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Saturday, August 1, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
LGBTQ
Treatment of Gays No Better in South Africa
When Junior Mayema boarded a plane to South Africa from his native Democratic Republic of Congo in 2010, he cried tears of joy because he was finally heading to a country where he could live openly as a gay man.
OP-ED: Repealing Malawi’s LGBT Laws: An Example for Africa?
At a news conference shortly after she was sworn in as Malawi’s president, Joyce Banda announced her government’s intention to decriminalise homosexuality. It is unclear how she will achieve this, but the move is in stark contrast to the approach of her predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, who openly condemned it.
Malawi Businesses Lose Out after AU Summit Cancelled
Small and large businesses in Malawi are counting their losses following the cabinet’s decision not to host the African Union summit in July.
Trans Community Makes Slow Progress in Vietnam
The restaurant Thuy Linh sits by one of Saigon’s black, soupy canals at the edge of District Three. Though operating in an area already full of restaurants and cafes it doesn’t struggle for business.CARIBBEAN: Gay Rights Slowly Coming Out of the Closet
Over the past six months, governments in two influential Caribbean trade bloc member states – Jamaica and Guyana - have floated political test balloons on the question of whether colonial-era laws criminalising homosexuality should be amended in keeping with trends in most Western states.
India’s Economic Growth Leaves Human Development in the Dust
Ahead of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of India, a coalition of NGOs denounced the gap between the country’s growth rate and the rate of poverty, malnutrition and lack of health and sanitation.Buenos Aires Offers Same-Sex Marriage to Foreign Couples
Foreign non-residents, gay or straight, can now get married in the Argentine capital, thanks to a resolution that removed bureaucratic obstacles and streamlined the procedure.
Q&A: How Sex Education Programs Can Shape a Better Future
In Latin American countries and in the Caribbean, where income disparities are among the greatest in the world, too many people often lack access to comprehensive health services and information needed to live healthy lives.
Cuban Activists Defend Sexual Rights as Human Rights
The Fifth Cuban Day Against Homophobia focused on recognising and including sexual rights as human rights, a cause increasingly advocated by activists demanding respect for sexual diversity in this Caribbean island nation.Obama’s Gay Marriage Endorsement Makes Waves in the Caribbean
It is a widely recognised cliché that when the United States sneezes, the Caribbean catches cold.
Trans Community Celebrates Groundbreaking Gender Identity Law
Under a new law that recognises a broad range of rights for transvestites, transsexuals and transgender persons in Argentina, they will have the right to modify their legal documents to match their gender identity.
U.S.: Obama Comes Out For Same-Sex Marriage
U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday declared his support for same-sex marriage, becoming the first sitting president to do so and thrusting the issue into the centre of his campaign for re-election.
First School for Transvestites Opens in Buenos Aires
With 35 students, the first secondary school specifically for transvestites and other members of sexual minorities who face discrimination in mainstream schools opened in March in the Argentine capital.
Institutionalised Homophobia Encourages Hate Crimes
Agnes Torres, a transsexual psychologist and gay rights activist, left her home in the central Mexican state of Puebla on her way to a party. The next day, her body was found in a gully, naked from the waist down. Her throat had been slit.Anti-Discrimination Bill Fast-Tracked After Brutal Gay Bashing
"We shouldn't have to live in fear. We're citizens and voters of Chile, we have jobs, and yet we live in daily fear of being attacked," said 33-year-old Carla Oviedo, a victim of discrimination on the grounds of her sexual orientation.
Those Bodies in Baghdad Are of Gay Men
Dozens of bodies bludgeoned to death pop up in Baghdad’s dusty streets like the remains of a wreckage on a beach. They are the corpses of homosexuals and followers of the ‘emo’ fashion who dare to break with the strict canons of the Shia orthodoxy in power.
Evangelist Sued in U.S. for Inciting Anti-Gay Hatred in Uganda
A major U.S. civil rights group filed a federal lawsuit in Massachusetts Wednesday on behalf of a Ugandan gay rights organisation, the Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG), against a right-wing evangelist leader for inciting hatred against homosexuals that has led to increased violence against LGBT persons in the East African country.BRAZIL: Rio Police Reports to Respect Transgendered Identities
The state of Rio de Janeiro in southeast Brazil will introduce a pioneering policy in March to reduce the under-reporting of crimes against transvestites and transsexual people, who will be able to identify themselves with their preferred names when they report crimes to the police.Double Sentence: AIDS in a Senegalese Prison
Amadou* takes in a long, deep breath, clears his throat and steps to the front of the room. He turns to look out at a familiar group of faces sitting on long wooden benches here at the Camp Penal maximum-security prison in Dakar. This is the last in a group of 150 inmates Amadou has been speaking with today. He’s tired, but remains focused.ARGENTINA: Things Slowly Getting Better for Transgender People
Transvestites and transsexuals in Argentina, who were among the most marginalised minority populations, have seen respect for their rights grow in recent years, especially since same-sex marriage became legal in this country a year and a half ago.
U.N.’s First Official Report on Gays Notes Widespread Bias
In its first-ever official report on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, the United Nations confirms there is widespread discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in "all regions" of the world.« Previous Page — Next Page »
Although progress towards respect for sexual diversity has been made in a number of countries and in international law, in many parts of the world, lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people face serious threats to their life and liberty. Even in countries where legislation recognising the rights of sexual minorities has been passed, discrimination and social stigma are widespread.
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