August, 2020 - The African Mirror

Aug

2020

J.K. Rowling returns award over criticism of transgender stance

SONIA ELKS BRITISH author J.K. Rowling has said she will return a prestigious human rights award after the organisation that bestowed the prize criticised her posts on transgender rights. The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation gave the "Harry Potter" writer a Ripple of Hope award last year for her work to protect children's rights by highlighting abuse in the orphanage system. But this month Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert Kennedy and president of the U.S. organisation, criticised the author for "transphobic" online posts which she said served to undermine an already vulnerable group. "J.K. Rowling's attacks upon the transgender community are…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

With record wins, LGBT+ candidates celebrate ‘rainbow wave’ in U.S. election

LGBT+

MATTHEW LAVIETES AS the U.S. Democratic National Convention drew to a close, Pete Buttigieg, the party's first openly gay presidential candidate, took to the virtual stage to note the historic significance of his campaign. "The day I was born, close to where I'm standing here in South Bend, the idea of an 'out' candidate seeking any federal office at all was laughable," said Buttigieg, who came out in 2015 after being elected mayor of South Bend, Indiana, in 2012. "Yet earlier this year I campaigned for the presidency, often with my husband at my side, winning delegates to this very…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Pride in Africa is for those who come after us

LGBT+

MARLINE OLUCHI SHARING about visibility, the struggles, the triumphs, the wellbeing and the needs of LGBT+ people in Africa is a creative struggle between emotions, sensibility, objectivity and the need to write from a deep place of hurt, layering down my vulnerabilities. It is first of all, an inner struggle to validate yourself, rationalize your feelings, and follow your passions, without having to worry about people frowning at your choices, to adequately capture what it means to be different from the acceptable societal norm our people have been preconditioned to expect, in a bid to promote bigotry, homophobia, transphobia, discrimination…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Gay president 20 years off, says former U.S. Congressman Barney Frank

LGBT+

HUGO GREENHALGH THE United States will elect an LGBT+ president, but it might take another 20 years before the rainbow flag flies metaphorically over the White House, according to former Congressman and veteran civil rights campaigner Barney Frank. Attitudes toward the LGBT+ community have shifted "significantly" since he was first elected to Congress from the northeastern state of Massachusetts in 1981, Frank said. "The country has made it very clear – full legal equality wins and prejudice loses," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview. "I believe the fight for LGBT rights has been won (in the…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

LGBT+ conversion therapy survivors share stories on TikTok

LGBT+

RACHEL SAVAGE WHEN Mike Dorn told his parents he was gay, aged 15, they tried to make him straight by sending him to a Christian camp in California for three months, where he was told he would go to hell, forced to dig holes and pushed around if he disobeyed orders. Dorn's trauma came to the surface when he was confined to his home for weeks during a COVID-19 lockdown in the United States in June and he decided to share his story on TikTok. "I was going through a pretty dark time being at home all the time and…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Poland threatens to challenge EU funding block in LGBT+ row

LGBT+

HUGO GREENHALGH POLAND has warned it could mount a legal challenge to the European Union's decision to withhold funding to towns accused of setting up so-called LGBT-free zones, in an escalation of a growing row over the issue. LGBT+ rights have become a divisive issue in Poland, whose ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) says their promotion undermines traditional values. President Andrzej Duda won re-election last month having pledged to ban same-sex adoption and school lessons that included discussions about sexuality or gender identity. That has led to tensions with the EU, which last month rejected six town twinning applications…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Chinese LGBT+ group ShanghaiPRIDE halts work to ‘protect safety’

LGBT+

ShanghaiPRIDE, one of China's longest-running gay pride groups, said it was cancelling all activities and events for the foreseeable future, citing the need to protect the "safety" of its people and prompting a chorus of regret on social media. Homosexuality is legal in China, which until 2001 had classified it as a mental disorder. However same-sex marriage is not recognized and concerns over stigma still dissuades people from coming out to their families. "ShanghaiPRIDE regrets to announce that we are cancelling all upcoming activities and taking a break from scheduling any future events," it said late on Thursday in a…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

‘LGBT people are also humans’: Thai Buddhist monk backs equality

LGBT+

RINA CHANDRAN WITH his simple saffron robe and shaved head, Shine Waradhammo stands out at the often loud and colourful LGBT+ events that he occasionally attends in Bangkok, listening intently, taking notes, and engaging cheerfully with anyone who approaches him. As a monk, Waradhammo is a rare - but welcome - presence in the LGBT+ community as Thailand prepares to pass a landmark civil partnership bill that would recognise same-sex unions with nearly the same legal rights as married couples. A largely conservative Buddhist society, Thailand has a reputation for its relaxed attitude towards gender and sexual diversity since homosexuality…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Ugandan officials summoned before court over torture of LGBT+ youth

LGBT+

ALICE McCOOL A town mayor and senior prison official in Uganda have been summoned to appear before a criminal court over allegations of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment against a group of LGBT+ youth, the victims' lawyers have said. The court's move is seen as a positive step for sexual minorities in the East African nation, where gay sex carries a life sentence and homophobia and the persecution of LGBT+ people is widespread, yet rarely punished. Witnesses and the victims say Hajji Abdul Kiyimba, chairman of Kyengera town council, beat members of the group and bound them with ropes before…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Snazzy face mask fashion reaches Nairobi neighbourhood

BEAUTY AND FASHION

THOMAS MUKOYA MOST of us have accepted COVID-19 face masks as an inconvenient, albeit necessary, safety measure. For the style-conscious like James Maina Mwangi, however, they are an unmissable fashion opportunity. Mwangi's brightly coloured suits and hats made him stand out even on the busy streets of Nairobi's Umoja neighbourhood, where nobody ever seems to sleep. Since the pandemic hit and Kenya made face masks mandatory, his outfits have become even more eye-catching. This week, the 59-year-old jack of all trades modelled his collection of face masks for Reuters. "Men knew how to wear clothes in black, brown, grey or…