical churches. Thousdands Of Mainly Christian protesters marched through two cities in Malawi on Tuesday to demonstrate against proposals to legalise abortion and homosexuality, in the first event of its kind. The peaceful marches were organised by Catholic and evangelical churches in Malawi, where sex and homosexuality… Read more »
The UN’s LGBT expert has advocated for a global partnership to end violence
He advocated for unity in his keynote speech at the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) in Bangkok. Vitit Muntarbhorn said: “resolute action is required to stop the violence and discrimination affecting not only LGBT communities but also the human rights defenders working with them… “this goes hand in hand with the… Read more »
Homosexuality Is Not A Crime: Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast The First Stone
During the recent visit of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Liberia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf responded to a question posed by a Canadian journalist about what her government was doing to protect members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT). She rightly responded and I couldn’t agree with her more ‘that it… Read more »
‘No Law Restricts Rights of Individuals in Liberia’ – President Johnson- Sirleaf
Monrovia – President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Thursday made a very rare comment on homosexuality, saying that it was a matter of choice, and that it was not illegal to be a homosexual in Liberia. “Liberia has no law that restricts the rights of individuals to their own choices. Only when it is a threat… Read more »
African states bid to stop work of U.N. gay rights investigator
African states launched a bid at the United Nations on Friday to halt the work of the first U.N. independent investigator appointed to help protect gay and transgender people worldwide from violence and discrimination. The 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, created the position in June and in September appointed Vitit Muntarbhorn of… Read more »
Teenage girls face prison for ‘hugging and kissing’
The girls face up to three years in prison if found guilty. Two teenage girls have been arrested in Morocco for kissing and hugging. The young women face up to three years in prison under the country’s strict homosexuality laws, with their trial due to start next week. Reports suggest that 16-year-old Sanaa invited 17-year-old… Read more »
In Uganda, gay men say police use torturous method to ‘prove’ homosexuality
Cape Town (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – It was early in the morning when Jackson Mukasa was awakened by the chants outside his Kampala home. “The homos are in there!” the crowd yelled, banging spoons on metal cooking pots. Mukasa, a 21-year-old gay man living in the Ugandan capital, was terrified. “We opened the door, and… Read more »
Living As A Gay Person In Malawi: Coming Out In Hell
If you live in Malawi, I would advise you to be very careful if you are planning to come out. It happened to me. I had underestimated the extent and impact my coming out would have on my life and the rest of my family and friends. I literally saw my world crumbling beneath my… Read more »
Tanzania suspends some HIV programs for gay men, says health minister
Dar Es Salam (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Tanzania has suspended community-based HIV/AIDS prevention programs for gay men, the health minister said on Monday, in the latest crackdown on the high-risk group. Ummy Mwalimu, Tanzania’s minister for health said the government had received reports that some local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were promoting and normalizing same-sex relationships… Read more »
Kagame: Rwanda has no problems with gays
Rwanda President Paul Kagame doesn’t want to have the same trouble as his neighbors Burundi, Tanzania, and Uganda when it comes to the LGBT community. Some of Rwanda’s neighboring countries have passed anti-gay laws and harassed their queer communities, resulting in criticism from around the world. “It hasn’t been our problem,” Kagame said before an… Read more »
Uganda gay rights activists try again to hold a pride event — again, police intervene
More than a dozen armed police officers shut down Uganda’s fifth annual gay pride celebration on Saturday — the second major government crackdown on the gay community since August. Yet, gay rights activists said the raid at a private beach resort outside Kampala marked one of the most important moments in their careers. “In the… Read more »
Ugandan police block gay pride parade
Ugandan police have blocked gay pride celebrations from happening in two resorts outside the capital, Kampala. Gay rights activist Frank Mugisha said more than 100 LGBTI people tried to participate in the celebrations in Entebbe near Lake Victoria. But many were escorted by police back to Kampala in minibuses. The minister for ethics and integrity… Read more »
Botswana deports American anti-gay pastor after radio hate speech
A pastor from Tempe, Ariz., has been trying to spread his fervently anti-gay message in Africa. Steven Anderson’s message is conveyed in his church’s doctrinal statement, which says that “homosexuality is a sin and an abomination which God punishes with the death penalty.” Most African countries have laws against homosexuality. Perhaps Anderson thought he would… Read more »
Swedish police slammed for deporting gay Ugandan
Sweden’s justice watchdog has sharply criticised the the way in which a gay Ugandan man was sent home to face possible life imprisonment and even death, even though his case was under review. The man, who first sought asylum in 2012, was expelled from Sweden three days after a court had ordered his rejected asylum… Read more »
South Africa To Provide Free Treatment To All People Living With HIV
South Africa, which leads the world in HIV infections, said Thursday that it will offer free treatment to all people living with the disease. Previously, only people with a low white blood cell count were eligible for free treatment. “This new policy extends this to all people living with HIV,” South Africa’s health department said.… Read more »
US based Liberian gay rights activist calls for protection of their rights … cautions Liberians ahead of 2017 elections
A Liberian gay rights activist based in the United States has admonished Liberians to vote leaders in the pending 2017 general and presidential elections that will promote and protect the rights of all, including gay and lesbians in the country. Speaking in an interview with the GNN via mobile phone from the United States, Roosevelt… Read more »
Sweden to deport gay soccer player back to Liberia, where he will be jailed, beaten and raped
The Swedish government says they know Andrew Nagbe will face hardships in Liberia, but because they don’t believe physical beatings “are sanctioned by the state,” they are fine with it. Even as the “gayest” team in the Olympics, the Sweden women’s soccer team, advanced to the gold-medal match in Rio, we’ve learned that Sweden plans… Read more »
Gay and Transgender Egyptians, Harassed and Entrapped, Are Driven Underground
Cairo — The last days of the government of Hosni Mubarak and the turbulent revolution that followed were tense, occasionally gut-wrenching times for many in Egypt. But for gay and transgender Egyptians, it was also a period of unaccustomed freedom. They socialized in bars and sidewalk cafes and met partners over cellphone dating apps with… Read more »
Uganda’s Government To ‘Rehabilitate’ Members Of LGBT Community
Uganda’s government said Monday that it has developed a program to “rehabilitate” members of the LGBT community to give them a chance to lead “normal lives.” At a press conference, Ethics Minister Simon Lokodo said that the government “will continue to suppress” the public activities of the LGBT community. Organizers behind Uganda’s annual pride celebration… Read more »
Ugandan activists released without charge after brutal police raid on Pride pageant
Dozens of activists have been released without charge after a Ugandan police raid on a Pride event – leaving one activist fighting for their life. Last night, Ugandan police raided the ‘Mr. & Miss Pride Uganda’ LGBT event inside the Venom nightclub in Kampala. More than 20 people were arrested including prominent Ugandan activist Frank… Read more »
This Country Wants To ‘Curb’ Gay Sex By Stopping NGOs From Importing Lube
Well… that’s interesting. In what’s been described as a crackdown on gays, government officials in Tanzania have approved a ban on the import and sale of sexual lubricants to local NGOs that service the LGBT community. Among those who believe that access to lube is directly correlated to how many locals engage in gay sex… Read more »
Everything you need to know about being gay in Muslim countries
The official fiction, Brian Whitaker explains, is that gay people don’t exist in the Middle East. They do – and for many of them, the attitudes of family and society are a much bigger problem than the fear of being persecuted When the US supreme court ruled in favour of same-sex marriage last year, the… Read more »
Kenya’s ‘gay tests’ ruled legal
A Kenyan High Court has dismissed a case challenging the legality of anal tests as proof of homosexuality. Two men, who say Kenyan police forced them to undergo the procedure to prove they had had gay sex, launched the case, calling for the tests to be declared unconstitutional. “There was no other way evidence could… Read more »
Namibia’s Swakopmund celebrates its first Pride march
The Namibian coastal city of Swakopmund marked its first LGBT Pride last weekend, only the second such event in the country’s history. Around 150 people turned out for the inaugural Swakop Pride, described as “a celebration of the LGBT and queer community,” on Saturday the 4th of June. The event included a festive midday procession… Read more »
Humans Into The Pride – The 11th LGBT Pride March 2016, Mauritius
Humans Into The Pride – The 11th LGBT Pride March 2016, Mauritius Filmed by Shirish Ramma Source – YouTube
Swakopmund celebrates first Gay Pride
The city of Swakopmund on the coast of Namibia celebrated their first Gay Pride on the main street of the city on June 4, 2016, Namibia. People from all over the country met for the first time for the march in Namibia. We are one of the most development and peaceful countries in Africa but… Read more »
Desmond Tutu’s daughter leaves clergy after marrying female partner
Mpho Tutu-van Furth says move was forced on her as the South African Anglican church does not recognise her marriage The daughter of one of the world’s best-known Christian leaders has given up her right to officiate as a priest in South Africa following marriage to her female partner. Mpho Tutu-van Furth – whose father,… Read more »
Seychelles repeals colonial-era law banning gay sex
Popular holiday destination the Seychelles is opening its arms to LGBT people – passing a law to legalise gay sex. Section 151 of the country’s Penal Code states that a man who has sex with a man “against the order of nature” can be jailed for up to fourteen years. The law is a hang-over… Read more »
Jozi Cats: South Africa’s first gay and inclusive rugby club
Subverting stereotypes in new campaign, players tell the Daily Maverick they’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response Africa’s first gay and inclusive rugby club has launched a provocative campaign featuring homophobic slurs in a bid undermine stereotypes. The new recruitment drive features posters of team members accompanied by words such as “queen”, “fairy” and “pansy”.… Read more »
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