Zelenskyy Set To Consider Gay Marriage Petition; Likely To Legalise It In Ukraine: Report
In a significant development amid the ongoing war, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is likely to consider a petition calling to legalise gay marriage in the country. Although Ukrainian flags have flown at pride events all across the Western world, homosexual marriage remains incredibly unpopular in Ukraine. The petition, which was submitted in early June, recently reached […]
Nigerian actor Uche Maduagwu arrested after bravely coming out as gay: ‘I will forever remain gay’
Popular Nigerian social media personality Uche Maduagwu, who previously denied he was gay, has bravely come out in a candid post on Instagram. Maduagwu was riled to come out in response to three men who were sentenced to death by stoning for being gay in the Nigerian state Bauchi, including a man who was 70-years-old. […]
Michael Cashman introduces bill to legalise same-sex marriage in British Overseas Territories
A bill has been introduced in the House of Lords to legalise same-sex marriages in British Overseas Territories where they’re currently banned. Gay rights pioneer Lord Michael Cashman put the private members’ bill (a bill introduced by MPs and Lords who are not government ministers) forward on Wednesday (6 July). The proposed bill extends to […]
Thousands march in Bucharest LGBTQ pride parade
Thousands of Romanians joined an LGBTQ pride march in Bucharest on Saturday ahead of planned legislation that could potentially endanger future parades and fuel discrimination. Parliament’s lower house is expected to start discussing a bill already approved by the Senate which bans so-called gay propaganda in schools, mirroring measures seen in Hungary and Russia. read […]
Are LGBTQ rights blossoming in Bhutan?
In 2021, Bhutan decriminalised homosexuality after King Druk Gyalpo signed off on a law amending the small Himalayan country’s penal code. Parts of the code had criminalised “sodomy or any other sexual conduct that is against the order of nature,” which was a thinly veiled reference to gay sex. Finance Minister Namgay Tshering, who had […]
Israel’s Education System Revolutionized Its Approach to Transgender Students, but Still Has a Ways to Go
During the last week of school before summer vacation, the parents of N., a second-grader from the central Israeli city of Herzliya, visited her class in order to tell her classmates about their daughter’s gender transition. The school has been a partner in the process for some time. At this point, N. and her parents […]
Man in China Learns He Has Ovaries and Uterus
A Chinese man by the name of Chen Li, 33, received the shock of his life after learning that he had ovaries and a uterus and that the persistent urinary problems he faced was actually menstruation. Although the man had male external genital organs, he was actually born intersex, meaning that he had female sex […]
LGBTQ farmers often go unnoticed. But their perspective may help reshape agriculture
Growing up on her family’s farm in Coggon, Iowa, Shae Pesek couldn’t envision being able to have the life she wanted here. She didn’t know any queer people in agriculture. “I really didn’t feel like that was an option for me,” Pesek said. “So, I thought for me, to be out and have a wife […]
GAY INDIGENOUS ELDER UNCLE JACK, ACTIVIST ELIJAH MANIS AMONG 2022 NAIDOC AWARD WINNERS
Indigenous gay elder and actor Uncle Jack Charles and gay Torres Strait human rights activist Elijah Manis are among those who were honoured at the 2022 National NAIDOC Week Awards. “It was hoot beyond measure receiving one of the highest, nicest accolades ever,” Uncle Jack posted on social media, after winning the National NAIDOC Male Elder […]
Gov’t will not ‘actively’ implement LGBT-focused legislation
By Kadeem Joseph – Kadeem.joseph@antiguaobserver.com. With debate continuing on a recent ruling by the courts that deemed Antigua and Barbuda’s decades-old anti-buggery laws unconstitutional, the government said the country will not be “actively” reshaping legislation that may affect its LGBT community. Minister of Information and Cabinet spokesman Melford Nicholas said individuals have the right to challenge any of […]
UNAIDS welcomes the repeal of laws that criminalise and discriminate against LGBT people in Antigua and Barbuda
Geneva, July 7, 2022— UNAIDS applauds the ruling of the Antigua and Barbuda High Court of Justice that effectively decriminalises consensual same-sex sexual activity by holding that sections 12 and 15 of the Caribbean country’s 1995 Sexual Offences Act are unconstitutional. The court held that the criminalisation of consensual sexual acts between same-sex, adult partners infringes the rights to liberty, legal protection, freedom of expression, privacy […]
Conversion therapy ban hangs in the balance after Boris Johnson’s resignation, former advisor says
Boris Johnson resigning as prime minister puts the future of the conversion therapy ban up in the air, according to Jayne Ozanne. A conversion therapy ban was first promised by then-prime minister Theresa May in 2018. After her departure from No 10, the can was kicked down the road several times. Johnson ‘s government eventually published a consultation on […]
Singapore says those ‘engaging in gay sex’ will not be prosecuted despite archaic law that bans it
Singapore will not prosecute citizens under its colonial-era law against consensual same-sex sexual relations, a local government official has claimed. During an interview on BBC’s “Hardtalk” on June 29, 2022, Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said, “People engaging in gay sex will not be prosecuted, even though there is this old piece of law which […]
Antigua and Barbuda overturn colonial-era law criminalising gay sex
A Caribbean court has ruled a colonial-era law in Antigua and Barbuda that criminalizes gay sex is unconstitutional in a landmark win for campaigners. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court found that ‘the selection of an intimate partner is a private and a personal choice.’ The ruling also said the twin-island nation’s 1995 Sexual Offenses Act […]
Transmen Indonesia successfully conducted a national assembly
Transmen Indonesia successfully conducted a national assembly to gather trans men and trans masculine people in Indonesia. The event was attended by 21 people from 12 provinces in Indonesia. In the past years, they operated as a working group, at this event, Transmen Indonesia declared itself as an organisation. In this event, they presented their […]
Being gay in China has become harder in last decade: Report
Being gay in China has become harder in the last decade as life has gotten harder since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. Di Valerio Fabbri, writing in Geopolitica.info said that China’s muscular posture became prominent after Xi set a tone for a more assertive, self-reliant China strengthened by a growing population and traditional […]
Amazon is restricting LGBTQ+ search results in this Middle Eastern country.
Amazon is reportedly restricting LGBTQ+ search results in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following pressure from the country’s government. Amazon made the decision on June 27 after being threatened with penalties by the UAE government if the company did not comply, according to the New York Times. (It’s unclear what those sanctions against Amazon would […]
Cabinet minister says ‘predatory’ MPs targeting young gay men is a ‘real problem’.
A cabinet minister has said Westminster has a “real problem” with older gay men making “predatory advances” on young male parliamentary workers. The anonymous remark, made in a Politico piece published Tuesday (5 July), described an alcohol-soaked “gay scene” within the walls of the Houses of Parliament. The cabinet minister said: “There’s a real problem […]
The military is offering to transfer troops affected by anti-LGBTQ laws, but the process isn’t easy.
Military families can move to new bases if they’re stationed in states with laws hostile to LGBTQ people. But families who try to take advantage of the program may face barriers. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott calls it “child abuse” for parents to provide transgender children with medical care that supports their gender identity. In […]
Finland to update transgender rights law in autumn.
Finland will update its transgender legislation in autumn, Prime Minister Sanna Marin promised at the Helsinki Pride parade on Saturday, where she said the reform carries personal significance because she had been raised in a “rainbow family.” Currently, a transgender person needs to present proof of sterilisation before being able to receive legal gender recognition, […]
What it was like to attend Nigeria’s first-ever Pride event.
There aren’t many spaces in Lagos where queer people can congregate safely, watch drag performances, listen to queer artists perform, or watch a voguing competition. In 2014, the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (SSMPA) was signed into law by then Nigerian President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. The law prescribes a 14-year prison term for anyone caught having […]
Zimbabwe refuses to buckle under pressure from the lesbian, gay, bisexual community.
ZIMBABWE has refused to buckle under pressure from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community to accept their predisposition. The local delegation led by Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi is attending the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva. Responding to enquiries by the LGBTI, Ziyambi said […]
Intersex woman lodges complaint after being taken to Yatala Labour Prison for men.
An intersex prisoner, who identifies as female, was placed in a male prison where she was exposed to “ridicule” and “cruel and degrading treatment”, despite a magistrate recommending she be taken to the women’s prison, a tribunal has heard. The woman has lodged a discrimination complaint against the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) and the […]
Islamic court in Nigeria orders 3 men stoned to death for gay sex
An Islamic sharia court in Nigeria’s northern state of Bauchi has sentenced three men to death by stoning after convicting them on charges of engaging in homosexuality, the leader of the religious police that arrested them said on Friday. Northern Nigeria is predominantly Muslim and the states in the region use sharia courts to punish […]
Turkey’s media watchdog warns against broadcasting LGBT ballad
The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has contacted all music televisions in Turkey to tell them they should not run the latest video released by Turkish singer Mabel Matiz, who is popular among the country’ LGBT community, RTÜK member İlhan Taşçı said in a tweet. “They do not outright ban the video so they […]
Pride 2022: The founder of Jordan’s first LGBTQ magazine on finding power in the queer Arab experience
After Khalid Abdel-Hadi was outed in the middle-eastern press for being gay, he became more determined than ever to provide representation for LGBTQ+ in the Arab world. “I remember crying in my hotel room in Lebanon when that story broke. It was my worst nightmare as an editor to be blocked in my own country,” […]
For gay couples hoping for a military burial, the fight for love doesn’t end with death
In Willamette National Cemetery in Oregon, lines of marble rise row on row above acres of vivid green. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Linda Campbell knew the view well. She had chosen her nearby waterfront apartment so that she could see, from a distance, the place where her wife silently waited for her. Nancy Lynchild […]
In Switzerland, first same-sex couples say ‘I do’
Alois Carnier, 57, and Peter Leu, 67, said “wholeheartedly, I do” to each other on Friday as same-sex marriages became legal in Switzerland. It is the first time two men have walked out of the civil registry in their town of Schaffhausen as husband and husband. Voters approved the “Marriage for All” initiative by a […]
20-YEAR-OLD MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO HOMOPHOBIC ATTACK ON NEW ZEALAND’S ‘BIG GAY PINK’ CHURCH
A 20-year-old man has pleaded guilty to an anti-semitic and homophobic attack on New Zealand’s famous queer ‘Pink’ church. Gloria of Greymouth, a deconsecrated church building (formerly the St Andrews Anglican church) built in 1939, was bought by poet and artist Sam Duckor-Jones. In 2021, the artist moved into the unused church building, located in […]
50 years of Pride in the UK and why we still need it
“I came out to my mother with the words: ‘Mum, I think I’m becoming homosexual.’” Ted Brown grew up in London at a time when homosexuality was illegal. When he was 14, he felt very alone and isolated, and decided to come out to his mother “out of depression about the situation”. He recalls his […]