Mission Africa Inc. honours Bagbin, Sam George, others for championing Anti-LGBTQI+ Bill
The Executive Board of Mission Africa Incorporated USA/Ghana, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship, the Worldwide Miracle Outreach UK led by Dr Lawrence Tetteh, Inland Empire Concern African America Churches of California, (IECCAC (UNA- GH), Inter Faith Christian for Jewish Strategic Diplomacy, USA, Christian Bible and Governance, have commended the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, […]
Saudi football ‘sportswashing’ and using multi-million-pound deals to distract from human rights issues
Players from across the game have taken eye-watering amounts of money to join the Saudi Pro League, moves which have been criticised as supporting “sportswashing”. In December, Cristiano Ronaldo joined Riyadh-based club Al-Nassr on a free transfer after leaving Manchester United, reportedly bagging the biggest salary in football history, at more than £173 million (close […]
Can states’ bans on transgender care hold up in court? We break down the arguments
Of the 20 states restricting gender-affirming hormone therapy, nearly half are being challenged in federal court. At the heart of these lawsuits is this question: Do bans on gender-affirming care violate the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment? (A reminder: The Fourteenth Amendment says states can’t deprive people of liberty without due process and can’t deny people […]
Iran sex tape scandal: Government says no prior knowledge of alleged behaviour
A video posted online allegedly shows the head of culture and Islamic guidance in Gilan province, Reza Tsaghati, having sex with another man. Their identities and the video’s authenticity have not been verified. Mr Tsaghati has been removed from his post while authorities investigate. Homosexuality is illegal in Iran, with LGBT+ people at risk of […]
1st PH gay summit eyes ‘inclusivity’ in tourism
THE Department of Tourism (DoT) will be holding a first-ever Pride Summit as part of the government’s initiatives focusing on “inclusive tourism development and establishing the Philippines as one of Asia’s most LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, and asexual plus) friendly destinations.” DoT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco made the announcement on Thursday during […]
In Nepal, the LGBTQ Community’s Fight for Marriage Equality is Far From Over
“We are going to fight until the very end!” said Surendra Pandey, the husband of Maya Gurung, when we met at a restaurant in Nepal’s busy capital Kathmandu. Frequent power outages, with lights and music turning on and off at irregular intervals, seem to provide an appropriate backdrop to the legal rollercoaster Maya and Surendra […]
‘I can make you straight in three months’: Inside India’s gay conversion industry
Widely discredited around the world, conversion therapy – which aims to change someone’s sexual orientation – is still legal in India but the practice of it by doctors is banned. Above a second-hand car shop on a bustling Delhi street, sits the office of the Indian capital’s self-proclaimed “best sexologist”. Dr Shriyans Jain is smartly […]
From state houses to Congress, anti-trans fights arrive in Washington
When AJ DePre, a trans rights organizer, heard that a House subcommittee was holding a hearing about “The Dangers and Due Process Violations of ‘Gender-Affirming Care,’” on Thursday, they spent the day making calls to their family in Belgium to assess if they could move to Europe. “I felt scared and ready to leave,” they […]
India could soon become the second country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage
India could soon become only the second nation in Asia to legalise gay marriage. As the world’s fast-growing democracy, it is a hugely significant moment for LGBTQIA+ campaigners. Abhay Dange and Supriyo Chakraborty are one of 18 Indian couples leading the fight at the Supreme Court. Abhay says culturally, the ability to marry is critical: […]
How will Russia’s tough new law affect trans people?
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a new law that bans transgender people from changing their gender on ID documents or undergoing transition-related medical care such as surgery and hormone therapy. Campaigners have condemned the legislation, the latest rollback of LGBTQ+ rights in Russia, warning that it could fuel mental health problems among trans people […]
Malaysia’s LGBTQ community fears backlash after concert kiss
The 1975 frontman Matty Healy’s recent appearance at a festival in Kuala Lumpur — where he criticized Malaysia’s homophobic laws and kissed a male bandmate on stage — has strongly angered conservatives in the country. Members of the LGBTQ+ community have also expressed unease over his actions, fearing that the episode risks further exacerbating the […]
Uganda anti-gay law ‘already causing harm,’ says US ambassador
U.S. officials and those working in the HIV response in Uganda said they are already seeing the detrimental effects of the controversial anti-gay bill that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed into law in May, with many affected populations now in hiding and not seeking services. “The law is already causing harm,” jeopardizing the gains made in […]
Transgender patients sue the hospital that provided their records to Tennessee’s attorney general
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Vanderbilt University Medical Center is being sued by its transgender clinic patients, who accuse the hospital of violating their privacy by turning their records over to Tennessee’s attorney general. Two patients sued Monday in Nashville Chancery Court, saying they were among more than 100 people whose records were sent by Vanderbilt to Attorney General […]
Supporters of gay rights and EFF members go head to head at UCT
Tensions ran high at the University of Cape Town on Monday evening as supporters of gay rights confronted members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) ahead of a lecture by Kenyan professor Patrick Lumumba. Lumumba, who has been reported as supporting the repression of gay people in Uganda, was invited by the EFF for the party’s […]
Berlin Pride marked by huge crowd and colorful costumes
Hundreds of thousands of people marched through the streets of the German capital Berlin on Saturday in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights. The 45th Berlin Pride parade, known in Germany as the Christopher Street Day or CSD featured around 75 trucks that led the huge crowd through the city’s downtown on a 7.4-kilometer (4.6-mile) route. House and […]
‘White savior complex’: Malaysia’s LGBTQ community slams The 1975’s Matty Healy’s onstage kiss
When British singer Matty Healy grabbed bandmate Ross MacDonald for an onstage kiss during their Malaysia concert on Friday, following a profanity-laden speech slamming the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws, he likely thought it an act of protest and solidarity. But for many in Malaysia’s LGBTQ community, it was quite the opposite. The 1975’s concert, which was […]
Gay man granted workers’ comp for being outed by boss
Labor authorities agreed to pay workers’ compensation to a gay man who suffered from mental illness after being outed by his boss, which may be the first such judgment in Japan. “I couldn’t trust anybody anymore (after being outed),” said the man in his 20s on July 24. “I had to come forward to make […]
The Queer Cubans Seeking Refuge in Putin’s Russia
For the protagonists of Luis Alejandro Yero’s Calls from Moscow, the Russian capital was a place of intense silence and isolation on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine: almost a ghost town. “Here nothing happens,” says one of the four Cubans, recently exiled queer men, who form the focus of this bold first feature […]
Transgender patients sue the hospital that provided their records to Tennessee’s attorney general
Vanderbilt University Medical Center is being sued by its transgender clinic patients, who accuse the hospital of violating their privacy by turning their records over to Tennessee’s attorney general. Two patients sued Monday in Nashville Chancery Court, saying they were among more than 100 people whose records were sent by Vanderbilt to Attorney General Jonathan […]
Russian president signs legislation outlawing gender-affirming procedures
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed new legislation Monday which marked the final step in outlawing gender-affirming procedures, a crippling blow to Russia’s already embattled LGBTQ+ community. The bill, which was approved unanimously by both houses of parliament, bans any “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person,” as well as changing one’s gender […]
Conservative California school board OKs curriculum on gay rights activist after Newsom threatened $1.5M fine
A conservative school board in southern California reversed course and approved a social studies curriculum that references gay rights activist Harvey Milk, after Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened a $1.5 million fine. The Temecula Valley Unified School District had previously voted to reject the curriculum in part because some board members were concerned the curriculum’s supplementary […]
Italy’s Mounting Attack on Lesbian Parents
In January, Italy’s right-wing government ordered state agencies to cease registration of children born to same-sex couples. Now they’ve taken it a step further: a state prosecutor in northern Italy has ordered the cancellation and re-issuance of 33 birth certificates of lesbian couples’ children, endangering access to medical care and education. Non-gestational mothers are receiving […]
Malaysia’s gay community fears backlash after Matty Healy’s outburst
The 1975 frontman Matty Healy’s recent appearance at a festival in Kuala Lumpur – where he criticised Malaysia’s homophobic laws and kissed a male bandmate on stage – has strongly angered conservatives in the country. Members of the LGBTQ+ community have also expressed unease over his actions, fearing that the episode risks further exacerbating the […]
Peruvian court opens door to legally recognize same-sex couples
LIMA — A Peruvian high court has ordered same-sex unions to be legally registered in public records, marking a victory for the LGBTQ community in a country that has been reluctant to recognize gay couples. The ruling, published on Friday, followed a case brought by a gay Peruvian citizen who sued the registration office for […]
A clinic for issues related to intersex people
A first of its kind trans-health clinic in Lucknow is instilling confidence among intersex people to search for their own identity. ‘Sabrang’, the clinic, claims to be the only one of its kind in north India. Ayush Kumar Agnihotri, the clinic manager, says, “Every month we get people confused about what they look like and what they […]
Spain votes in elections that could bring a right-wing wave
MADRID – Spaniards braved scorching temperatures to go to the polls on Sunday in a highly charged election in which the left tried to hold back a predicted conservative wave that could mark the most right-wing government since the death of longtime dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975. The outcome could dramatically change the balance […]
Anti-gay protests held against Botswana LGBTQ bill
Demonstrations have taken place in the streets of Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, against legislation to make same-sex relations legal. Mostly religious groups marched across the city to voice their opposition to a bill aiming to comply with a 2019 court ruling in favour of LGBTQ rights. Botswana’s High Court in 2019 ruled in favour of campaigners […]
US white supremacists found guilty of gay pride riot plot
Five members of a white supremacist hate group convicted of plotting to riot at a gay pride event will spend three days in jail, a court has ruled. The men and dozens other members of the Patriot Front group were arrested last June after a resident spotted them with masks and shields getting into a […]
Malaysia bans the 1975 after Matty Healy defies anti-LGBTQ+ laws with stage kiss
The English band the 1975 have been banned from performing in Malaysia after their lead singer criticised the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws on stage. The group, fronted by Matty Healy, were playing at the Good Vibes festival in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. Citing his comments, the three-day music festival in Malaysia was cut short. While on […]
Protest held in Botswana against bill legalizing same-sex relationships
Hundreds of people took to the streets in Botswana’s capital of Gaborone on Saturday to protest against legislation seeking to make same-sex relations legal. Backed by religious groups, the demonstrators marched across the city to voice their opposition to a bill that aims to comply with a 2019 court ruling in favour of LGBTQ rights. […]