LGBT+ - The African Mirror

Jan

07

2022

In Burkina Faso, trans people self-medicate in ‘dangerous’ transition

LGBT+

SAM MEDNICK IT took Aicha Sylla three attempts to get a prescription for hormones in Burkina Faso so she could start to transition gender. In the end, one doctor agreed - if she had sex with him first. "I didn't have any choice ... The other doctors didn't even listen to me; they refused," Sylla, 22, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, visibly upset, as she sat in a restaurant in the capital, Ouagadougou. Despite the health risks, she has been self-medicating ever since using the same prescription, a practice that trans rights advocates say is widespread among transgender people in…

Dec

14

2021

By The African Mirror

Senegalese lawmakers draft tougher laws against LGBT

LGBT+

A group of Senegalese lawmakers has drafted a law that would tighten already repressive laws against same-sex relations, lengthening potential jail terms for those convicted of LGBT+ activities, one of the legislators has said. Gay sex is already punishable by up to five years in prison in Senegal, where arrests and prosecutions have risen sharply, according to a 2020 global review by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA). Lawmaker Alioune Souare said he had helped draft an update to the anti-LGBT+ legislation. "We hope to present the proposal to the parliament before the end of the…

Dec

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Chile same-sex marriage vote celebrated as historic

LGBT+

ANASTASIA MOLONEY LESBIAN and gay couples celebrated in Chile after winning a decades-long fight for the right to wed, joining more than 20 other nations that have legalized same-sex marriage. "I feel so happy. I feel proud. Finally our country, Chile, recognizes the dignity of our family," said Claudia Aravena, a 42-year-old teacher from the Chilean capital of Santiago. She spoke to the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Tuesday after Chile's Congress passed a law to legalize same-sex marriage, a milestone for the conservative South American nation. The government said the "historic" vote set Chile on a path towards greater equality,…

Nov

29

2021

By The African Mirror

Botswana appeals court upholds ruling that decriminalised gay sex

LGBT+

BOTSWANA’S Court of Appeal on Monday upheld a 2019 ruling that decriminalised gay sex, effectively striking off two sections of the penal code that had outlawed homosexuality. Before the 2019 High Court ruling, which was praised by international organisations and activists, engaging in gay sex in Botswana was punishable by up to seven years in prison. The state had argued on appeal that the penal code outlawed gay sex and there was no evidence that people's attitude towards homosexuality had changed. Reading the unanimous decision by five judges, Court of Appeal Judge President Ian Kirby said the criminalisation of consensual…

Nov

29

2021

By The African Mirror

Escape from Kabul: a gay man dodges death at the hands of the Taliban

LGBT+

HUGO GREENHALGH THE Taliban seized power in Afghanistan more than 100 days ago, following the fall of the capital Kabul on August 15. The militant Islamist group have promised a softer brand of rule than the radical form of sharia law they enforced from 1996 until 2001 when they were ousted by U.S.-led forces. But concern is growing for LGBT+ Afghans, some of whom are on the run fearing death. Even before the Taliban takeover, LGBT+ people said it was too dangerous to live openly in Afghanistan. But under the Taliban's extreme interpretation of Islam, LGBT+ Afghans say they could be…

Nov

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Hamilton plans to wear Progress Pride helmet in Saudi Arabia

LGBT+

ALAN BALDWIN Seven-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has said he will wear his rainbow-coloured Progress Pride helmet at next month's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as well as in Qatar this weekend to draw attention to LGBTQ+ intolerance. The sport's most successful driver explained his stance after taking pole position for Mercedes in Doha on Saturday. Saudi Arabia and then Abu Dhabi are the final two races of the season. "I will be using the same helmet through probably the last two races after this, or at least next week also," the title contender told reporters. "On the back it says 'We Stand…

Nov

19

2021

By The African Mirror

ANALYSIS-IOC’s new transgender and intersex guidelines divide sport

LGBTQIA+, LGBT+

SYDNEY BAUER and RACHEL SAVAGE THE International Olympic Committee's move to drop its advice on testosterone levels for transgender athletes in the absence of scientific consensus leaves sports bodies facing tough decisions on who can compete, some experts have warned. The IOC this week reversed its 2015 guidance that transgender women should be allowed to compete in women's sport provided their testosterone levels are below a certain limit for at least 12 months before their first competition. It said there was "no definitive answer" on whether testosterone conferred a competitive advantage for trans and some intersex women and that its impact on…

Nov

19

2021

By The African Mirror

Ugandan trans campaigner wants her community recognised in next census

LGBT+

ELIAS BIRYABAREMA CLEOPATRA Kambugu is a molecular biologist, the star of a Netflix documentary and a prominent social campaigner in Uganda. She was also assigned male at birth and became one of the first of a small number of Ugandans to have her gender identity officially changed. Now, she wants Uganda to widen the options at its next census in 2023 to include the transgender community. "We don't count transgender people on any document ... gender is either male or female," said 35-year-old Kambugu, her short floral dress swishing above black boots. "You are an afterthought ... erased. So can…

Nov

12

2021

By The African Mirror

Ghana parliament begins public hearings on anti-LGBT+ law

LGBT+

Ghana's parliament on Thursday will hold its first public hearing on a new law that would make it illegal to be gay or to advocate for gay rights, its press office said. The so-called family values bill is currently before the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, which said it had received more than 150 memoranda from individuals, groups and faith-based organizations on the bill. The committee is expected to hear 10 petitions each week in a series of public sessions before the bill is put to a vote, deputy majority leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin said. Gay sex is already…

Nov

05

2021

By The African Mirror

LGBT migrants in South Africa: religion can be a blessing, and a curse

LGBT+

MORAL panics over sexual and gender rights are often shaped by religious beliefs. In many countries, political, cultural and faith leaders use religious rhetoric to justify exclusionary practices and constrict the space available to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists. JOHN MARNELL, Doctoral Researcher at the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS), University of the Witwatersrand The politicisation of religion in Africa is now well documented. It is a strategy used to maintain the idea that heterosexuality is the only natural and normal expression of human desire. What is less often spoken about is the positive role that…