Decriminalizing Homosexuality
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European Homosexuals are Recruiting in Africa?
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Uganda Wants to Kill and Imprison Gay People
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Should LGBT People Be Losing Patience With Obama?
Pushing for LGBT Equality in Zimbabwe
Published August 10, 2009 @ 04:59AM PT
Zimbabwe has hardly been a beacon of hope for human rights activists over the past few decades, as their current President, Robert Mugabe, has allowed the country to spiral into a cycle of poverty and decay unlike many other places in the world. But Zimbabwe is getting ready to rewrite its constitution, and social justice advocates are pushing hard to enshrine equal rights for Zimbabwe's LGBT population into it. And it's a step that couldn't come too soon, given the brutality and "hysterical homophobia" that has been unleashed under the Mugabe regime.
To be sure, Mugabe has called homosexuality a western import to his country, and has presided over state laws that have criminalized homosexuality in the country. Mugabe's opponents, however - the Movement for Democratic Change - are much more supportive of LGBT rights. It's unclear just how that support will translate into the new Constitution writing process, but one thing is clear: LGBT activists have hope.
That's the message that members of the organization Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GLAZ) are sticking to, telling the Guardian newspaper that they feel they have a 50:50 chance of getting LGBT rights enshrined into the Constitution. "We live in hope," one of their members said.
HIV/AIDS activists in the country are also calling for homosexuality to be criminalized, which they see as an effort to help combat a disease that has ravished the country. More than 140,000 people died of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe in 2007, and there's a more than 15% rate of HIV/AIDS in adults. Criminalizing homosexuality only adds fuel to the fire of those kinds of statistics.
So now it's wait and see. But during a weekend that saw marches for marriage equality in Dublin, between 25,000-75,000 Israelis come out to condemn anti-LGBT violence, hundreds of people in Poland turning up to protest an LGBT hate crime, and now activists working hard for LGBT equality in Zimbabwe, it's safe to say that this was quite the weekend in international LGBT rights. Here's forecasting that the "hope" with which some members of Zimbabwe's LGBT community are living bears fruit, and the country takes a dramatic step forward (both for its own history, but also for Africa's) in the struggle for equal rights.
The Malaysian Government Thinks that Homosexuality Causes Swine Flu
Published August 09, 2009 @ 06:05AM PT
Every so often there's a story on the global health circuit that is so absurd, it causes our proverbial record to scratch. Like the time that South Africa's former Health Minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, said that ingesting lemon juice and potatoes could help treat HIV. Or when evangelical groups like Word Relief, who received millions of U.S. federal dollars in PEPFAR funding under President George W. Bush, told people in countries like Mozambique, Kenya and Haiti that condoms don't work to prevent STDs.
Well, now it's time to count Malaysia's government-run news service as part of the global health lie factory. Today they're out with an article from a physician that says homosexuality and masturbation make the body an easy target for Swine Flu (otherwise known as H1N1). The scary part is that the news service in question, Bernama, runs their stories in nearly every part of the country. Lies and misinformation, get ready to spread.
The doctor at the center of the article, V. M. Palaniappan, used to teach ecology at the University of Malaysia. Maybe he should have stuck with ecology instead of wading into the waters of global health. Here's his rationalization behind his theory, which almost reads like a non-sequitor from Alaska's former governor. Check it out:
Dr. V. M. Palaniappan said that homosexuality and masturbation caused the body to develop friction heat which in turn, produced acid and made the body hyperacidised.
"Thus, the body becomes an easy target for H1N1 infection," he told Bernama, emphasising however, that normal sexual union between members of the opposite sex was absolutely safe....
Ah, yes. It's only the homosexual sex that causes friction heat. Must be all that dance music we listen to while getting it on...
Two words come to mind. Medical crackpot. Yet the government of Malaysia gives this guy a voice with which to reach people across the country, and offer medical advice. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that Malaysia criminalizes homosexuality with penalties ranging from twenty years in prison to whippings and beatings. Or that Malaysia's ruling political party is so vehemently anti-LGBT, that they even have a sub-section of the party known as the "People's Anti-Homosexual Voluntary Movement."
Anyone else thinking that we could start a reality show under the title of, "When Countries Attack Global Health"?
Bollywood Tackles LGBT Rights
Published August 05, 2009 @ 07:10AM PT
Last month, the Delhi High Court in India threw out Section 377, a statute in India's penal codes that criminalized homosexuality. The decision was roundly celebrated by LGBT rights activists and public health activists. (And roundly criticized by opponents of LGBT rights, and conservative religious sects.)
In the wake of that decision, Bollywood has been outspoken in its support for LGBT rights, and overthrowing the statute that up until last month, criminalized homosexuality for India's roughly 70 million LGBT folks. To be sure, the status of Section 377 is still in a bit of limbo. The Supreme Court of India has asked the government to weigh in on the matter, and up until now the government has remained largely silent.
But Bollywood has not been quiet in their support. A well known Indian court drama, "Yeh Chanda Kanoon Hai," is going to feature an episode focusing on LGBT rights, and a number of high profile celebrities have come out in support of the Delhi High Court's decision, and have urged Indian authorities to enact a full repeal of Section 377 across the country. Here are a few of our favorite Bollywood quotes on Section 377:
Celina Jaitley: "It's a turning point in the history of human rights in the world's largest democracy. It's also a personal victory for me since I've been fighting for gay rights. Now they can walk with their heads held high. This is a new beginning."
Mahesh Bhatt: "This is a defining moment in the history of free India. No government has the right to tell its citizens when or whom to love. The only ‘queer’ people are those who propagate hate."
Upen Patal: "I think it's a great move forward by the government and for Indian society. Everyone should have the right to choose whom they want to be without the fear of being labeled a criminal."
And those are just a select few. To see scores more quotes from Bollywood, click here.
Taking on Russia Over Same-Sex Marriage
Published July 22, 2009 @ 07:12AM PT
Talk about David vs. Goliath! Despite long odds, a lesbian couple is taking on the country of Russia, attempting to get their marriage recognized officially. It's a daunting task, given that Russia has a history of suppressing LGBT rallies, using state authorities to beat down gay rights activists, and censoring LGBT activities. But, as one of the women told Radio Free Europe, somebody has to start the push for equal rights sometime.
The background of the story is pretty interesting. The couple, Irina Fedotova-Fet and Irina Shepitko (the Irinas!), walked down to a Russian marriage registry in May 2009, dressed in contrasting black and white tuxedos. They were joined by a number of foreign journalists, and when they got to the marriage registry they asked to have their relationship recognized by the state. And for a few moments at least, the state officially recognized their marriage application (chock it up to confusion by the state's marriage registrar).
But then Russia, being Russia, rescinded their application and has since denied them any possibility of getting married. Now the women are trying to take their case global. They are currently looking to travel to Norway or Canada - two countries that currently allow foreign gay and lesbian couples to get married within their borders - get hitched, and then travel back to Moscow and petition the state to recognize their marriage.
It's a well thought out plan, except for the fact that Russia is unlikely to care. Still, that's not stopping the Irinas. Here's what Irina Fedotova-Fet told Radio Free Europe:
Somebody has to start it sometime. We are the first real couple to fight for same-sex marriage to be recognized [in Russia]. We hope that we can set a precedent, and that more and more people will follow our example.
The couple is even prepared to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights, if necessary. And it likely will be. Despite the fact that Russia decriminalized homosexuality in the early 1990s, a large percentage of the country still considers LGBT rights to be at a minimum taboo, and at most contrary to Russian traditions.
That's slowly changing in some parts, and Russia certainly has an active LGBT rights movement, despite the constant threat of violence they face. On many levels, that's why it's so heartening to see the Irinas taking such a bold and public stand on the issue of marriage equality. They may face violence and threats for their action, but they're doing it to ignite a movement and push for equal rights.
Homophobia Spreads HIV/AIDS in Africa
Published July 21, 2009 @ 07:00AM PT
HIV/AIDS in Africa has many faces. One of them that's not terribly well reported - but still nonetheless shocking - is the face of HIV/AIDS in gay male populations. This week, a study in the Lancet sheds light on just how devastating this disease is on gay men throughout the continent. The results, above all else, show the dire effects that homophobia can have in spreading HIV/AIDS.
First, the numbers. Gay men in many African countries are more than 10 times more likely to contract HIV/AIDS than their straight counterparts.
Next, the analysis. Here are just a few of the reasons why researchers believe gay men in Africa are much more likely to contract HIV/AIDS than straight men:
- Prejudice toward gay people leads to isolation and harassment, which results in many gay men engaging in risky, underground sexual practices;
- Within sub-Saharan Africa, HIV/AIDS in gay men is driven by cultural, religious and political unwillingness to accept LGBT people as equal members of society;
- A lack of education: one activist in Burundi told the BBC News that men understand that you can get HIV/AIDS from having sex with a woman, but not from a man. Failing to educate properly about the transmission of HIV/AIDS leads to higher contraction rates; and
- HIV/AIDS rates among gay men are often under-reported by public health officials, leading to very little attention being given to the epidemic among Africa's queer population.
The evidence here is stark: homophobia balloons HIV/AIDS rates. In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 30 countries criminalize homosexuality, with a few (including Niger and Sudan) that prosecute homosexuality as an offense worthy of the death penalty. In a climate like this, it's no wonder that it's hard to do HIV/AIDS education work among gay male populations. As Time Magazine writes, "...one reason it has been so difficult to reach gay men with AIDS-prevention messages: most of them don't want to be found."
Finally, the solutions. The researchers who conducted the study, including folks with Oxford University, the Population Council of Ghana, and the Kenya Medical Research Institute, all recognized several steps that should be taken in order to curb HIV/AIDS rates among gay men throughout Africa. Among the ideas?
- Delivering basic HIV/AIDS prevention supplies to at-risk populations, including dispersing condoms;
- Train HIV/AIDS workers in how to work with queer populations; and
- Destigmatize and decriminalize homosexuality.
That last one is certainly going to take some work. But the results of this study, again, can't illuminate the problem any brighter: criminalizing homosexuality, and driving large numbers of queer people underground, only incresaes HIV/AIDS. That's a problem that we can't afford to keep perpetuating any longer.
The Arabic Word for Gay is Not Pervert
Published July 15, 2009 @ 10:41AM PT
One of the first LGBT books to be translated into Arabic from English has hit the press. Gay Travels in the Muslim World, a collection of true-life stories explaining what it's like to be gay in a region of the world where the issue of homosexuality is commonly perceived as complicated (to say the least), has been translated by the publisher Arab Diffusion. The only problem?
The publisher did a number on the title, choosing to translate the word "gay" with the word "شاذ" (shaath) -- which in Arabic happens to mean pervert or deviant. Unfortunately, "Pervert Travels in the Muslim World" doesn't sound so interesting and informative.
This incident raises important issues about LGBT rights and the Muslim world. Neither are monolithic blocks, of course, but as Global Voices Online points out in some truly excellent commentary, the concern over this translation chosen by the publishers highlights a larger concern over the pejorative terminology used by Arabic media to descibe LGBT people.
The issue isn't new by any means. CNN reporter Hala Gorani (who has received plaudits from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation for her LGBT reporting) wrote several years ago about trying to cover the issue of homosexuality in the Middle East:
I then asked our Arabic speakers at CNN what word they thought was the best translation for "gay" in Arabic.
Heads were scratched. "Luti," one suggested. "Shaz," another offered in an e-mail.
Those terms are widely understood, but essentially translate as "pervert" or "deviant" in Arabic.
The only neutral term in existence is the recently coined "Methleen Al Jins," meaning "the same kind or gender" -- the closest equivalent of the word "homosexual."
So this is an issue so taboo, there isn't even a commonly understood non-pejorative word to describe it in the Middle East!
Yikes. What's an LGBT person to do when the only words used to describe their sexual orientation are akin to people who break the law or do disgusting things?
Well, in the case of the translation over Gay Travels in the Muslim World, one can protest. That's what one of the contributors to the book, Richard Ammon, is doing. Here's what Ammon said about the book's unfortunate translation of the word "gay" into "pervert":
It is doubly regretful for me to have this book, an honest testimony of gay Muslim life, have its title mistranslated with the use of a pejorative term that demeans gays. It is regretful that we have come so far in the struggle for gay rights and recognition only to be publicly smeared by a single unaware Jordanian publisher.
The issue of language is just the tip of the iceberg. With the uptick in violence committed against LGBT people in Iraq, with the Iranian President blaming the recent uprising of activists on "thieves and homosexuals," and with Ethiopia leading the campaign against a UN statement calling for global decriminalization of homosexuality, it's clear that the issue of LGBT rights in Muslim parts of the world will continue to be a hot topic (and one that will require serious changing of minds and hearts).
India Down, Singapore Next?
Published July 06, 2009 @ 06:40AM PT
With the ruling last week from the Delhi High Court in India that decriminalized homosexuality (at least within the National Capital Territory of Delhi), eyes now shift toward another Asian country where efforts to decriminalize homosexuality could potentially be on their way: Singapore.
LGBT rights supporters (both straight and gay) held what might be the country's first ever public rally tied to gay rights earlier this year, where hundreds of people gathered in "pink dots" to show their support for tolerance and respect. And in 2007, their former Prime Minster, Lee Kuan Yew, openly questioned why the country still criminalized sexual orientation. That same year, Singapore overturned bans on oral and anal sex for heterosexual couples, but unfortunately left bans in place for LGBT couples.
Laws that criminalize homosexuality in Singapore are remnants of British colonialism - much like they were in India. Over the weekend, Singapore's Law Minister, K. Shanmugam, made somewhat of a weird statement when talking about the law. On one hand he said that the government won't get involved in overturning bans on homosexuality. But on the other hand he said that the government would not prosecute people under the law. His direct quote: "The way the society is going, we don't think it's fair for us to prosecute people who say that they are homosexual."
Weird. So on one hand, Singapore will keep on the books a law that prosecutes people and is a leftover from colonialism. But on the other hand, that law won't be enforced. So what's the point of keeping the law?
With India now in the process of ending its ban on homosexuality, the international community will be looking at other countries, including and perhaps especially Singapore, to see if they follow suit. As Human Rights Watch has documented, these British Colonial-era laws are decrepid relics, and they deserve to be overturned, not only out of respect for civil rights, but basic human rights as well.
