The Indian LGBTQ+ community has long grappled with systemic neglect and societal prejudices, but significant victories like the striking down of Section 377 in 2018 and progressive Supreme Court verdicts have sparked hope. The fight for equality nevertheless remains arduous.

Amid this struggle, Harish Iyer has stood out as a beacon of courage, leading the movement with unwavering commitment and inspiring others to unapologetically embrace their identities.

Iyer, with a slight smile, noted to the Washington Blade during a recent interview that he was born into privilege. As the first male child in a patriarchal society, he explained this status came with inherent advantages.

Despite being born into privilege, Iyer’s early life was marked by profound challenges.

At just 7-years-old, he endured and survived a traumatic experience of rape, an event that deeply impacted his childhood. Iyer said he was gang raped at 11, four years after a relative sexually assaulted him. Iyer told the Blade these assaults impacted his confidence.

“Children go through sexual assault but they do not understand what is happening with them,” said Iyer. “Because they are children, they do not know its language. We do not call a penis a penis, we do not call a vagina, a vagina. I am 45 years of age, and I am talking about 1987 or 1988. People had very little understanding. When you do not have language to say what it is, you don’t say about it.”

Iyer said it is easier for girls to talk about sexual assault compared to boys, and as a result it was harder for him to speak out. He also struggled living in two worlds: One of morals and fairy tales, and another filled with hardships that he tried to mask.

“I opened up about my abuse at 18, after 11 years of continuous trauma,” said Iyer. “That was a different battle altogether. It was 1998-1999, a time with little awareness about child sexual abuse. When I told my parents, my mother understood that a child could be abused. My father, however, was not supportive and didn’t understand what was happening.”

Iyer shared how these events shaped his thoughts, values, and empathy for others facing similar challenges.

At 22, he began to understand his sexuality and came out to his parents as gay. At 40, he realized his gender could be fluid and has identified as gender-fluid since then.

Iyer shared his struggles in finding a job as an openly gay man in India’s conservative society. He now works at Axis Bank, one of India’s largest private banks. Iyer said joining the bank was a unique journey — he did not have any other job opportunities at the time.

“I applied for every job on LinkedIn,” said Iyer. “Axis Bank responded. I thought I’d be unhappy there, but I needed the money, so I applied. The process took a long time, but after several interviews, I was selected. During the interviews, I realized I could be myself. People saw me for who I truly am, and that worked wonders.”

“A week after joining, I started pushing boundaries,” he added. “The chief human resources officer called me to her office. After our conversation, she held me close and said, ‘You should not have to fit in — be who you are.’ Within six months, we created a charter with policies for the LGBTQ community. It’s called ‘Come As You Are.'”

Iyer told the Blade that Chief Human Resources Officer Rajkamal Vempati was upset with him.

She felt he was free to express himself at the company, but wasn’t doing so. Iyer said Axis Bank has a dress code policy for employees — one for men, one for women, and one for LGBTQ+ employees that allows them to choose the gender in which they want to present themselves.

He said he never expected to see such inclusion in a private sector bank in India before joining Axis Bank.

Iyer challenged sodomy law, continues to fight for marriage equality

On the third anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling that struck down Section 377, the provision of the country’s penal code that criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations, Axis Bank in 2021 introduced policies and a charter for the LGBTQ+ community. Iyer, a long-time LGBTQ+ activist, continues to fight for equal rights.

He said Axis Bank became the first private bank in India to specifically welcome customers from the LGBTQ+ community.

“I was invited by the Social Justice Ministry for a consultation on LGBTQ+ rights,” noted Iyer. “During the discussion, it was proposed that all banks in India should open their doors to the LGBTQ+ community.”

Iyer was one of those who challenging Section 377.

The Supreme Court struck down the colonial-era law on Sept. 6, 2018. Iyer was also a plaintiff in Supriyo v. Union of India, which sought legal recognition of same-sex marriages in India. The Supreme court heard this case in 2023.

“Culture is an evolving phenomenon,” said Iyer. “It is not static. As culture evolves, we as people need to evolve. I would like to believe that my organization is always evolving and we will get better.”

Iyer told the Blade he doesn’t have a specific game plan for the future. As one of Axis Bank’s prominent figures, however, he feels LGBTQ+ people are equal citizens in India.

November 22 was a milestone for Nepal’s LGBTQ+ community.

Two transgender candidates, Honey Maharjan and Mouni Maharjan, members of the People’s Socialist Party-Nepal, ran in local elections. It marked the first time that trans people ran for office in the country.

Honey Maharjan ran for mayor in Kirtipur, a municipality outside Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital. Mouni Maharjan ran to become a ward chair in the same municipality. Although both candidates lost the election; experts, and activists consider their participation a significant milestone for LGBTQ+ representation in Nepalese politics.

Honey Maharjan, 44, is a former tour guide who faced discrimination because she is a trans woman. Maharjan nevertheless became a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.

Mouni Maharjan, 29, advocates for local infrastructure and LGBTQ+-inclusive education. Her campaign focused on introducing an LGBTQ+-inclusive curriculum in schools and creating employment opportunities for marginalized groups.

The Supreme Court in 2007 ruled the government must legally recognize a third gender. Six years later, in 2013, Nepal hosted its first-ever Pride parade, signaling growing visibility and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. The country’s new constitution, which ensures equal rights for LGBTQ+ people and all other Nepalese citizens, took effect in 2015.

The Supreme Court in 2018 issued a ruling that expanded protections for LGBTQ+ people in marriage, inheritance, social recognition, and other areas.

Sunil Babu Pant, founder of the Blue Diamond Society, a Nepalese LGBTQ+ rights group, in 2017 became the first openly gay person elected to parliament. Nepal since 2020 has allowed trans people to legally change their gender in official documents without surgery.

A study that UN Women and the Blue Diamond Society published in June 2023 found 81 percent of LGBTQ+ people in Nepal have faced physical violence, discrimination, and verbal abuse. Traditional societal norms and a lack of awareness make this situation worse.

Nepal is seen as a leader in LGBTQ+ rights in South Asia in terms of legal protections and a debate over marriage rights for same-sex couples. A large gap remains between policies and their implementation.

Political representation of LGBTQ+ people remains low.

Pant left office in 2023. There are currently no openly LGBTQ+ people in parliament or in the country’s policy-making policies.

During their campaign in Kirtipur, Honey Maharjan and Mouni Maharjan outlined key promises. They pledged to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion, especially in politics, and vowed to fight discrimination in education, healthcare, and employment.

Their campaigns also focused on ensuring equal rights and opportunities for marginalized groups. Honey Maharjan and Mouni Maharjan promised to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ issues to reduce stigma and discrimination in society.

Honey Maharjan told the Washington Blade said she was happy about running for office, and noted her family and friends supported her.

“Since Kirtipur has a large LGBTQ community still they did not come out to support me,” she said. “Nepal has other political parties like Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center) and many others, we did not had budget like theirs, so it was also our struggle. It is also challenging for us as people are not supporting us for what we are trying to do. They are supporting only prominent political parties in Nepal. So, these are our challenges as a transgender political candidate in Nepal.”

Honey Maharjan told the Blade she would have worked to provide education, health care, and better roads if she were elected.

“I did not win, so I am a little sad this time,” she said. “But I am happy that the media has covered my campaign, so I am grateful to all journalists.”

“Every community member needs to be inspired because we are not alone and we need to think that we have a large number of community members,” added Honey Maharjan. “If we do not come out, there will be difficulty, it’s our right.”

She also dismissed the idea that many trans people are sex workers.

“Many people are working in different sectors. I would request everyone to come out and support the transgender candidate in the next election,” said Honey Maharjan. “Elections are important because it creates awareness about the candidate otherwise everyone would think that transgender community is engaged in sex work only that is not true.”

The Ghanaian Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed challenges to a bill that would further criminalize LGBTQ+ people and penalize allyship.

Lawmakers on Feb. 28 approved the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill. Two lawyers, Amanda Odoi and Richard Sky, challenged it.

Outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo had previously said he would not sign the bill into law until the Supreme Court issued its ruling. His successor, President-elect John Dramani Mahama, will take office on Jan. 7.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Dec. 10 honored Ebenezer Peegah, executive director of Rightify Ghana, a Ghanaian LGBTQ+ advocacy group, and six other human rights activists from around the world during a ceremony at the State Department.

Blinken noted the pending Supreme Court ruling — and discrimination and violence that LGBTQ+ Ghanaians continue to face — before he presented Peegah with the Secretary of State’s Human Rights Defender Award.

“In Ghana, vigilante groups use social media platforms to organize mobs to attack LGBTQI+ people, as well as to entrap, to blackmail, to harass them,” said Blinken. “As these attacks increase, Ghana’s Supreme Court is considering legislation that would criminalize people for identifying as LGBTQI+, as well as threaten Ghanaians’ constitutionally protected freedoms of speech, press, and assembly.”  

Kenyan queer rights organizations have welcomed the sentencing of a freelance photographer to 50 years in prison for murdering prominent LGBTQ+ activist and fashion designer Edwin Chiloba nearly two years ago

Justice Reuben Nyakundi on Monday sentenced Jacktone Odhiambo, 25, Chiloba’s partner, after the Eldoret High Court in western Kenya two weeks ago found him guilty of murder.

The 2-year trial, which comprised evidence from 23 witnesses and DNA tests the prosecution presented that placed him at the scene of the crime on New Year’s Day in 2023. Chiloba had disappeared and his body was found stuffed in a metal box that had been dumped along the side of a road. 

The court was told that Chiloba and Odhiambo were last seen together at Tamasha Club in Eldoret on the night of Dec. 31, 2022, only for the deceased’s decomposing body to be discovered three days later. His brutal murder sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ+ community in Kenya and attracted both local and international condemnation and calls for the conviction of perpetrators.

Nyakundi in his sentencing ruling noted the prosecution provided evidence beyond a reasonable doubt and described the brutal murder of Chiloba, 25, as “premeditated, malicious, and aggravated homicide.”

“The footprints of the murder are all traceable to the accused (Odhiambo),” Nyakundi said.

The judge noted Odhiambo showed no respect for the sanctity of life and Chiloba’s brutal killing left a void that cannot be filled.

Odhiambo became the prime suspect after three other accused people were freed due to a lack of evidence linking them to the murder.    

Johansen Oduor, the government pathologist who conducted Chiloba’s autopsy, told the court during the trial that the victim had been smothered to death using six pairs of socks stuffed into his mouth and his face was wrapped with a piece of denim.    

Despite overwhelming evidence linking Odhiambo to the murder, the court noted the accused did not show any remorse for his actions during the trial and described him as a “vengeful person.” This lack of remorse influenced the severity of his 50-year sentence, even though he fell and wailed after the judge sentenced him.

“The accused deserves the death penalty, which is not implemented in Kenya,” Nyakundi ruled.

Kenya’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions acknowledged the judge’s verdict, noting the death sentence “would have been unnecessary” because the country has not executed anyone on death row since 1987. The death penalty, however, has not been abolished from Kenyan criminal laws for offenses like murder, robbery with violence, treason, mutiny, and other crimes. 

There have been calls by human rights groups, such as the International Commission for Jurists-Kenya, for Kenya to abolish the death penalty. A bill in parliament would repeal the death penalty.

Additionally, Nyakundi could not sentence Odhiambo to life in prison, which the ODPP also noted as “undesirable” because of the uncertainty surrounding offences that constitute a death sentence.  

The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in response to Odhiambo’s sentencing said it marks a significant step toward justice for Chiloba, his family, and all LGBTQ+ people in Kenya, Africa, and around the world.

“This verdict marks a long-awaited moment of accountability, offering a glimmer of justice for Edwin and a reminder that no act of violence against any LGBTQ+ resident of Kenya will go unchallenged or unchecked,” NGLHRC stated.

NGLHRC also remembered Chiloba as a fondly celebrated, vibrant young queer activist, and budding fashion model whose promising future was robbed from him. NGLHRC added his murder also sent a chilling message of fear and injustice to marginalized queer Kenyans.  

“We continue to call on the Kenyan government, law enforcement agencies, and the judiciary to strengthen their commitment to addressing violence against LGBTQ+ residents of Kenya as espoused and guided by Resolution 275 of the African Charter on Human and People Rights,” NGLHRC stated.

The Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination, a local queer rights group, acknowledged the court’s 50-year sentence for Odhiambo “deemed appropriate for the gravity of the offense.” INEND also applauded NGLHRC and other queer organizations for “pursuing justice for our sibling Chiloba” in the corridors of justice without relenting.

A group of LGBTQ+ Christians in Italy has said the Vatican has approved its request to make a pilgrimage during the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee.

The National Catholic Register on Dec. 11 reported La Tenda di Gionata (Jonathan’s Tent) — an Italian Christian group that helps “LGBT people and their families feel welcome in their church” — asked members to “save the date” of Sept. 6, 2025, and invited “all associations and groups dedicated to supporting LGBT+ individuals and their families to join us as we officially cross the Holy Door of the Jubilee at St. Peter’s Basilica” at 3 p.m.

The National Catholic Register notes the pilgrims have also been invited to a Mass at the Jesuit Church of the Gesù that Msgr. Francesco Savino, vice president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, will celebrate.

Church Jubilees take place every 25 years.

Jubilee 2025 officially begins on Christmas Eve.

Jubilee spokesperson Agnese Palmucci confirmed to the National Catholic Register that La Tenda di Gionata’s proposed pilgrimage has been “included in the general calendar as a pilgrimage, along with all the other pilgrimages that other dioceses will make,” but noted it is “not a Jubilee event sponsored or organized by us.” 

“It is a pilgrimage organized by this association which, like the other dioceses, bodies and associations, will make the pilgrimage as they wish,” said Palmucci.

Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ+ Catholic organization, on Dec. 10 noted he traveled to Rome in 2000, the last Jubilee year, and spoke at the first WorldPride that took place that summer.

“One of the things I remember most about that time was the anger expressed by the Vatican and the pope himself that World Pride was taking place in Rome during the Jubilee year,” wrote DeBernardo on New Ways Ministry’s website. “Perhaps particularly galling to John Paul II was that the pride event was taking place in the first week of July, which was the same week that pilgrims from the pope’s native Poland were scheduled to flood the city. And indeed, everywhere you looked you saw people with bright red neckerchiefs, a symbol of Polish heritage.”

DeBenardo noted the “mood in” Rome “was incredibly tense.”

“Vatican anti-gay rhetoric had fueled anti-gay sentiment beyond the Catholic Church, and many right-wing Italian political groups were denouncing World Pride, which was to culminate in a march from the Porta San Paolo to the Colosseum,” he wrote. “Anti-gay messages were plastered all over the city buildings. One message in particular remains strong in my memory: ‘Gay al Colosseo? Sì, con i leoni.’ (Translation: ‘Gays at the Colosseum? Yes, with lions.’)”

DeBenardo wrote the inclusion of an LGBTQ+ pilgrimage during the 2025 Jubilee “touched my heart.”

“While 2025’s event may seem like a small step, when compared with how the Vatican reacted to the presence of gay people in Rome during 2000, we can see what a sea change has taken place in terms of responding to LGBTQ+ people,” he said.

The Vatican’s tone towards LGBTQ+ and intersex issues has softened since Pope Francis assumed the papacy in 2013.

Francis publicly backs civil unions for same-sex couples, and has described laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust.” 

He met with two African LGBTQ activists — Clare Byarugaba of Chapter Four Uganda and Rightify Ghana Director Ebenezer Peegah — at the Vatican on Aug. 14. Sister Jeannine Gramick, one of the co-founders of New Ways Ministry, organized a meeting between Francis and a group of transgender and intersex Catholics and LGBTQ+ allies that took place at the pontiff’s official residence on Oct. 12.

Francis during a 2023 interview with an Argentine newspaper described gender ideology as “one of the most dangerous ideological colonizations” in the world because “it blurs differences and the value of men and women.” A declaration the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released in March with Francis’s approval condemned gender-affirming surgeries and “gender theory.”

CANADA

The mayor of Emo, Ontario, had his bank account garnished after he announced he would refuse to pay court-ordered damages of $5,000 to a local Pride organization. 

The drama started in 2020 when the small town of 5,000 people about 1,000 miles northwest of Toronto on the border with Minnesota refused a request by Borderlands Pride to issue a proclamation declaring June Pride Month in the town and fly a rainbow flag for a week. 

The town council voted down the request in an acrimonious debate in which now 76-year-old Mayor Harold McQuaker argued that flying the Pride flag was unfair because there’s no flag for “the other side.” Borderlands Pride then presented a petition asking the council to reconsider their request, but the council was unmoved. 

Four years later, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal finally issued a ruling in the case, ordering the town to pay Borderlands Pride C$10,000 (approximately $7,000) and McQuaker to pay C$5,000 (approximately $3,500) and take the province’s “Human Rights 101” one-day course. 

McQuaker later told reporters that he would refuse to pay the judgement against him. That gave Borderlands Pride the ability to get a court order for garnishment of his bank account for the fine. 

“Sure, sex is great, but have you ever garnished your mayor’s bank account after he publicly refused to comply with a Tribunal’s order to pay damages?” Borderlands Pride posted on their Facebook account.

Emo Town Council has not yet announced if it will pay its portion of the judgment. 

The case has drawn attention from right-wing and far-right news outlets around the world, many of which are working overtime to paint McQuaker as a mild-mannered great-grandfather who is not at all homophobic.

But Borderlands Pride pushed back against that narrative with receipts. In another post on Facebook, the group shared letters McQuaker had published in newspapers going back nearly 20 years, when same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada. 

“Isn’t it funny we have all kinds of money to spend on same-sex crap and gun control, both of which will hurt our great nation,” McQuaker wrote in one letter.

“If a free vote had been allowed instead of party leaders forcing their MPs to their way, Mr. Harper would have defeated homosexual marriage legislation,” he wrote in another.

Five separate fundraisers on GiveSendGo and GoFundMe have raised around $28,000 for McQuaker and Emo’s legal defense, although none of these fundraisers appear to be directly linked to either.

JAPAN

The Fukuoka High Court ruled that Japan’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, in the latest court victory for couples seeking equal marriage rights in the country.

The ruling on Dec. 13 was the third appellate-level ruling to find the ban unconstitutional, following rulings earlier this year from the Tokyo and Sapporo High Courts. It was also the first ruling to find the ban violates the constitution’s protection of the “pursuit of happiness.”

“[The judge] understood our suffering, and I felt very reassured,” one of the plaintiffs, Masahiro, told reporters.

Six lower courts have ruled on same-sex marriage since 2021, with all but one finding the ban to be unconstitutional. Many of these cases are still being heard at the appellate level, and the issue is likely to be taken up by the Japanese Supreme Court.

While the rulings do not have immediate effect in changing the law, they add pressure on legislators to address the issue. 

A report from Mainichi Shinbum suggests that there is now a majority in Parliament in favor same-sex marriage, following elections in October. Still, the Liberal Democratic Party, which leads the government, is largely opposed to equal marriage. 

POLAND

QueerMuzeum, the first museum dedicated to the history of Poland’s LGBTQ+ community, opened in Warsaw this month, the first such museum in a post-communist country in Europe.

The new museum is operated by the Lambda Warsaw Association, the oldest operating Polish LGBTQ+ organization, and it has more than 150 artefacts on display, including items dating back to the 16th century.

“We are on Marszałkowska Street, in the heart of Warsaw,” said Miłosz Przepiórkowski, Lambda’s president. “This sends a message to politicians: ‘Look, we are opening the fifth queer museum in the world in a country with the worst legal situation for queer people in the EU.’”⁠

QueerMuzeum is also a way to bring Lambda’s aid and advocacy work into the public eye, Przepiórkowski says. 

The organization has more than 100,000 artifacts in its collection, including letters, photographs, and early activist materials. Preserving these materials has been challenging, as much of the records of Poland’s LGBTQ+ community have been private or discarded. 

Key figures from Poland’s queer activist circles during the communist era in the 1980s were on hand for the opening ceremony, and had donated important personal materials to the museum. 

Ryszard Kisiel donated a decades-old safe-sex pamphlet, while Andrzej Selerowicz donated a photograph of himself with his partner that is 45 years old. 

LGBTQ+ rights remain a polarizing topic in Poland more than a year after a center-left coalition was elected to replace a far-right government. The new government has struggled to pass a long-promised civil union bill and update hate speech laws to protect LGBTQ+ people, amid conflicts among more conservative coalition partners.

UNITED KINGDOM

The UK government has announced that it is indefinitely prohibiting the prescription of puberty blockers for use with transgender children, Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced on Dec 11.

The ban applies across the UK and was put in place following consultations with the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

It comes following the much-disputed Cass Review on gender treatment in the UK, which had recommended new restrictions on puberty blockers. Earlier this year, the previous Conservative government brought in emergency legislation to ban puberty blockers. Streeting’s announcement makes that ban indefinite, with the government saying it will review the legislation in 2027.

The ban applies to new patients only; patients already receiving puberty blockers as a form of care can continue to receive it.

Streeting says there is a plan to begin a clinical trial on puberty blockers next year, which would help “establish a clear evidence base for the use of this medicine.”

But trans activists rejected the government’s framing of the ban, as they have much of the findings of the Cass Review.

“The government is entirely disregarding the voices of trans youth, who made clear their deep opposition to the restriction of private prescriptions for puberty blockers during consultation,” Laura Stoner, the chief executive of the trans rights group Mermaids, told the Guardian.

Trans rights have become a notably polarizing issue in the UK over the last several years, as “Harry Potter” author JK Rowling has become one of the world’s most vocal critics of trans people, and successive UK governments have sought to weaken protections for trans people and restrict access to gender care or to women’s spaces, often in the name of women’s rights.

Other British stars like Daniel Radcliffe and David Tennant have been notable allies for trans people.

Former Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama from the opposition National Democratic Congress has won Saturday’s general elections, defeating current Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party.

The NDC before the election had pledged its support for the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which would further criminalize LGBTQ+ people and those who support them.

The bill, which MPs approved in February, has yet to be signed by outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo because of a ruling the Supreme Court is expected to issue on Dec. 18. Richard Dela Sky, a journalist and private lawyer, challenged the law in March.

The NDC, NPP and other parties used recognition of LGBTQ+ rights to persuade Ghanaians to vote for them. Mahama during a BBC interview last week said LGBTQ+ rights are against African culture and religious doctrine.

Berinyuy Hans Burinyuy, LGBT+ Rights Ghana’s director for communications, said homophobic attacks and public demonstrations increased during the campaign.

“The passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill into law will institutionalize State-sanctioned discrimination and violence against LGBTQ+ individuals, leaving little to no legal recourse for those affected,” said Burinyuy. “The climate of fear and uncertainty that has gripped Ghana’s LGBTQ+ community cannot be overstated.”

“While the political atmosphere remains hostile, there is still hope that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of human rights and constitutional protections,” added Burinyuy. “Should the court strike down the bill, it will be a significant victory for LGBTQ+ rights and a blow to the growing wave of homophobia that has swept the country.”

Awo Dufie, an intersex person and cross-dresser, said the LGBTQ+ community is going to be at increased risk under the NDC-led government because it supports anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.

“Mahama supported the anti-LGBT bill as well as the arrest and prosecution of human rights defenders,” noted Dufie. “Politicizing queer rights as a distraction actually started under Atta Mills (the-late president of Ghana) and the NDC government in 2011, and it was an NDC MP (Sam George) who furthered this in 2021 vocalizing support for the anti-LGBT bill.”

Dufie added Ghanaians “voted out a worse corrupt government who had no respect for human rights, and brought in a former corrupt president who has also promised to not respect human rights.”

Activism Ghana, another LGBTQ+ rights group, said the attacks against LGBTQ+ Ghanaians are a series of political ploys designed to win votes as opposed to accelerating development.

“Hate the gays, win the votes, and when they win and fail to deliver development and prosperity, they scapegoat the gays to take away attention from real problems,” said Activism Ghana.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday congratulated Mahama’s election, and noted Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang will become the country’s first female vice president.

“The United States commends the Electoral Commission, its hundreds of thousands of poll workers, civil society, and the country’s security forces, who helped ensure a peaceful and transparent process,” said Blinken in a statement. “We also applaud Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia for his gracious acceptance of the results.”

Mahama’s inauguration will take place on Jan. 7.

Advocacy groups continue to urge Akufo-Addo to veto the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill or amend sections that further criminalize LGBTQ+ people and allies.

Former Bogotá Mayor Claudia López did not specifically discuss the growing speculation over whether she will run for president of Colombia in 2026 when she spoke at Saturday’s LGBTQ+ Victory Institute’s Annual International LGBTQ Leaders Conference in D.C., or with the Washington Blade.

“In a week I am going to return to Colombia and I’m coming back with a very, very punctual task,” she said in a speech she gave after the Victory Institute inducted her into its LGBTQ+ Political Hall of Fame at the JW Marriott. “Democracy in the world in general needs emotional reconnection.”

López, 54, was a student protest movement leader, journalist, and political scientist before she entered politics.

She returned to Colombia in 2013 after she earned her Ph.D in political science at Columbia University.

In her speech, López said Juan Francisco “Kiko” Gomez, a former governor of La Guajíra Department in northern Colombia, threatened to assassinate her because she wrote about his ties to criminal gangs. A Bogotá judge in 2017 convicted Gómez of ordering members of a paramilitary group to kill former Barrancas Mayor Yandra Brito, her husband and bodyguard, sentencing him to 55 years in prison.

López in 2014 returned to Colombia and ran for the country’s Senate as a member of the center-left Green Alliance party after she recovered from breast cancer. López won after a 10-week campaign that cost $80,000.

“I was the only woman, the only LGBTQ member of my caucus,” she said in her speech. “Of course I had the honor, but also the responsibility to represent them particularly well, [and] of course all the citizens who trust me and all the citizens of Colombia.”

“Once you are elected, you are elected to represent equally and faithfully all of the people, not only your own people,” added López.

In 2018, López was her party’s candidate to succeed then-President Juan Manuel Santos when he left office. López in 2019 became the first woman and first lesbian elected mayor of Bogotá, the Colombian capital and the country’s largest city.

“This of course speaks incredibly well of my city,” she said in her speech.

López took office on Jan. 1, 2020, less than a month after she married her wife, Colombian Sen. Angélica Lozano. (López was not out when she was elected to the Senate.) Lozano was with López at the Victory Institute conference.

López’s term ended on Dec. 31, 2023. She will return to Colombia once her Advanced Leadership Fellowship at Harvard University ends this month.

“I ended my mayorship,” López told the Blade. “It has been, of course, the honor of my life to be the first female mayor of my city. It was an absolutely beautiful job, but very challenging.”

“I needed a year of rest, of relaxation, and I was fortunate to receive a Harvard scholarship this year,” she added.

López during the interview called for an end to polarization and reiterated her support for democracy.

“We need to listen to each other again, we need to have a coffee with each other again, we need to touch each other’s skin,” she said.

López said parties, candidates, and their political coalitions in Colombia and around the world need to “listen, reconnect, and organize with people” at the grassroots level. López also told the Blade there is a “global crisis of democracy.”

“Each country has its own contexts and challenges, but it seems to me that there is a common element there,” she said.

“So, I return to Colombia rested, grateful after a year of reflection, with proposals in mind, but determined to dedicate time to what I consider the most important work for democracy at this time, which is to reconnect from the grassroots,” added López.

‘I know what love and education can do for any person’

López took office less than three months before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“We were full of hope, ready to go to offer a new social and environmental contract for Bogotá society for the 21st century,” she said. “But a couple of (months) after being sworn into office, the pandemic of COVID-19 came.”

Unemployment and poverty rates soared in Bogotá during the pandemic, and the city’s residents had less access to health care and other basic services.

López noted her administration in response to the pandemic offered scholarships to young people, supported businesses, and increased funding of the city’s social services. López also said her administration implemented Latin America’s first city-based care system for female care givers, and build three more LGBTQ+ community centers in poor and working-class neighborhoods.

“I know what love and education can do for any person,” she said.

The U.N. Refugee Agency says upwards of three million Venezuelans are now in Colombia.

Then-Colombian President Iván Duque in February 2021 announced Venezuelan migrants who register with the country’s government will be legally recognized.

Former Bogotá Mayor Gustavo Petro, a former senator who was once a member of the M-19 guerrilla movement that disbanded in the 1990s, succeeded Duque as president on Aug. 7, 2022. Colombia and Venezuela restored diplomatic ties less than a month later.

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council on July 28 declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner of the country’s disputed presidential election. Tamara Adrián, the country’s first transgender congresswoman who ran in the presidential primary earlier this year, are among those who denounced voting irregularities.

WPLG, a South Florida television station on March 16, 2021, reported López sparked controversy after she told reporters there have been “some very violent acts from Venezuelans.”

“First they murder, and then they steal,” she said. “We need guarantees for Colombians.”

López made the comments after a Venezuelan migrant murdered a Colombian police officer in Bogotá.

“The problem is not migration from Venezuela,” López told the Blade in response to a question about Venezuela. “The problem is authoritarianism in Venezuela and you have to keep the focus on it.”

“The problem is what it is: It is not the migrants, it is in Maduro, it is in the dictatorship, it is in authoritarianism.”

More than 200,000 people died in the war between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that began in 1962.

Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia Commander Rodrigo “Timochenko” Londoño on Sept 26, 2016, signed an LGBTQ-inclusive peace agreement. Colombian voters a few days later narrowly rejected it a referendum that took place against the backdrop of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric from religious and conservative groups.

Santos and Londoño less than two months later signed a second peace agreement, which also contains LGBTQ+-specific references.

López described herself as “a person totally committed to the peace process.” She added, however, she has “a bit of a bad taste in my mouth now that I look back.”

“The peace process with the FARC, which was to demobilize the FARC, period, certainly tried to have and had a gender focus, of course a diversity focus, a focus on human rights for all victims, and certainly (the) many LGBT victims who had been victims of FARC recruitment, abuse, stigmatization, etc.,” López told the Blade. “So, in some sense, or in many senses, having that gender and diversity perspective was a way of recognizing the victims of our community.”

She noted opponents lied about the LGBTQ+-specific provisions “to deceive and delegitimize the peace agreement.”

“It is not about making anything invisible, or even downplaying anything, but rather about being much more strategic in understanding that we do not want our flags and causes to be exposed in a way that ends up being a boomerang for our own community,” López added. “So, I say that is why it is a disappointment, because I think it is a lesson. At least for me, it made me think and it makes me think, and I have said it openly since then, that we have to be much more careful and much more, above all, strategic, in how we raise our flags so that they really do not only have symbolic, but real advances and so that in no case do they become a boomerang against ourselves.”

‘I know how you feel’

López during the interview praised the recent elections of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Uruguayan Vice President Beatriz Argimón, and other women in Latin America. She also expressed sympathy with LGBTQ+ Americans who are concerned about the incoming Trump-Vance administration.

“I know how you feel,” said López in her speech. “I’ve been there when we lost the peace referendum in 2016. I’ve been there when three candidates who represented independent, new alternatives in Colombia, and policies were killed by mafia groups in 1990. I’ve been there when a mafia cartel was able to fund and elect a president for all of us. I’ve been there when paramilitary groups were able to support and elect another president in Colombia.”

“I know how obscure and difficult and challenging and painful democratic times are, but we cannot (back) democracy only when we win,” she added. “It’s precisely when things are challenging, when we suffer defeats that are painful, that we need to attach to our democratic and humanistic values and principles.”

CANADA

Transgender activists in the province of Alberta have filed the first of an expected series of lawsuits against a trio of anti-LGBTQ+ bills passed by the provincial legislature last week

The province’s United Conservative Party government passed the long-promised legislation which bars trans youth under 16 from accessing gender care, bans trans women and girls from women’s sports, requires parental notification and consent if a student under 16 wishes to use a different name or pronoun, and requires parental notification and consent ahead of any discussion of sexual orientation, gender identity or sexuality in classrooms.

On Friday, Canada’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group Egale filed a joint legal challenge with the Calgary-based trans support center Skipping Stone and five families against the medical care ban, as that bill came into effect immediately upon passage.

“The actions of the government of Alberta are unprecedented. Never before in Canada has a government prohibited access to gender affirming health care,” says Kara Smyth, co-counsel in the case, in a press statement.

Egale says that the law violates the rights of trans people under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including the right to security of the person, freedom from cruel and unusual treatment, and equality. 

It also says the law violates Alberta’s recently amended Bill of Rights, including the right to not be subjected to, or coerced into receiving, medical care, medical treatment, or a medical procedure without consent. This was recently added into provincial law as a sop to far-right conspiracy theorists around vaccines in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This government has acted directly counter to expert guidance and evidence, as well as the voices of Albertan families, and introduced policies that use fear and disinformation to target a small and vulnerable part of the community: 2SLGBTQI young people. All Albertan families and youth deserve the ability to access health care and participate fully in their communities,” says Amelia Newbert, co-founder and managing director of Skipping Stone.

Even if the plaintiffs succeed in court, they may still lose, because Canada’s Charter of Rights includes a clause that allows provincial governments to override fundamental rights. That’s what happened when a court in neighboring Saskatchewan ruled against a law requiring schools to out trans students to their parents.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has so far refused to say whether she’ll invoke the “notwithstanding” clause to override a court decision if the province loses.

And the temperature for LGBTQ+ rights in Alberta keeps getting worse. Also last week, the town of Barrhaven passed a citizen-initiated referendum that bans Pride flags — and all flags other than the Canadian, Albertan, or town flag — from being raised or painted on municipal property. That’s going to require that the city remove a recently installed rainbow crosswalk.

It’s the second town in Alberta to ban the Pride flags this year, after Westlock held a similar referendum in February.

ROMANIA

A scheduled second-round presidential election was cancelled by the Constitutional Court amid allegations that Russia was interfering to aid far-right nationalist Călin Georgescu against progressive reformer Elena Lasconi.

The unprecedented move was condemned by both candidates, who accused Romania’s establishment parties of trying to usurp the democratic process. 

Declassified intelligence reports released by the government assert that Georgescu’s campaign was supported by a Russian influence operation, which was largely played out through a massive TikTok campaign that raised his profile from obscurity to winning the first-round election on Nov. 24. 

Fresh elections will be called by the new parliament that was elected separately on Dec 1. In those elections, establishment parties lost ground — and their parliamentary majority — as three far-right ultranationalist parties made major gains.

Georgescu and the three parties supporting him have long been hostile to LGBTQ+ rights. Lasconi’s record on LGBTQ+ rights is mixed. She’s previously expressed opposition to same-sex marriage, but during the campaign said she would support civil union legislation and eventually would be open to equal marriage. 

Regardless of who wins the election, it is unlikely Romania’s parliament will bring forward much pro-LGBTQ+ rights legislation.

LITHUANIA

A court in Lithuania has for the first time recognized a same-sex partner as a child’s parent, in a groundbreaking ruling in a country where same-sex couples and families have few legal rights.

The Vilnius District Court ruling came into effect on Friday, recognizing both women as the child’s parent, LRT English reports.

The couple at the center of the case are Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson Birutė Sabatauskaitė and her partner Jūratė Juškaitė, director of the Lithuanian Center for Human Rights. Juškaitė will now be able to have her name listed as a parent on all of her daughter’s documents, giving her all the rights of a mother.

“From today, our family feels safer. The Vilnius District Court’s ruling that recognises me as the mother of our little girl has come into effect,” Juškaitė posted on Facebook.

While the case does not set a legal precedent, it shows that the Lithuanian courts are open to same-sex couples in the interest of protecting family rights and children’s rights. 

“Family cases are very individual, but yes, it could certainly inspire and give hope to families who don’t fit into the traditional definition of a family,” says Donatas Murauskas, who represented Juškaitė in court.

Same-sex couples are not generally afforded legal recognition or any of the rights that married heterosexual couples have in Lithuania. A bill to recognize civil partnerships awaits a final vote in the Lithuanian parliament, but the newly elected government, a coalition of Social Democrats and nationalists, has not agreed to put the bill in their program. 

CHINA

A Hong Kong lawmaker is calling on the city to ignore last year’s Court of Final Appeal ruling ordering the government to recognize same-sex unions, and is urging the city to instead appeal to mainland China to overrule the court.

Under the “One Country, Two Systems” form of government that Hong Kong has had since the end of the British colonial period in 1997, the city enjoys limited autonomy from Beijing. But China has the power to intervene on matters with “permanent, serious consequences.”

Lawmaker Junius Ho says that a series of Court of Final Appeal rulings that require the city to recognize same-sex couples and grant them equal access to public housing and inheritance rights are serious enough to warrant intervention from Beijing.

He made the comments at a forum hosted by a group he founded to fight the rulings, International Probono Legal Services Association Limited.

“The Court of Final Appeal [made these rulings] on so-called same-sex marriages under just one notion, equal rights. What equal rights? Diversity, inclusiveness and equality,” Ho said. “[These] universal values cannot override the constitution.”

Last year, the Court of Final Appeal gave the city two years to establish a legal mechanism to recognize same-sex couples, but LGBTQ+ activists have been frustrated by the lack of legislative progress on the issue.

Even as same-sex couples have continued to win victories in court, queer people have noticed that space for free expression has shrunk as the government has cut funding for LGBTQ+ service organizations and it has become more risky to accept funding from foreign sources amid a broader crackdown from the mainland on Hong Kong’s democratic institutions.

Cape Town last month secured enough votes to host WorldPride in 2028.

The bidding process, which started in late October, took place in Medellín, Colombia, where the Guadalajara (Mexico) Pride and WorldPride Cape Town bidding teams contended for the rights to host WorldPride. InterPride, which organizes the event, on Nov. 8 officially declared Cape Town the host of WorldPride 2028.

It will be the first time WorldPride will take place in an African country.

South Africa is the only country on the continent that constitutionally recognizes LGBTQ+ rights. South Africa, as a result, in recent years has seen a surge in the number of LGBTQ+ asylum seekers from Africa and around the world.

Reacting to the historical precedence, Cape Town Pride said it was now time for Africa to shine and acknowledged the WorldPride Cape Town bidding team and the city of Cape Town for their role in the bidding process.

“This is a first for the whole continent of Africa,” said Cape Town Pride CEO Tommy Patterson. “A few weeks ago, in Medellín, Cape Town Pride, the city of Cape Town, and the bidding team presented our bid. The team did a wonderful job and we all forged great friendships and allies from Pride groups all over the globe.”

“Cape Town Pride is thrilled by the news and support shown by the global LGBTI+ family,” added Patterson.

Michael Gladwin of the WorldPride Cape Town bidding team echoed Patterson’s excitement.

“This will mark the first time WorldPride is held on the African continent, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome the global LGBTQ+ community to our beautiful city,” said Gladwin. “A heartfelt thank you goes out to all our incredible partners who supported this journey. Together, we will showcase Cape Town as a beacon of inclusivity and diversity.”

Gladwin also congratulated Guadalajara Pride for their bid.

“Their commitment in promoting LGBTQ+ rights is inspiring, and we look forward to collaborating in the future,” said Gladwin.

Cape Town’s LGBTQ+ community is celebrating the successful bid, while others in the city have criticized it.

Rev. Oscar Bougardt, founder and lead pastor of the Calvary Hope Baptist Church, described WorldPride as “garbage” and “filth” that should be condemned.

“I am happy to say I am amongst the pastors in Cape Town who are in opposition and are outraged at this garbage planned for 2028,” said Bougardt. “The city of Cape Town and LGBTQ+ organizations planned this event without consulting rate payers, this bid was done in secret and taxpayers’ money will be used to fund this filth.”

“Just as the LGBTQ + organizations have the right to host WorldPride 2028, we have the right to say we don’t want it in Cape Town,” he added. “I pray more church leaders will stand up against the planned WorldPride 2028. To church leaders and parents, this is the time to unite and tell the city of Cape Town and LGBTQ+ organizations that we are disgusted at the planned event. Untied we stand and divided we will fall!”

Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 2022 won the bid to host WorldPride 2025, but the local planning committee withdrew it amid a dispute with InterPride. WorldPride 2025 will take place in D.C. from May 17-June 8, 2025.

The 2024 ILGA World Conference took place last month in Cape Town.