G20

MALAYSIA: Muslim Gay Faces Govt Wrath

By Baradan Kuppusamy
Muslim engineer Azman Ismail has sparked a huge storm of criticism, invited official censure and even death threats by going on YouTube.com and confessing that he is a gay.
Sex workers marching for human rights Credit: Nasseem Ackbarrally/IPS

HUMAN RIGHTS: Mauritian Sex Workers Demand Rights

By Nasseem Ackbarally
"Sex workers rights are human rights", close to a hundred people shouted during a recent march in Rose-Hill, a major town in Mauritius. Their aim was to sensitise the population, particularly the parliamentarians, to the state of sex workers on the island.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal Marks Rare Victory for Obama

By IPS Correspondents
The U.S. Senate's repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy Saturday ended what had become for many an embarrassing and awkward policy - and marked a rare victory for the agenda of President Barack Obama in the U.S. Congress.

ZIMBABWE: Sixteen Days of Activism Not For All, Say Police

By Zenzele Ndebele
Hundreds of residents from civil society organisations marched in the streets of Bulawayo on Dec. 1 to mark the 16 days of Activism Against Violence Against Women and Girls . But sex workers and members of gay groups were barred by police from joining the demonstration.
Transvestites and other artists at the Song for Life gala. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños/IPS

CUBA: Drag Queens and Volunteers Promote Safe Sex

By Dalia Acosta
Margot Parapar gets plenty of laughs from the audience with this joke: "Now the human body is divided into five parts: head, trunk, upper and lower limbs, and condom." Using his female stage name, Cuban drag queen, comedian and health promoter Oliver Alarcón includes HIV/AIDS prevention messages in his shows.

CUBA: Foreign Ministry Explains Controversial “Sexual Orientation” Vote to Activists

By Dalia Acosta
Gay rights advocates in Cuba received an unprecedented response from Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, in a meeting held at the ministry itself, after they complained about this country’s support in the United Nations for an amendment seen as a step backwards from the government’s position against discrimination based on sexual orientation.

CUBA: “Sexual Orientation” Vote in UN Panel Kicks Up Controversy

By Dalia Acosta
An unusually strong controversy has broken out in Cuba over a vote by the delegation from this Caribbean nation in favour of an amendment that left out the specific mention of sexual orientation in a United Nations General Assembly resolution on extrajudicial, arbitrary or summary executions.

U.S.: Military’s Anti-Gay Policy May Be in Final Days

By IPS Correspondents
The ongoing effort to repeal the policy banning gays and lesbians from openly serving in the U.S. military got more ammunition Tuesday when the U.S. Department of Defence released a report finding that its repeal would cause only minimal short-term disruption to the military.
Nery Lázaro advocates a new kind of doctor-patient relationship, to protect women's health. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños/IPS

CUBA: Lesbians Demand Fair Treatment from Health Providers

By Dalia Acosta
Lesbian and bisexual women's groups in Cuba, which welcome anyone who wishes to participate "with solidarity and in a respectful, friendly and healthy manner," point to the need to sensitise health personnel to the issue of female sexual diversity.

CARIBBEAN: Progress Stalls on HIV/AIDS

By IPS Correspondents
Despite the gains associated with antiretroviral treatments (ART) over the last decade, HIV/AIDS remains the leading cause of death among young and middle-aged adults in the Caribbean, warns a new U.N. report.
Nicaraguan schoolboys in a workshop on masculinity and gender equality. Credit: Courtesy of REDMAS

NICARAGUA: Machismo Just Isn’t Cool

By José Adán Silva
As he left a workshop in the Nicaraguan capital about gender equality, Alejandro Silva was forced to confront a show of machismo, ironically, with his fists. He was attacked by classmates who taunted him that he was gay.

U.N. Urged to Confront Rising Tide of Homophobia

By Kanya D'Almeida
Nearly two years after the Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity was proposed to the United Nations General Assembly, many civil society groups say that little has been done to safeguard the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people around the world.

Homophobia-Free Churches in Mexico

By Emilio Godoy
Alejandro González left the Catholic Church to join the gay-supportive Metropolitan Community Churches in Mexico, in search of a more open and tolerant place of worship.

CUBA: Ten Years Fighting HIV/AIDS and Reaching Out to Gays

By Dalia Acosta
Raúl Regueiro remembers every detail about the creation, 10 years ago in Cuba, of the project for the prevention of HIV/AIDS among men who have sex with men, and the way the initiative crossed the boundaries of purely health-related concerns to address the question of social inclusion.
Diverse identities Credit: Public domain

CUBA: Men’s Group Champions “Diverse Masculinities”

By Dalia Acosta
Men representing an array of sexual identifications have organised in Cuba to defend sexual rights and promote respect for "other masculinities," with the belief that greater visibility is needed to achieve true social change and acceptance.

JAMAICA: Broadcast Ban Forces Cleanup of “Murder Music”

By Zadie Neufville
A government-led crackdown on violent and explicit sexual lyrics seems to have stalled reggae music's 20-year slide into what has been dubbed "murder music".
Mavi Susel Credit: Jorge Luis Baños/IPS

FILM-CUBA: “I Fought for This, But Not Just to Be a Housewife”

By Dalia Acosta
Mavi Susel, the first transsexual in Cuba to undergo sex reassignment surgery, back in 1988, has found herself trapped in the traditionally assigned gender role of a housewife.

MEXICO: Supreme Court Upholds Non-Discrimination Against Gays

By Daniela Pastrana
In the last two weeks, Mexico's Supreme Court has taken two fundamental steps in recognising the rights of gays and lesbians. On Monday, it voted to uphold a Mexico City law that allows same-sex couples to adopt.

ARGENTINA: Transvestite Magazine Fights Media Stereotypes

By Sebastián Lacunza
The magazine El Teje, which is published in the Argentine capital and presents itself as "the first transvestite publication in Latin America," has been fighting the stigmatisation of the trans community for nearly three years.
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COSTA RICA: Gays Unite Against Referendum on Civil Unions

By Daniel Zueras
Human rights organisations and the gay community in Costa Rica have joined forces to try to block a referendum on a law for civil unions between partners of the same sex.

LGBT Groups Slow to Gain Formal Recognition at UN

By Genevieve Marie Ilg
Gay rights organisations are heartened by the official United Nations accreditation granted to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHR) last week, after a prolonged three-year struggle.
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