Violent mob attacks Indian priest because they think he is gay
Disturbing footage has emerged of an Indian holy man being attacked and beaten in the street by an angry mob because they believed he was gay. In an upsetting clip carried by local broadcaster Mirror Now, Lokesh Pujari is seen being manhandled by a crowd in the eastern city of Mangaluru, Karnataka. His attackers tore […]
Indonesian cop allegedly discharged for being gay challenging dismissal in court
An Indonesian police officer was allegedly fired from the force over his sexual orientation in what is shaping up to be the latest high profile case of state-sanctioned discrimination against the protected minority. As reported by Suara, the 30-year-old officer, identified as Brigadier TT, formerly of the Central Java Police, was dishonorably discharged for being […]
Pride and gay sex illegal: Beirut, Lebanon fights back with LGBTI flags
A Pride parade in Beirut, Lebanon, has never happened. Police, for the past two years, has banned the event for fear of offending ‘public morality’. But for International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia today (17 May), activists were prepared. Around a dozen embassies have agreed to fly the Pride flag today to mark IDAHOBIT […]
South Korea court suspends anti-LGBT penalties against ‘gay pride’ students
A South Korean court has suspended taking “disciplinary action” against a group of local graduate students who were targeted for wearing gay pride-themed attire during a church service in May 2018. Seoul Eastern District Court said Friday five students of the Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary will be allowed to apply for an injunction against […]
U.N. urges calm after protests by LGBT+ refugees in Kenya turn violent
The United Nations has urged LGBT+ refugees in Kenya to show “calm and restraint” after protests demanding better treatment turned violent, with police firing tear gas and arresting more than 20 demonstrators. Scores of LGBT+ and other refugees have been protesting outside the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) offices in Nairobi for several days demanding support […]
Taiwan legalizes same-sex marriage in historic first for Asia
Lawmakers in Taiwan have approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, a landmark decision that makes the self-ruled island the first place in Asia to pass gay marriage legislation. The vote came almost two years after the island’s Constitutional Court ruled that the existing law — which said marriage was between a man and a woman […]
Gay pop star from Singapore, where gay sex is illegal, shares coming out story
I remember when I was a kid, I’d hear people calling gays ‘ah gua’ in Singapore. It’s an equivalence of the word faggot or broken wrist. There was a lot of stigma against gays. It was really painful to witness people getting called names. I think the hardest part for many LGBTQIA people in Asia […]
Advocates boycott African human rights conference in Egypt
The 64th session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, was a sad time for the African continent’s human rights body. Human rights defenders boycotted the session to express their dissatisfaction with the commission’s decision to cancel the observer status it had previously granted to the […]
What Taiwan’s slow march towards legalising gay marriage means for LGBT rights in Asia
To many outside the LGBT community, the May 2017 ruling of the Taiwan Constitutional Court legalising same-sex marriage settled the question. However, outside the public consciousness, there has been a continuous struggle for same-sex couples to attain equal rights, despite being promised them by the highest court on the island. The vote against amending the […]
Mexican icon Vicente Fernandez refused liver transplant, fearing gay donor
Mexican singer and actor Vicente Fernandez said in a recent interview he refused a liver transplant fearing the donor was gay, or a drug addict, causing controversy. The 79-year-old, who has sold more than 70 million records in his long career, made the statements while discussing his health on the Mexican TV show De Primera […]
Diversity day: Advancing LGBT equality in Myanmar workplace
The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOT), on May 17, has been marked worldwide to celebrate sexual and gender diversity. The Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) and Yangon-based NGO Colours Rainbow have jointly written an open letter urging companies to stand up for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality by displaying […]
Fewer rainbows, less social media for China’s LGBT community
China’s LGBT community has had a tough year: Censors have shut down social media forums, news media have curbed coverage of gay issues, and online shops have removed rainbow-themed products. The tighter restrictions have led the LGBT community in China – fearing a crackdown – to prepare for muted celebrations of the International Day Against […]
Māori, Pasifika, LGBT and disabled over-represented in Auckland homeless count
More than 3600 people were living without shelter or in temporary accommodation on one night in Auckland last year, and nearly 40 per cent of those were Māori. Figures released today from Ira Mata Ira Tangata: Auckland’s Homeless Count show a disproportionate amount of Māori, Pasifika, LGBT and disabled people make up Auckland’s rough sleepers. […]
If London needs a separate Trans Pride, what does that say about LGBT solidarity?
Pride in London is the one day of the year that the city feels like it belongs to LGBTQ+ people – which was why I was so confused, embarrassed and alarmed when a small group of lesbians disrupted last year’s event with a protest against the inclusion of trans people. Their banners read “transactivism erases […]
How This Black Gay Politician Is Standing Up to the Far-Right Government in Brazil
For his first two weeks in Brazil’s Congress in February, David Miranda was too scared to take the microphone. Far-right firebrand Jair Bolsonaro, known for homophobic and racist outbursts and policy pledges had just assumed the presidency. Miranda, a gay black man, was feeling the pressure. “I was shaking,” he tells TIME. “That place is […]
Trump administration opposes Equality Act ‘filled with poison pills’
The Trump administration does not support the Equality Act, which the House is expected to take a vote on Friday. “The Trump administration absolutely opposes discrimination of any kind and supports the equal treatment of all; however, this bill in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience […]
M’sia must not bow to international pressure on LGBT issues, says Anwar
Malaysia must not bow down to international pressure over lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues, says PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. He said although the country had to take into consideration the concerns of the international community, foreigners did not have any right to dictate terms on the issue. “We must be fiercely […]
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 […]
Britain is slipping behind on LGBT+ rights just as it leaves the EU. It’s no coincidence
With UK politics so intensely focused on Brexit, it might be easy to forget that, as Britain’s international reputation continues to suffer, there are important domestic issues requiring the government’s attention. Yet if you’re someone who depends on government legislation to allow you to lead a healthy or safe life, it might be harder to […]
Eight Men Charged With Murder Of LGBT Activists In Bangladesh
Eight men have been charged by police in Bangladesh for the 2016 murders of LGBT+ rights activists Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Tonoy. Mannan and Tonoy were brutally hacked to death in an apartment in Bangladesh in 2016, but up until now, nobody had been charged in connection with the killings. Before his death, Mannan edited […]
Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey Most Restrictive On Gay Rights In Europe
Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Armenia have the most restrictive lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality laws and policies in Europe, a campaign group says. Azerbaijan scored just 3 percent on a scale where zero indicates gross human rights violations and 100 percent is the greatest degree of equality under the law, the International Lesbian, Gay, […]
‘I Knew I Had to Get Out to Survive’—Violence Drives LGBT Central Americans North
The desperation of daily life in Honduras is driving thousands of people to join other Central American migrants in their long march northward toward what they hope is asylum and safety in the United States. Yet the situation is especially grave for those who are LGBT, in particular gender non-conforming men and minors. Perhaps that […]
Record number of anti-LGBTQI+ attacks in France: report
Assaults in France on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people hit a new record in 2018, “a dark year” for the LGBT community, French group SOS Homophobie reported Tuesday. The non-profit association registered 231 physical attacks, up from the previous annual record of 188 anti-LGBT assaults back in 2013 linked to same-sex marriage legislation. “2018 […]
Turkey: ‘Appalling’ violence used against students holding Pride march
Reacting to the news that a Pride march organized by students at the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara has been violently broken up by police and 25 students arrested, Fotis Filippou, Campaigns Director for Europe at Amnesty International, said: “It is heartbreaking to hear that today’s Pride march, which should have been a […]
Lavender Scare’ bill seeks to address midcentury purging of gay federal workers
Democratic lawmakers are trying to make amends for a dark period in U.S. history — when thousands of federal employees were fired or forced to resign between the late 1940s and 1960s because they were thought to be gay. The reintroduced Lavender Offense Victim Exoneration Act, or LOVE Act, aims to redress the harms done […]
Nonbinary activist Jamie Windust petitions Parliament for gender-neutral passports
Nonbinary activist Jamie Windust is petitioning UK’s Parliament for gender-neutral passport options. While some countries offer a third gender option on passports, the United Kingdom currently does not. Last year, Christie Elan-Cane went up against the High Court seeking permission to use a third gender marker on their passport. Now, actor and activist Jamie Windust […]
This group of gay Mexicans arrested in 1935 are inspiring people in 2019
The internet has sent a picture of LGBTI Mexicans, purportedly arrested for homosexuality in 1935, viral in the past few days. The photo belongs to the collection of the National Photo Library of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Mexico. We know very little about the detainees themselves, except these pictures are […]
Taiwan unveils long-awaited gay marriage bill
Taiwan’s ruling party unveiled its latest attempt to create Asia’s first gay marriage law on Thursday, May 9, a bill offering same-sex couples “permanent unions” as well as limited adoption rights, despite stiff opposition from conservatives. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has had a stuttering and troubled journey towards delivering on their 2016 election promise […]
Cuban gay rights groups hold unauthorized march in Havana
Gay-rights activists organizing on social media held an unauthorized march Saturday down eight blocks of one of Havana’s main thoroughfares before they were stopped by police. The march was the second by a non-governmental organization in Cuba in slightly more than a month. That’s highly unusual in a country where the only legal civil society […]
Bisexual UK navy veteran stripped of medals to sue
A veteran who was dismissed from Britain’s Royal Navy because of his sexual orientation, has planned to sue the UK’s Defence Ministry for the return of his medals, which were cut from his chest when he was expelled in 1993. Joe Ousalice, 68, said he was “hounded out” of the navy and made to feel […]