LGBTQIA+ - The African Mirror

Dec

12

2020

Bhutan parliament decriminalizes homosexuality, to delight of activists

LGBT+

GOPAL SHARMA A joint sitting of both houses of Bhutan's parliament has approved a bill to legalize gay sex, making the tiny Himalayan kingdom the latest Asian nation to take steps towards easing restrictions on same-sex relationships. Sections 213 and 214 of the penal code had criminalized "unnatural sex", widely interpreted as homosexuality. Lawmaker Ugyen Wangdi, the vice chairperson of a joint panel considering the changes, said 63 of the total 69 members of both houses of parliament had voted in favour of amending the code to scrap the provision. Six members were absent. "Homosexuality will not be considered as…

Dec

11

2020

By The African Mirror

UN rights boss welcomes Biden LGBT+ pledges, hopes for reversal of ‘serious setbacks’ under Trump

LGBT+

STEPHANIE NEBEHAY U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's pledges to halt the separation of migrant families, address "systemic racism" and climate change are promising and could reverse setbacks during the Trump administration, the U.N. human rights chief said on Wednesday. Michelle Bachelet said that U.S. President Donald Trump had rolled back the rights of women, LGBT persons and migrants, as well as stepped back from multilateralism. The former president of Chile said that she knew Biden well as he had been given responsibility for Latin America while serving as vice president to President Barack Obama. "President-elect Biden has made a series of…

Dec

08

2020

By The African Mirror

Nasdaq proposes board diversity requirement for listed companies

LGBT+

NASDAQ Inc filed a proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that, if approved, will require all Nasdaq-listed companies to adopt new rules related to board diversity and disclosure or potentially face delisting. The new rules will require most Nasdaq-listed companies to have, or publicly explain why they do not have, at least two diverse directors, including one who self-identifies as female and one who self-identifies as either an underrepresented minority or LGBTQ+. All companies will be expected to have one diverse director within two years of the SEC’s approval of the new rule. “Our goal with this proposal…

Dec

02

2020

By The African Mirror

Football in hijab: Thai Muslim lesbians tackle stereotypes

LGBT+

RINA CHANDRAN ANTICHA Sangchai did not come out to her family until she was 30 and married with a child. It was her own struggle confronting the conservative community in southern Thailand that led her to create a place where women like her might feel more at home. In the bookshop she set up in Pattani city, discussions on gender and sexuality led to the birth of Buku Football Club for lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) girls and women four years ago. Buku means book in Malay - and the club is now thriving. Last month, Buku FC hosted its…

Dec

02

2020

By The African Mirror

Pakistan’s first transgender lawyer goes from begging to fighting in court

LGBT+

SYED RAZA HASSAN LAWYER Nisha Rao maneuvers among the throng of black-coated attorneys clustered near Karachi's city courts searching for her client. But Rao, 28, is not just another lawyer running for a meeting. As Pakistan's first transgender lawyer, she has carved a path from the streets to the courtroom and her example is inspiring other transgender people in the conservative Islamic Republic. "I am proud to have become Pakistan first transgender lawyer", Rao told Reuters. Life is hard for transgender persons in Pakistan, where the Supreme Court only allowed them to claim a third gender on their national identity…

Dec

02

2020

By The African Mirror

UK court rules against trans clinic over treatment for children

LGBT+

RACHEL SAVAGE and HUGO GREENHALGH A British court ruled on Tuesday that under-16s are unlikely to be able to give informed consent to take puberty-blocking drugs in a landmark trial that has fueled global debate about the age at which a child can choose to transition gender. The London-based NHS trust which runs England's only youth gender identity clinic halted new patient referrals for the drugs after the High Court judgment and vowed to appeal - setting the stage for a Supreme Court showdown. Presiding judge Dame Victoria Sharp said it was "highly unlikely" that a child of 13 or…

Dec

02

2020

By The African Mirror

‘Juno’ actor Page comes out as transgender, changes name to Elliot

LGBT+

THE Oscar-nominated star of "Juno" and "The Umbrella Academy," formerly known as Ellen Page, has revealed that he was a transgender person and had changed his first name to Elliot. "I can't begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self," Page wrote on Instagram. "I love that I am trans. And I love that I am queer." Page, 33, was nominated for an Academy Award for playing a pregnant teenager in 2007 film "Juno" and starred in other movies including 2010 sci-fi thriller "Inception." The actor currently appears in…

Nov

27

2020

By The African Mirror

‘Happiest Season’ spotlights LGBT love in Christmas rom-com

LGBT+

ROLLO ROSS "Happiest Season," starring Kristen Stewart, breaks the mold as a romantic comedy about a lesbian couple set around the holidays. Stewart, who is bisexual, says she's astounded it's taken this long for a major studio to get behind such a film. "I would have loved to have grown up with a movie like this. But the fact that I'm 30 years old and I'm in it - I feel really lucky to be in the first film, but I'm also baffled that it is," Stewart said. Stewart plays Abby, who's been in a relationship with Harper (Mackenzie Davis)…

Nov

27

2020

By The African Mirror

First LGBT+ digital banking platform launches in United States

LGBT+

MATTHEW LAVIETES THE first LGBT+-owned and targeted digital banking platform launched in the United States this week, part of a growing effort to meet the needs of gay and transgender customers. Daylight, the new platform, said it has developed tools and content to help LGBT+ Americans reach specific financial goals such as saving money for surrogacy or gender transition surgery and to make banking more inclusive. The nation's LGBT+ population wields some $1 trillion in collective spending power but are mostly underserved by banks that fail to tap into their assets or address their interests, Daylight Chief Executive Rob Curtis…

Nov

17

2020

By The African Mirror

First openly gay Afro-Latino U.S. congressman: ‘Never in my wildest dreams’

LGBT+

ANGELA MOORE GROWING up in the Bronx poor, Afro-Latino and gay, Ritchie Torres said he never imagined that he would one day be elected to the United States House of Representatives. But in a few weeks, Torres, 32, a Democrat from New York, will become the first Afro-Latino openly-gay congressman. "I never thought in my wildest dreams that as a poor kid from the Bronx, I would become a United States congressman," Torres told Reuters the day before heading to the nation's capital for Congress's new member orientation. Torres makes history along with fellow Democrat and New Yorker Mondaire Jones,…