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Out in the World: LGBTQ+ news from Europe & Asia

LGBTQ+ news stories from around the globe including Scotland, United Kingdom, Thailand, Japan, & the Philippines

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SCOTLAND

JK Rowling in a 2019 BBC interview (Screenshot/YouTube)

EDINBURGH, Scotland – Harry Potter author JK Rowling took the opportunity of Scotland’s new hate speech law coming into force to harass several prominent British trans people over X (formerly Twitter), but Scottish police say they’re not planning to charge her over her posts.

Rowling spent the morning of April 1 making a series of posts in mock celebration of the womanhood of well-known trans people, starting with some well-known convicted sex offenders, and then listing several notable trans activists. At the end of her series of posts, Rowling gave up the joke.

“🎉🌼🌸April Fools! 🌸🌼🎉Only kidding. Obviously, the people mentioned in the above tweets aren’t women at all, but men, every last one of them,” she wrote. “If what I’ve written here qualifies as an offence under the terms of the new act, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment.”

As is her usual style, Rowling then spent the rest of the day reposting fawning congratulatory posts from other bigots and arguing with people who stood up to her.

Rowling was protesting the The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, which came into effect on April 1. The revision to Scottish hate crime law added protections for age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex people, both for aggravated punishment of hate-motivated crimes, and for “stirring up hatred” against protected groups. 

The law has drawn criticism from free-speech advocates, who say it will having a chilling effect on speech critical of protected communities. But supporters of the law saw that the threshold for prosecution is very high and it’s unlikely to be used for genuine political discourse or advocacy.

So far, that seems to have been borne out – Scottish police have already said that Rowling’s posts do not rise to the level of hate speech and she is not being charged.

In fact, the whole incident has just burnished Rowling’s reputation among anti-trans crusaders. 

Not only did UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak commend the decision not to charge Rowling, but his statement to the BBC on the matter seems to back up Rowling’s hateful views.

“Nobody should be criminalized for saying commonsense things about biological sex,” Sunak told the BBC.

Transgender issues have become a major issue in the UK over the past several years as a rising tide of self-described “gender-critical” activists – of whom Rowling is the most prominent – have successfully gotten the ear of the governing Conservative Party.

Last year, after the Scottish government passed a controversial law that would allow transpeople to change their legal gender by self-declaration, the UK government disallowed the law, saying it would be incompatible with England and Wales’ rules around gender recognition.

Conservatives have also slow-walked their promised bill to ban conversion therapy after years of pressure from gender-criticals who got the government to remove protections for trans youth. A bill in unlikely to pass before elections expected later this year.

Scotland is holding consultations on its own conversion therapy ban bill, but divisions over LGBT issues are one of the causes of a rift in the governing Scottish National Party, which is seeing a challenge from the upstart ALBA party, which also wants Scottish independence but has leaned into anti-trans politics.

BRITAIN

A private women’s club in Central London. (Screenshot/YouTube BBC)

LONDON, United Kingdom – An anti-trans activist has announced plans to open a private, members-only lesbian bar that refuses admission to trans women in London later this year, although details on where the bar will be located or when it will open have yet to be revealed. 

The bar, to be called L Community, will be a private, members-only bar, which owner Jenny Watson, 32, says will allow her to skirt discrimination laws by restricting membership to cisgender lesbians.

Watson has gain notoriety in England for throwing lesbian focused events that exclude trans women. 

Last year, Watson threw a lesbian speed-dating event that gathered controversy for its trans-exclusion policy, but was ultimately allowed to go ahead.

Watson says the backlash to that event has led to her other trans-exclusionary events being refused or cancelled by venues she’s tried to book. Having her own venue will allow her to host her own events.

“No one will take bookings for my events any more,” Watson told The Telegraph. “The trans activists are constantly targeting the events, so venues don’t want anything to do with them.”

“We should have a right to our own space – hence the idea to set up the bar. It will be for biological females only and this is why we’re making it a members-only club so we can legally restrict it to women,” she said.

On the web site for L Community, Watson lists potential events the bar could host, including speed dating, networking events, lesbian movie nights, open mics, trivia nights, book clubs, and panel discussions.

Even though the bar has no opening date, L Community is already soliciting free and premium memberships, which its website says will come with priority access to events and L Community’s “social media platform.” Premium members are asked to make a “donation” of £120 (approximately $150).

Anyone wishing to join must attest to being a biological female and upload government ID to the L Community website as proof.

Trans journalist Shivani Dave criticized the “crap new terf [trans-exclusionary radical feminist] bar” on their Instagram account and announced a plan to hold a trans-inclusive kiss-in in front of the bar “if it ever opens.” 

“YOU THINK I’M JOKING? We are gonna go and make out in front of this TERF bar every single day until it closes. Lol that is if it ever even opens. Bigots be bigoting? Trans+ people are gonna be snogging,” they wrote.

THAILAND

Thai Lesbian couple celebrates Pride 2023. (Photo Credit: Bangkok Pride/Facebook)

BANGKOK, Thailand – Thailand got one step closer to legalizing same-sex marriage this week as the Senate voted 147-3 to advance the marriage bill through first reading. The bill now heads to a committee which has up to 60 days to study the bill before returning it to the senate for second and third reading.

Advancing LGBTQ+ rights has become a major issue in the southeast Asian country of 66 million over the last decade. Last year saw the opposition Move Forward Party win a plurality of seats in elections to Parliament’s lower house after it promised to legalize same-sex marriage. But the party was barred from government by a court ruling its leader breached the constitution by proposed changes to the country’s strict laws that forbid criticism of the monarchy. 

The governing coalition that was later formed without Move Forward agreed to make marriage equality and LGBT rights a part of the coalition agreement anyway, and last month the lower house gave final, overwhelming approval to the same-sex marriage bill

There had been some worry that the bill would face a rougher ride through the more conservative senate, which is made up of appointees of the Thai military, a holdover from the last junta that ran the country until 2017. 

But the overwhelming support for the bill in the senate signals that it will likely pass and be sent to the king for royal assent before the summer, with it coming into effect before the end of the year.

Thailand will likely become the first state in southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. Elsewhere in Asia, only Taiwan has legalized same-sex marriage, while the Nepalese Supreme Court has legalized it, although it can be difficult for couples to marry in practice.

Thailand’s push to enhance LGBTQ+ rights hasn’t stopped at marriage. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has ordered his cabinet to draft a bill to allow trans people to change their legal gender, and the government is also considering changes to surrogacy law to allow same-sex couples and foreigners to access services to have children. The government is also directing resources toward ending HIV transmission in the country by making PrEP more widely available. 

The government is eager to promote Thailand as an LGBTQ+ tourist destination, and is bidding to have Bangkok host World Pride 2028.

JAPAN

Screenshot/YouTube France 24

TOKYO, Japan – Five more prefectures and more than forty municipalities began offering partnership certificates to same-sex couples on April 1, providing a limited measure of security for Japan’s LGBTQ+ couples as marriage remains out of reach.

While courts and the national government continue to fail to recognize same-sex marriage, local governments across the country are stepping up to fill the void with “partnership certificates” for same-sex couples. The certificates can help couples access local services reserved for couples and hospital visitation, but they are not considered legally binding. Couples do not access inheritance rights and are not treated as legal next of kin.

Beginning April 1, Aichi, Hyōgo, Nara, Ōita, and Tokushima prefectures began offering partnership certificates, bringing the total to 26 out of 47 prefectures recognizing same-sex couples. Additionally, 445 municipalities offer the certificates, according to Marriage for All Japan, a local advocacy group. More than two-thirds of Japanese people live in a jurisdiction that offers same-sex partnerships.

Some prefectures go further, offering “familyship” registries that allow same-sex couples to also register their children.

Same-sex marriage, however, remains out of reach for same-sex couples. National lawmakers have proven too conservative to advance LGBTQ+ rights. 

Last year, a government bill that was meant to ban discrimination was given much fanfare ahead of the G7 conference in Tokyo. Conservative lawmakers pushed back and the bill was watered down to simply promote “understanding” of LGBTQ+ people, with no actual legal protections offered.

Meanwhile, a multi-year effort to advance same-sex marriage through the courts has delivered several key rulings finding that the ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, but the courts have thus far failed to offer couples any remedy.

Last month, the first appellate-level court issued a ruling finding the marriage ban unconstitutional, but again did not order the government to allow same-sex marriage. The couples involved in the case have said they will appeal to the Supreme Court. Other marriage cases are still ongoing in other district and appellate courts.

For its part, the Supreme Court recently ruled that same-sex couples must be given access to a benefit paid to the survivors of crime victims on an equal basis as married heterosexual couples. Observers are already saying that the ruling will have implications for the full suite of benefits of marriage, including when it comes to taxes, housing, inheritance, pension, and insurance. 

PHILIPPINES

Filipino legislator Rep. Marissa Magsino in a committee hearing last month.
(Photo Credit: Marissa Magsino/Facebook)

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino legislator Marissa Magsino of the opposition OFW Party has filed a bill in Congress seeking to recognize the property rights of same-sex couples, which would be a landmark of progress in the deeply Catholic Asian country if passed.

The bill was filed March 20 but has not yet been called for a first reading, it is a companion to a similar bill filed in the Senate in November 2022, which has been stuck in committee since.

Both bills would only offer limited property rights to same-sex couples. Couples would be deemed to share ownership and responsibility for any property acquired during the partnership, unless a written agreement is signed saying otherwise. A partnership would only be deemed to exist if partners cohabit for at least one year. 

The bill aims to treat partners equitably in the event of a breakup. 

While this is a very limited set of rights, the Philippines does not currently offer any recognition of same-sex couples or their property rights. 

“Though through the years there has been change in the mindset of people on long-standing stereotypes and generalizations with social perceptions becoming more accommodating of the LGBTQ+ community, there’s still no legislation that guarantees equal rights for everybody regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” Magsino said in a statement to the Manila Bulletin Tuesday, April 2.

“This legislation is a significant step towards achieving greater equality and justice for all Filipino citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is imperative that we ensure equal protection under the law for every individual in our society,” she said.

Proposals to create more expansive civil unions that recognize a broader set of rights similar to marriage for same-sex couples have occasionally been lodged in congress, but none has ever been brought to a vote.

In 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking a right to same-sex marriage for lack of standing, as the petitioner did not seek to get married himself. The petitioner and his counsel were cited for indirect contempt of court over the matter.

The Philippines Congress has struggled to advance any pro-LGBTQ+ legislation for years. A bill that would add discrimination protections for sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, dubbed the SOGIE Bill, has been introduced multiple times since 2001, and has even passed the House of Representatives multiple times, but has always stalled in the more conservative Senate.

Dozens of provinces and municipalities have passed local non-discrimination ordinances across the country.

Global LGBTQ+ news gathering & reporting by Rob Salerno

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Asia

Transgender activists celebrate legal advances in India, Pakistan

Akkai Padmashali on Nov. 12 obtained passport for child

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Akkai Padmashali and her son (Photo courtesy of Akkai Padmashali)

Transgender activists in India and Pakistan are celebrating two legal advances in their respective countries.

Akkai Padmashali, an Indian trans activist, made history on Nov. 12 by obtaining a passport for her 5-year-old child, Avin, without including a father’s name. As a trans woman and single mother, she set a precedent not only for the trans community but for all women in the country raising children on their own.

Padmashali, who is one of India’s most prominent trans activists, in 2019 became the first trans woman in the country to officially adopt a child. A year earlier, she made history in Karnataka by becoming the first trans woman in the state to register her marriage with her husband, Vasudev V.

Padmashali expressed her joy to the media when she adopted Avin, stating she had always dreamed of becoming a mother.

“It has been my dream and desire,” said Padmashali in 2019. “Our families have accepted the baby. It’s heart-warming to see the little one playing on my mother’s lap. I just hope that he does not face any kind of discrimination and social stigma when he grows up.”

In 2019, the same year Avin was born, parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act.

The law seeks to safeguard the rights of trans people and promote their welfare. It includes provisions for issuing identity certificates, protecting against discrimination in education, employment, healthcare, and other sectors, and establishing welfare programs. The law also addressed physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, and economic abuse through protections and rehabilitation programs, introduced complaint officers to handle grievances, and outlined penalties for offenses against trans people.

The Narendra Modi-led government on Dec. 23, 2016, amended the passport policy to accommodate single parents and others who may not wish to include a father’s name in the application. This move was part of broader efforts to streamline and liberalize the passport process in India. One significant change was the modification of the application form, allowing applicants to list either the mother’s name, father’s name, or legal guardian’s name, instead of requiring both parents’ names. The change sought to benefit single mothers, orphans, and children raised by legal guardians.

Padmashali during an interview with the Washington Blade emphasized this issue extends beyond the trans community. 

“This is not a question of the community—maybe a single mother, a single parent, most of the women across the world,” she said.

“People are struggling with the identity crisis,” Padmashali added. “In a system of majoritarian, there are so many people who are in the process of questioning the notion of marriage, questions the notion of civil relationship or partnership. Especially in my case, born a male, transformed into a female, and challenged the notion of patriarchal institutions in that way. I claim myself as a woman and also adopting a child, getting the child every document from the government is a big challenge. Especially in the state of Karnataka, I did not find it challenging — very supportive officers, a very supportive government, and a very supportive environment.”

Padmashali told the Blade she was very happy with the process of obtaining a passport for her child, describing it as completely hassle-free.

“I think the passport authority of this country is very sensitive. The passport gives a certain amount of recognition, especially for the transgender community,” said Padmashali. “Many transgender women have also adopted children, but [are] struggling with lots of identity crises.”

“In my case, it was a completely different scenario, I got my passport as a female, and Avin’s also getting the passport without naming the father, I think it’s a national issue,” she added. “From the transgender person’s point of view, I am happy that my Supreme Court has recognized the community and the parliament has recognized the Transgender Protection Act. India is in process of progressing, I would say.”

Pakistan’s Sindh province could implement first-ever Transgender Education Policy

Authorities in in Pakistan’s Sindh province — the country’s third-largest by land and its second most populous — on Nov. 13 approved the first-ever Transgender Education Policy.

The policy includes a separate category for trans children on school and college admission forms, alongside existing male and female options.

Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah chaired the meeting during which the Transgender Education Policy was approved. A press release says it will now go before the provincial Cabinet for final approval.

The press release notes the proposed policy seeks to eliminate discrimination by providing education for trans children, and introducing job quotas for trans people in the recruitment of teachers.

The Sindh government says trans activists and advocates helped develop the policy.

Shah highlighted the significant challenges faced by the trans community in accessing education, including prejudice, mistreatment, and exclusion. He noted that financial constraints and limited employment opportunities often make education unaffordable, while the fear of harassment in educational institutions further deters transgender individuals from pursuing it. Shah also emphasized that the policy aims to safeguard the identity, safety, and educational needs of trans people.

The press release notes the policy also includes training for teachers to understand the psychological and educational challenges that trans children face. It also aims to develop skills among trans people, and foster a harassment-free environment within educational institutions. The policy seeks to raise public awareness about the need to promote equal opportunities and rights for trans people.

Anusha Tahir Butt, chair of the Transgender Empowerment Organization, said the Transgender Education Policy’s initial approval as a significant step towards greater inclusion and equality for trans people.

“This policy acknowledges the challenges faced by transgender individuals in accessing education and employment, offering them a dedicated space in schools, colleges, and government jobs,” said Butt. “It’s a much-needed step in breaking down the societal barriers of discrimination, harassment, and exclusion that transgender people often face.”

“By including separate categories for transgender children on admission forms and reserving job quotas, Sindh is helping to create a more supportive and equitable environment,” she added. “The policy also focuses on teacher training, anti-harassment measures, and skill development programs, all of which contribute to empowering transgender individuals to lead independent, fulfilling lives. This is a powerful example of how policy can drive social change and encourage a more inclusive society in Pakistan. “

Butt noted societal stigma and prejudice against the LGBTQ+ community remain deeply entrenched in Pakistan, particularly in conservative areas.

“Discrimination and harassment in educational institutions could deter transgender and LGBTQ students from pursuing their education, despite the policy’s provisions for anti-harassment measures,” she said. “Furthermore, effective implementation could be challenged by limited resources, infrastructure, and political will, particularly in rural areas. Bureaucratic delays and gaps in broader legal protections for LGBTQ rights may also impede the progress of these initiatives.”

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Nigeria

Four men accused of homosexuality beaten, chased out of Nigerian city

Incident took place in Benin City on Nov. 17

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(Bigstock photo)

Four young men have been beaten and chased out of a Nigerian city after they were found engaging in consensual same-sex sexual activity.

An angry mob paraded the four men, who were only wearing boxing shorts, down Nomayo Street in Benin City, the capital of Edo state, on Nov. 17. One of them had a visible deep cut on his forehead as a result of the beating.

The mob threatened to kill them if they were to return to the city. It also questioned why they were “into” homosexuality when there were many women in the area.

Samson Mikel, a Nigerian LGBTQ+ activist, said the attack was misdirected anger.

“Benin City is one of the backward places in Nigeria and a dorm for scammers and other crimes, the people are proud of their roughness, they are never concerned about these other crimes or how the government is impoverishing them, but will light gay men on fire the moment they think,” said Mikel. “All they want is to live and experience love. They are not the cause of the economic meltdown in the country, neither are they the reason why there are no jobs in the streets of Nigeria.”

Attacks like the one that happened in Benin City have been happening across Nigeria — the latest took place in Port Harcourt in Rivers state last month.

Section 214 of the Criminal Code Act on Unnatural Offenses says any person who has “carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature, or has carnal knowledge of an animal, or permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature, is guilty of a felony” and could face up to 14 years in prison.

Several LGBTQ+ people and activists have been arrested under Section 214.

In some cases they are murdered with law enforcement officials showing little to no interest in investigating, such as the case of Area Mama, a popular cross-dresser whose body was found along the Katampe-Mabushi Expressway in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, in August.

The Initiative for Equal Rights, a Nigerian advocacy group, said the federal government should take concrete steps to protect the rights of all Nigerians.

“For many, especially LGBTQIA+ individuals, women, and those within the Sexual Orientation Gender Identity, Expression and Sexual Characteristics (SOGIESC), community, freedom remains a distant goal. Discrimination, violence and human rights violations are daily realities,” said TIERs Nigeria. “Despite the progress we have made, the journey towards justice is long, but our voices remain unwavering.”

TIERs Nigeria also called upon the federal government to repeal the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2014, to respond to the African Commission’s recommendation to review laws that criminalize rights of assembly and association, and to enact laws and policies that discourage hate speech and other actions that incite discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.

Many Nigerians vehemently oppose public discussions about LGBTQ+-specific issues because of religious and cultural beliefs.

A number of local and international human rights organizations have advised the federal government to prioritize the rights of everyone in Nigeria, including those who identify as LGBTQ+. There is, however, little hope that Nigerian officials will do this anytime soon.

Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death in states with Sharia law. Those who advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in these areas could also face a similar fate.

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Kenya

Kenyan advocacy group uses social initiatives to fight homophobia

INEND made donations to sports teams, launched comic book

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The Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination has created a comic strip, "Davii and Oti," to help fight anti-queer discrimination in Kenya. (Screenshot from the Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination's website)

A Kenyan queer rights organization has launched a social support initiative to fight endemic homophobic stigma and discrimination in the country.

The Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination, which has been training judicial officers on LGBTQ+ rights, is using sports and other social activities to educate the public against anti-queer discrimination.

The Mombasa-based INEND, through its “Advocacy Mtaani” or “Advocacy at the Grassroots” campaign, last month donated soccer jerseys, balls, goalpost nets, and other sporting items to local teams. It also used the platform to educate beneficiaries and the community-at-large on queer rights issues.

The donations followed another one to “boda boda” or “public motorbike riders” on Oct. 29. The Mombasa group received umbrellas to shield drivers and passengers alike from the sun and rain.

“We distributed umbrellas in various ‘boda boda’ stages to equip not only the operators but also to spread the message of inclusion and violence prevention in our endeavor to have the operators become human rights champions in the society,” INEND, headed by Executive Director Essy Adhiambo, stated.     

INEND has also launched a comic strip, “Davii and Oti,” which tells a story about Pride and allyship.

The comic strip series has heterosexual, nonbinary, gay, and lesbian characters to help explore myriad socio-cultural and economic problems that include discrimination and violence that queer people experience in their families, workplaces, social gatherings, and other settings.

“This awesome queer comic focuses on what is often misused as an argument against the LGBTQ+ community in Kenya; family values, African culture, and traditions,” INEND stated.   

The comic strip, which advocates for inclusivity and nondiscrimination based on one’s sex orientation and gender identity, also educates queer people about self-acceptance, resilience, and thriving through economic empowerment.  

INEND has also come up with regional human rights advocacy trainings that focus on misinformation, disinformation, and digital rights. These workshops target women, queer people, and other marginalized groups.

The organization, for example, last month trained groups of women leaders and queer people in the coastal counties of Mombasa and Kilifi. Another one took place in the western county of Busia, which borders Uganda.

“These trainings come in a critical moment when we have witnessed an uptick in online gender-based violence especially towards LGBTQ+ folks,” INEND noted. 

The trainings aimed at creating safe digital spaces for “structurally silenced women and queer persons” are conducted through a partnership between INEND and two global organizations: Access Now, which defends the digital rights of people and communities at risk, and the Association for Progressive Communications, which supports the use of internet and information and communication technology for social justice and sustainable development.   

INEND, after unveiling a judicial guidebook last October to help judges better protect queer people’s rights, has intensified regional training for judicial officers across the country. The organization this month, through its “Access to Justice” initiative, trained judicial officers in Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city, and in the North Rift region and Kilifi. 

The two-day training that began on Nov. 5 focused on making judicial officers more sensitive to queer people and showing empathy towards sexual and gender minority groups in order to realize a “fairer and more inclusive legal system” that upholds the dignity of all. 

The training followed INEND’s launch of a new report in July titled “Transforming Perceptions” that accesses the impact of their sensitization engagements with 53 judges and magistrates in 2022 on queer rights protection. 

“The results offered a glimpse of hope for a more inclusive justice system,” the report states. “Over 70 percent of judicial officers surveyed after the training acknowledged that existing laws, like Sections 162, 163, and 165 of the penal code which criminalize consensual same-sex intimacy negatively influence societal views of LGBTQ+ Individuals.” 

The report also notes that 80 percent of the judicial officers trained on queer rights issues indicated they would either be comfortable or indifferent living next to a queer person

Pema Kenya is another local advocacy group that is working to make judicial officers more sensitive to queer people when they handle their cases.

The group in September held a two-day training on gender and sexuality issues for members of the Judicial Service Commission, a top governing body of Kenya’s judiciary.

“This initiative aims to equip key stakeholders within the judicial framework with vital knowledge and skills to handle cases related to gender and sexuality with empathy, understanding, and professionalism,” Pema Kenya stated

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India

Kamala Harris’s loss prompts mixed reaction in India

Vice president’s mother was born in Chennai

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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Howard University in D.C. on Nov. 6, 2024, after she conceded to President-elect Donald Trump. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Vice President Kamala Harris’s loss in the U.S. presidential election has elicited mixed reactions among LGBTQ+ activists in India.

A notable portion of Indians expressed support for now President-elect Donald Trump over Harris, even though her maternal lineage traces back to India. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born into a Brahmin family in Chennai in 1938, and her grandfather, PV Gopalan, hailed from the village of Thulasendrapuram in Tamil Nadu.

Harris’s loss prompted mixed reactions within the LGBTQ+ community.

While some individuals expressed disappointment, others backed Trump.

The Washington Blade in August reported that Harris’s grandfather moved to New Delhi to serve as a civil servant in British-ruled India. This move eventually facilitated Gopalan’s journey to the U.S., where she pursued biomedical science at the University of California, Berkeley a step that played a foundational role in shaping Harris’s future political aspirations.

The Washington Blade since Election Day has spoken with several LGBTQ+ activists and influencers in India.

Harish Iyer, a plaintiff in one of India’s marriage equality cases, in response to Trump’s election said the “path for queer liberation has never been straight.”

“The presidential election was filled with rhetoric from the Republican side against transgender persons,” said Iyer. “There has been a complete denial of the existence of transgender people and also widespread ignominy and ostracism. This, adding to the overturn of Roe vs. Wade, has aggravated tensions for everyone from gender variant persons to birthing parents of all genders.”

He further noted there is a strong change of more transphobic legislation and rhetoric in the U.S. with Trump in the White House, Republicans in control of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, and a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.

“In a largely connected world, where many Indians and India-born people are in America, the effect of this will be palpable in India too,” said Iyer.

Indrani Chakraborty is a prominent social activist and advocate for transgender rights, particularly in northeast India. She has been outspoken about the challenges faced by her trans daughter.

Chakraborty said the effects will be felt around the world if Trump continues his transphobic rhetoric and the U.S. government does not support the LGBTQ+ community. Anwesh Kumar Sahoo, an Indian artist, writer, model, and the youngest winner of Mr. Gay World 2016, told the Blade that Trump’s policies are a setback in the ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ rights and visibility.

“It’s a strong reminder of how interconnected our struggles are globally,” said Sahoo. “It highlights the importance of standing up for equality everywhere.”

Abhijit Iyer Mitra, an LGBTQ+ activist and senior fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, in response to Harris’s loss said her Indian roots “really do not matter.”

“America expects assimilation and not just integration,” said Mitra. “She has no real connect to India in any sense or knowledge of India in any sense. So, being from here absolutely means nothing. She is American through and through, she has demonstrated no knowledge of India, no nothing, so it is what it is.”

“I am not really worried, certainly not from an Indian point of view because her particular political supporters are all viciously anti-India, but not Biden,” added Mitra. “Biden is pro-India. But Kamala, especially her supporters, belongs to the same woke circuit which would be… ‘Oh India … genocide happening’ etc. So just being Indian means nothing.”

While responding to the Trump campaign’s rhetoric on trans issues, Mitra said “the issue is not the transgender community, but the forcing of gender ideology on everyone, where you put kids on puberty blockers and have irreversible surgery done, and kids taken away from their parents.”

“I thought I was a girl when I was a kid,” said Mitra. “When I grew up, I realized that I was a man. I am very comfortable being who I am and thank God none of this happened. Had this happened now, I would have been taken away from my parents, asked to undergo surgery, and would not have been able to lead the life I am leading.”

“What is being propagated as this ‘trans ideology’ or ‘gender ideology’ is essentially homophobia, where you are told a man cannot be attracted to a man. A woman cannot be attracted to a woman. They are instead pushed to undergo irreversible sex changes and become something else,” added Mitra. “This is exactly what Iran does — they punish homosexuality with death, but if you have a sex change, it is considered acceptable.”

“There is nothing pro-LGBTQ about the Democrats — far from it. It is an LGBTQ genocide. It is erasing the viability of the LGBTQ community. It is a huge disservice to gender dysmorphic individuals, who are the ones who might genuinely need surgery. But why do they need surgery? It is because they are shunned by society and forced to undergo something that no one should have to endure,” said Mitra. “They need to be accepted and loved for who they are, not turned into something society demands them to be.”

Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware, on Election Day became the first openly trans person elected to Congress. Biden, former President Barack Obama, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker are among those who specifically mentioned marriage equality and other LGBTQ+ rights during the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

“Kamala’s defeat is a huge setback for our friends from the LGBTQ community in the U.S.,” Kalki Subramaniam, an activist, queer artist, and actor who is a member of India’s National Transgender Council, told the Blade.

“As a Tamil woman from Kamala’s mother’s state, I am disappointed that Kamala was not elected,” added Subramaniam. “As Kamala said, never give up and burn bright. For all my LGBTQ families around the world, let us support more leaders like Kamala Harris and strengthen them. Let us step forward and take leadership to win back all our rights.”

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World

Out in the World: LGBTQ+ news from Europe, Asia, and Oceania

European Court of Human Rights rules Switzerland cannot deport gay Iranian refugee

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(Los Angeles Blade graphic)

SWITZERLAND

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Switzerland cannot deport a gay Iranian refugee claimant, finding that the state’s argument that he’d be safe as long as he’s discreet is not reasonable. 

The decision, which was delivered Nov. 12, applies to all 46 members of the European Convention on Human Rights. 

The Swiss government acknowledged that the refugee claimant, known in the case as M.I., was a gay man and that gay men face persecution from state and non-state actors in his country of origin, Iran. But Switzerland had denied M.I.’s asylum claim, arguing that he could avoid persecution by using discretion and restraint in expressing his sexuality and that it was unlikely his sexual orientation would become known to Iranian authorities otherwise.

The court found this reasoning wrong, noting that M.I.’s sexual orientation could be discovered if he were deported to Iran, and the state had not addressed whether Iranian authorities would provide him with protection against ill-treatment. The court ordered Switzerland to reconsider M.I.’s claim in light of the lack of this protection. 

Homosexuality is illegal in Iran, with penalties including beatings and death. The court ruling notes that given criminalization of homosexuality, it is unreasonable to assume that an LGBTQ+ person can seek protection from authorities in Iran. 

Jacqueline McKenzie, a lawyer who represented Stonewall UK and African Rainbow Family in their intervention in the case, calls the decision a “watershed” that would help ensure protection for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers across Europe.

“I am delighted for not just my clients, Stonewall and African Rainbow Family, but for all gay people who continue to face the threat of removal to several countries where gay sex is prohibited by law and penal codes, and where in some instances, punishable by death, on the basis that they can be discreet about their sexuality,” McKenzie says in a statement.

“This is a watershed ruling that puts an end to the reasoning that it is safe to return gay men who are discreet about their sexuality to countries where they would be in danger if their sexuality were to be discovered.” 

ROMANIA

An LGBTQ+ activist is making history as the first openly queer person to run for parliament in upcoming elections set for Dec. 1.

Florin Buhuceanu is running for the liberal Renewing Romania’s European Project Party (REPER), a minor party that splintered from the Save Romania Union two years ago and currently holds 10 seats in the 330-seat lower house.

He says he’s running to advance LGBTQ+ rights, including the recognition of same-sex unions, which all political parties in Romania have refused to do so far.

Buhuceanu has a history of advocacy on same-sex couples’ rights. In 2019, he and his partner of 10 years joined 20 other couples in suing the government at the European Court of Human Rights over Romania’s refusal to recognize same-sex couples. Last year, they won their case, and Romania was ordered to recognize same-sex couples in a decision that set an important precedent continent-wide. 

But more than a year later, nothing has changed in Romania, because politicians have lacked the will to implement civil unions in the deeply conservative country. Buhuceanu says the lack of progress threatens democracy and rule of law.

“It’s sad that Romanian politicians are so lacking in courage to look around them and open up their eyes to the realities that are under their nose,” Buhuceanu told the news outlet Context. “This issue cannot be separated from what’s going on with the democracy status of Romania. It’s inconceivable to have final judgments that are not respected immediately.”

Buhuceanu also helped organize Romania’s first gay pride festival and led Accept, the country’s leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group. Buhuceanu and his partner also curate an LGBTQ+ history museum in their home in Bucharest, which is open to the public on weekends.

He says he’s running for parliament to drive change for the LGBTQ+ community.

“It’s the only community I’m aware of with zero political representation and this has to change,” Buhuceanu says. “We cannot wait, we should mobilize our people to occupy as many positions as possible. Otherwise, the anti-gender movement, these extreme political parties, will try to occupy the vacuum we have produced.”

JAPAN

A man is suing the Japanese government after a judge barred him from wearing rainbow-colored socks to a court hearing on same-sex marriage last year.

Ken Suzuki was wearing the rainbow-patterned socks when he attempted to observe the same-sex marriage trial in Fukuoka District Court in June 2023. He says he was told by court officials to hide the rainbow pattern ahead of the trial, and was only admitted after he folded the pattern inward, obscuring it.

He’s now joined two other individuals who were ordered to change or hide clothing with various expressions before attending other unrelated cases in a case before the Tokyo District Court seeking 3.3 million yen (approximately $21,000) in damages. 

Suzuki claims that the court overstepped its authority to maintain order by requiring that he remove the socks, as they did not disrupt the court proceedings. He also says the order was inconsistent, as he was able to wear the socks without issue while attending a different same-sex marriage trial at the Tokyo District Court. 

Several courts across Japan are weighing the rights of same-sex couples. Five of six lower courts that have heard same-sex marriage cases have ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitution, as have two superior courts that have heard challenges. Further court hearings are expected in superior courts, and eventually at the Supreme Court. 

VANUATU

Vanuatu’s parliament has amended its marriage laws to explicitly ban same-sex marriage, amid a new crackdown on LGBTQ+ people in the South Pacific island nation. 

Prior to passage of the marriage law amendment, Vanuatu’s Marriage Act neither explicitly forbade nor permitted same-sex marriage. The new law now states that same-sex marriages may not be registered in Vanuatu.

Interior Minister Andrew Napuat told Radio New Zealand the law expresses the government’s opposition to LGBTQ+ couples. He also threatened anyone who attempts to conduct a same-sex marriage with revocation of their license.

“When the law was passed (Nov. 14), it made clear the government’s full intention, along with our leaders, that every pastor who performs marriage ceremonies must understand that they cannot conduct a ceremony that is against the law and expect it to be registered,” Napuat says.

“If anyone conducts a marriage that does not follow the spirit of the law passed today and seeks our registration, his or her license will be revoked to prevent further marriages. This applies to religious, civil, or traditional ceremonies.” 

Earlier this month, the Justice and Community Services Ministry announced it was forming a committee to draft a national policy banning LGBTQ+ advocacy in Vanuatu. 

The proposed crackdown comes after the president of Vanuatu’s Council of Traditional Chiefs said the activities of the country’s LGBTQ+ advocacy group VPride threaten traditional values and Christian beliefs.

While Vanuatu is a deeply conservative country, same-sex activity has never been illegal since independence from Britain and France in 1980.

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Elise Stefanik nominated to become next UN ambassador

N.Y. Republican voted for Respect for Marriage Act in 2022

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U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

President-elect Donald Trump on Monday announced he will nominate U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

“Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement that announced the nomination.

Stefanik, 40, has represented New York’s 21st Congressional District since 2015. She has chaired the House Republican Conference since 2021.

Stefanik in 2019 voted for the Equality Act, but she opposed it in 2021. Stefanik in 2022 is among the dozens of Republicans who voted for the Respect for Marriage Act that President Joe Biden signed.

Stefanik, among other things, has also been outspoken against anti-Semitism on college campuses. She would succeed U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield if the U.S. Senate confirms her.

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Out in the World: LGBTQ+ news from Asia, Europe, and the Middle East

Spanish government wants constitution to protect marriage equality, abortion rights

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(Los Angeles Blade graphic)

JAPAN

A coalition of 19 prefectures and more than 150 municipalities has created a Partnership System Municipal Cooperation Network, in which all member governments agree to recognize each other’s same-sex partnership registries. The new system should help same-sex couples ensure their partnerships remain valid if they move or maintain multiple residences.

Because same-sex marriage is not currently legal in Japan, 30 of Japan’s 47 prefectures and more than 400 municipalities have established “partnership oath systems,” in which same-sex couple can register their relationships to help them access local services that are restricted to couples, such as housing, insurance, and medical decision-making. However, these registries are not legally binding and confer no direct rights on the couples. 

Prior to the establishment of the PSMCN, couples who had registered in one municipality or prefecture could face difficulty having their relationship recognized in a different location. About one quarter of Japan lives in a place that does not recognize same-sex couples of any kind. 

Meanwhile, several cases seeking to establish a right to same-sex marriage continue to wind their way through the courts. 

Five out of six lower courts that heard equal marriage cases have issued rulings that the ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, as have both upper courts that have heard cases. This week, the Osaka High Court is set to hear an appeal of the lower court’s decision that the ban is constitutional. The Fukuoka High Court will hear an equal marriage case in December. All of these cases will likely eventually be heard by the Supreme Court. 

Most of the leading figures in Japan’s long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party have been deeply conservative on sexuality issues, which has stalled hope for progress on same-sex marriage at the legislative level. But last month’s snap elections returned a minority parliament in which a bare majority of legislatures have expressed support for same-sex marriage.

SPAIN

The governing Socialist Party announced it wants to amend the constitution to protect same-sex marriage and abortion rights, amid the rise of far right parties that have stated their goal of rolling back LGBTQ+ rights in Spain and across Europe.

The proposal is laid out in the party’s plan for the current national congress which was distributed to its provincial counterparts for debate this month. The document aims to include “the social achievements of the last decade” into the constitution, an effort which the document itself acknowledges may be “impossible,” but which the party wants to achieve.

Among other proposals are protections for social housing and setting a floor for the minimum wage at 60 percent of the average wage.

Spain has seen its far-right Vox Party grow rapidly over the last decade winning seats in parliament and local and regional councils. In regional governments where Vox has formed coalition governments with the more mainstream conservative People’s Party, it has already rolled back LGBTQ+ rights progress. 

In the Madrid region, where PP and Vox govern together, they rolled back laws banning anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and so-called conversion therapy, and ending recognition of transgender people, though the law was later stopped by the Constitutional Court.

It’s unlikely that the PSOE will be able to amend the constitution as that would require a three-fifths majority of both houses of parliament to pass, and PSOE only holds a minority of seats in both houses.

UNITED KINGDOM

The Conservative Party has elected as its new leader Kemi Badenoch, a legislator with a long history of espousing anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ viewpoints. Badenoch also makes history as the first Black woman to lead a major political party in the UK.

Badenoch was first elected to parliament in 2017 and previously served as the Minister for Women and Equalities in the Rishi Sunak government. She was confirmed as Conservative Party leader on Nov. 2, following an election among party members in which she won 56.5 percent of the vote. 

In office, she frequently railed against trans rights and met with the anti-trans group LGB Alliance. She called for the abolition of gender-neutral toilets and was caught on a leaked recording referring to trans women as “men.” 

This year, she supported her party’s platform of amending the Equalities Act to ensure that the ban on “sex” discrimination only applied to biological sex, thus allowing discrimination against trans people. 

She successfully killed a planned ban on conversion therapy by pushing the government to study it further and consider not banning conversion therapy aimed at trans people. 

She also used her office to push the Financial Conduct Authority to remove trans-inclusive workplace policies, and railed against “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives that she claimed “divide, rather than unify.”

In 2019, she abstained on the bill that extended same-sex marriage rights to Northern Ireland — then the only part of the UK where it wasn’t yet legal.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The World Surf League has named Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates as a stop of its 2025 Championship Tour and Longboard Tour, drawing protests from surfers and surf organizations over the potential for harm to LGBTQ+ athletes who attend a competition in a country where homosexuality is illegal. 

The World Surf League is the governing body for professional surfers, and it sanctions competitions and events around the world. The 2025 Tour features 12 stops, including events in Brazil, Fiji, Tahiti, South Africa, El Salvador, Australia, and the U.S. 

It’s the second stop, at Surf Abu Dhabi, UAE from Feb. 14-16 that’s raised eyebrows among surf athletes and fans.

Homosexuality and cross-dressing are illegal under both the Federal Crime and Punishment Law of UAE and the Abu Dhabi Penal Code, with a minimum sentence of six months and up to 14 years in prison.

Yvette Curtis, who runs the UK-based inclusive surf club Wave Wahines, has started a petition on Change.org calling on the World Surf League to drop the Abu Dhabi dates from the tour.

“The WSL have chosen to support a government that criminalizes LGBTQIA+ people and discriminates against women, and in doing so are choosing to place their athletes, support teams, and spectators at risk,” the petition states.

“By removing Abu Dhabi from its event calendar, the World Surf League would make a powerful statement: Human rights and the safety of its athletes and employees are paramount. Ignoring this issue would tacitly endorse discriminatory practices and betray the inclusive values at the heart of Olympic sports. Only through decisive action can we ensure that everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, has an equal opportunity to compete in professional surfing.”

Curtis says the issue is personal to her, as the mother of a trans surfer.

“As a mother of three, the safety of my children is my utmost priority. My eldest child, who has bravely embraced their true self, is transgender. They also have a passion for surfing, but existing regulations in certain regions rob them of this joy and access to the waves. Abu Dhabi, named as a stop in World Surf League’s event calendar, presents a stark reality. My child, due to their identity, would be breaking laws by merely existing in such an environment,” she says. 

The petition, which has already drawn more than 1,600 signatures, has been endorsed by surf clubs all over the world, 

The controversy around the Abu Dhabi tour stop mirrors similar controversy over hosting the 2022 World Cup in Doha, Qatar, and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, both countries with dismal records on LGBTQ+ rights.  

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Trump election sparks concern among activists around the world

Brazilian organization: Grassroots advocacy crucial to defending LGBTQ+ rights

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A poster in Santiago, Chile, in 2017 mocked then-President Donald Trump. Activists around the world with whom the Washington Blade has spoken this week expressed concern over a second Trump administration and its impact on LGBTQ+ rights around the world. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

LGBTQ+ activists and advocacy groups around the world have expressed concern over President-elect Donald Trump’s election.

“I worry that Trump’s win means no protection for global LGBTQ+ human rights,” Sexual Minorities Uganda Executive Director Frank Mugisha told the Washington Blade.

Mugisha added Trump “won’t or step in to support us” when “we are under attack with extreme anti-gay legislations.” (The Biden-Harris administration last year imposed visa restrictions on Ugandan officials and removed the country from a program that allows sub-Saharan African countries to trade duty-free with the U.S. after President Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act.)

Esteban Paulón, a long-time LGBTQ+ activist in Argentina who won a seat in the country’s Congress in 2022, echoed this concern and Mugisha.

“My first reaction (to Trump’s election) is concern over how it is going to impact (LGBTQ+) rights in the international sphere,” Paulón told the Blade.

Biden in 2021 signed a memo that committed the U.S. to promoting LGBTQ+ and intersex rights abroad as part of his administration’s overall foreign policy. The White House in the same year named Jessica Stern, who was previously the executive director of Outright International, as the next special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ+ and intersex rights abroad.

Then-State Department spokesperson Ned Price during a 2021 interview with the Blade noted the decriminalization of consensual same-sex sexual relations was one of the Biden-Harris administration’s priorities in its efforts to promote LGBTQ+ and intersex rights abroad. Stern in 2022 told the Blade that support of marriage equality in countries where activists say such a thing is possible through legislation or the judicial process is “among a wider set of priorities.”

Trump during his first administration tapped then-U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell to lead an initiative that encouraged countries to decriminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations. Activists with whom the Blade has previously spoken questioned whether this effort had any tangible results.

Axios on Thursday reported Grenell is Trump’s top candidate to succeed Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Bru Pereira and Gui Mohallem are co-directors of VoteLGBT, a Brazilian organization established in 2014 with a mission to increase LGBTQ+ representation their country’s politics.

Pereira and Mohallem in a statement they sent to the Blade on Wednesday said the U.S. election outcomes, “especially as they reflect a divided political landscape, underscore an international trend we are observing — a growing divide between progressive movements and the resurgence of conservative, often authoritarian, political forces.”

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was in office from 2018-2022. He faced sharp criticism because of his rhetoric against LGBTQ+ Brazilians, women, people of African and Indigenous descent and other groups. Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters on Jan. 8, 2023, stormed the Brazilian Congress, presidential palace, and Supreme Court.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office a week earlier.

Pereira and Mohallem in their statement said they are “witnessing how grassroots efforts, particularly from marginalized communities, are crucial in defending LGBTQ+ rights under right-wing governments.”

“For us, advancing and protecting LGBTQ+ rights in such a context involves fostering local leadership, as well as strengthening community resilience and alliances,” they said. “It’s about creating spaces where voices traditionally sidelined — especially those of trans, Black, and Indigenous LGBTQ+ individuals — can lead democratic change. Here, we see our role not just in advocacy but in shaping an intersectional approach to political transformation, one that insists on the inclusion and visibility of diverse identities.”

“Ultimately, we believe that the democratic health of any nation depends on its most vulnerable communities being empowered to speak up and lead,” added Pereira and Mohallem. “We’re committed to supporting this journey, even in times of political setbacks, through community solidarity and international collaboration.”

Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice Executive Director Joy Chia in an email to supporters on Wednesday largely echoed Pereira and Mohallem.

“As a funder of LGBTQI+ communities in all regions of the world, the Astraea Foundation is keenly aware of the far-reaching impacts that this election will have and has already had,” wrote Chia. “I also recognize that political repression is not new to LGBTQI+ activists and our communities. This isn’t our first time working in hostility and chaos, and we are ready to resist.”

“The Astraea Foundation will continue to work alongside grantees to build power and create sustainable change so that our communities can thrive. We will continue to push liberation forward, support our grantee partners, and hold true to our intersectional feminist values at every turn,” added Chia. “The work we do every day is vital, and this difficult moment only strengthens our resolve to keep the fight moving forward.”

Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin in an email to their group’s supporters said the U.S. election results “have raised deep concerns for many of us who care about fundamental human rights, freedoms, and democratic norms for LGBTIQ people and everyone else around the world.”

“As Outright International unites with you, our global community, we know that this outcome impacts not only the U.S. but also the global momentum toward justice and equality. Nationalism, authoritarianism, white supremacy, xenophobia, anti-queer, and anti-transness have been on stark display throughout the election campaign,” they wrote. “Such narratives risk eroding years of progress and scapegoat marginalized communities. Resulting policies could deny gender recognition, defund LGBTIQ-supportive programs internationally, and be a threat to international cooperation and multilateralism.” 

Sjödin added “moments like this also reveal the strength of our global solidarity.”

“The spirit of connection that fuels our shared movements is needed now more than ever,” they said. “From Argentina to Poland, Uganda to Ukraine, LGBTIQ communities are rising to this challenge. Together, we can and must resist discriminatory forces and protect and continue to advance the progress made. This isn’t just about policies — it’s about our lives and those of our global community.”

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Mali

Mali on the verge of criminalizing homosexuality

Country’s Traditional National Council has drafted a new penal code

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(Photo by Rawf8/Bigstock)

Mali’s Transitional National Council on Oct. 31 adopted a draft penal code that would criminalize acts of homosexuality.

Minister Mamoudou Kassogué after the TNC meeting said any person who advocates or engages in same-sex relations will be prosecuted.

“There are provisions in our laws that prohibit homosexuality in Mali,” he said. “Anyone engaging in this practice, promoting or apologizing for it, will be prosecuted. We will not accept that our customs and values ​​are violated by people from elsewhere.”

Nginda Nganga, an African LGBTQ+ rights activist, said the Malian government should not be concerned about other people’s sexual orientation.

“LGBTQI+ people have always existed, and they always will. It’s a human rights issue, and honestly, I have never understood why some are so concerned about others’ personal choices and private lives,” said Nganga. “It’s strange.”

Eugene Djoko, another African rights activist, said deterring and monitoring one’s sexual orientation will not solve the country’s problems.

“According to the minister, anyone who practices, promotes or glorifies homosexuality will be prosecuted, however, restraining personal liberties is not how you will fix the country’s problems,” said Djoko.

Amnesty International in its 2023/2024 report said violence and discrimination against people based on descent remained prevalent in Mali. The report highlighted several killings based on this type of discrimination.

Although Mali does not recognize same-sex marriages, the country’s constitution and penal code does not criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations or LGBTQ+ identity. The TNC’s Oct. 31 vote, however, will change the situation for the country’s LGBTQ+ community, even though President Assimi Goïta has not approved them.

The LGBTQ+ community before the Oct. 31 vote already faced a lot of stigma, especially from fellow Malians.

Mali is largely an Islamic country, and Sharia law does not tolerate same-sex sexual relations. The majority of Malians view homosexuality as a Western import.

People in some regions who are found to be part of the LGBTQ+ community can face punishments that range from so-called conversion therapy to amputation, flogging, and even death. Many LGBTQ+ Malians and those who advocate on their behalf remain in the closet or work behind closed doors. Some have opted to leave Mali and seek refuge in countries that protect LGBTQ+ rights.

The actual ramifications of Kassogué’s statements as they relate to consensual same-sex sexual relations or LGBTQ+ advocacy in the country remain unclear.

Arrests of LGBTQ+ people or activists on the basis of sexual orientation are rare, but Malian society tends to handle them under the guise of religious and cultural beliefs as opposed to a law enforcement issue. Law enforcement officials cite acts of indecency when they arrest those who identify as LGBTQ+ or activists.

Goïta, for his part, has yet to explicitly make any public comment on LGBTQ+-specific issues. He has, however, often spoke about his support for Islamic and African values.

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Out in the World: LGBTQ+ news from Asia, Canada, and Europe

Tokyo High Court Japan’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional

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(Los Angeles Blade graphic)

JAPAN

The Tokyo High Court ruled that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, upholding a lower court ruling. This is the second High Court ruling favoring same-sex marriage after the Sapporo High Court came to a similar conclusion earlier this year, and more High Court rulings are expected over the next few months. 

The court found that laws restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples “are not based on reasonable grounds” and lead to “discriminatory treatment (of people) based on their sexual orientation,” according to the ruling.

The rulings don’t immediately create a right to same-sex marriage in Japan, but they add pressure on the government to address the unconstitutionality. These cases will likely find their way to the Supreme Court next year.

Same-sex marriage is not currently legal anywhere in Japan, and the government has long asserted that Section 24 of the post-war constitution rules out same-sex marriage. Section 24 states “marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife as a basis.”

However, equal marriage supporters point out that Section 24 was not intended to deal with same-sex marriage, but rather to assert the right of individuals to marry the person of their choice, rather than traditional arranged marriages. 

A series of recent court victories have gradually opened up recognition of equal rights for same-sex couples in Japan. Five lower courts have found that the ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitution, while only one lower court has upheld the ban as constitutional. 

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court found that same-sex couples are entitled to survivors’ benefits for victims of crime. 

Additionally, 450 municipalities and 30 of Japan’s 47 prefectures have instituted partnership registries for same-sex couples. Although these registries have little legal force, they have helped couples access local services and demonstrate growing recognition of same-sex couples’ rights.

This week’s High Court ruling comes at a time of flux in Japanese politics. During last week’s parliamentary election, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost its governing majority, while the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, which supports same-sex marriage, made huge gains.

Anglo Nippon Politics reports that a very narrow majority of newly elected legislators have expressed support for same-sex marriage, but that the dynamics of the new parliament may make it difficult for the LDP, which hopes to hold onto power with support for smaller conservative parties, to advance controversial issues.

CANADA 

The Alberta government under United Conservative Party Premier Danielle Smith introduced four pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-transgender legislation last week, prompting protests in the capital Edmonton and in the province’s largest city Calgary.

Smith had initially announced the legislation in February, amid a general hysteria about transgender youth and school inclusion policies that had swept through conservative parties across Canada. 

The four bills ban gender care for trans youth, require parental notification and consent if a trans student wishes to use a different name or pronoun in school, bars trans women from competing in sports in schools and colleges, and requires parental notification and “opt-in” if sexual orientation, gender identity, or human sexuality will be discussed in classrooms.

Opponents criticized Smith for the legislation, which critics said was timed to help Smith in a leadership review held this weekend. Smith’s leadership was upheld with more than 91 percent of the vote at the UCP convention in Red Deer on Saturday.

More than 1,000 people showed up at Calgary City Hall to demonstrate against the bills on Saturday, as well as against the UCP’s priorities for Alberta, while hundreds more turned up in front of the provincial legislature in Edmonton.

Rowan Morris, an organizer with Trans Rights YEG, told the Edmonton Journal that the bills had galvanized opposition from across the political spectrum, recalling a conversion he had with a conservative supporter.

“[She said], ‘My whole family is here, we’re all conservatives, we will all be conservatives for the rest of our lives, but we recognize that bodily autonomy is a freedom we need to uphold for all Albertans. Whether we agree on how you live your life or not, the government does not have a place in your private medical decisions with your doctor,’” Morris said.

Because of the UCP’s majority in the provincial legislature, there is little chance the bills won’t pass. Voters next go to the polls in Alberta in October 2027.

Voters in Canada have had a chance to weigh in on anti-trans policies this year, and the results have been mixed. In Manitoba and New Brunswick, voters turfed conservative parties from government after they introduced or announced anti-trans policies, while in British Columbia, voters kept the governing New Democrats in office after the opposition Conservatives had announced several similar anti-trans policies.

Last month, voters in Saskatchewan returned its conservative government to power after it introduced a parental notification and consent policy in violation of Canada’s Charter of Rights and pledged to introduce a ban on trans students accessing change rooms and bathrooms in schools if reelected.

GERMANY

The Gender Self-Determination Act came into force on Friday, marking a historic advancement for trans rights in Germany. 

Under the new law, anyone will be able to change their legal name and gender by making a simple application at their local registry office. 

The new law replaces the Transsexuals Act, which dates from the early 1980s, and required anyone wishing to change their legal gender to get permission from a judge after submitting two psychological assessments. 

The law allows name and gender changes for minors. Children under 14 can have the process done by their parents, while those over 14 can do so with parental permission. Youth will also have to submit a declaration that they have sought advice from a psychologist or from a youth welfare specialist.

Also included in the law is a new protection that makes it a criminal offense to out a trans person without their consent.

Gender self-determination is increasingly the norm in Western European countries. Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark have all introduced similar legislation in recent years. Additionally, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, India, Pakistan, as well as several provinces and states of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico allow gender self-determination.

SWITZERLAND 

The Swiss canton of Vaud became the latest place in Europe to ban so-called conversion therapy, as legislation to ban the discredited practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity nationwide has stalled in the federal parliament.

Vaud is the third of Switzerland’s 26 cantons to ban conversion therapy, following Neuchatel last December and Valais earlier this year. Vaud is Switzerland’s third-largest canton, home to more than 800,000 people. 

In 2022, the lower house of the Swiss parliament passed a motion calling on the government to introduce a conversion therapy ban, but the motion was rejected by the upper house earlier this year.  Legislators at the time said they wanted to wait for more information from the Federal Council, which was due to report on conversion therapy over the summer. 

In the meantime, several other Swiss cantons have begun debating local bans on conversion therapy, including Geneva, Bern, and Zurich. 

Doctors and therapists are already prohibited from practicing conversion therapy in Switzerland by their professional associations, but much conversion therapy is carried out by unlicensed individuals.

Conversion therapy has already been banned across much of Western Europe, including France, Germany, Norway, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, and Iceland. It has also been banned in Mexico, Ecuador, New Zealand, Canada, Taiwan, and in many U.S. and Australian states.

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