Fear and Loathing

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The Closeted Continent

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38 out of 55 African nations have laws punishing sodomy. And things may get worse before they get better.

The progress for LGBT equality has been powered by an increasingly potent global gay rights movement driven by major international organizations like Human Rights Campaign and the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, as well as smaller grassroots gay groups that have sprouted up (or, in some cases, chosen to work underground for fear of activists' safety) in many dozens of countries worldwide.

Elsewhere in the world, though, signs of momentum in the global gay rights struggle are fueling a determined effort to slam the closet door though legal measures, harassment, and violence. Read More 

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Solidarity with Egypt LGBT Protests Initiative

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We invite you to participate in the demonstration that will take place on 18 October 2014 in front of every Egyptian embassy around the world (If accessible) to protest against human rights violations committed by the Egyptian government, relying on unlawful and unethical media tools, towards those of differing sexual orientations and gender identities. Read more

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Egypt Begins Surveillance Of Facebook, Twitter, And Skype On Unprecedented Scale

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Egyptians’ online communications are now being monitored by the sister company of an American cybersecurity firm, giving the Egyptian government an unprecedented ability to comb through data from Skype, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, among others.


See Egypt, the sister company of the U.S.-based Blue Coat, won the contract over the summer, beating out the British Gamma System, and the Israeli-founded Narus System. See Egypt has begun monitoring Egyptians’ online communications, according to several Egyptian government officials who spoke to BuzzFeed News.


“See Egypt has already worked with the government and has strong ties to the State Security Services,” said one official. He asked to remain anonymous, to protect his position within the government. “They were a natural choice and their system is already winning praise.” Read More

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Grindr urges LGBT community to hide their identities as Egypt persecutes nation's gay community

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Grindr has warned users to hide their identities on social media following the arrests of scores of gay men and fears Egyptian police are using the social network to seek out members of the country’s LGBT community.

“Egypt is arresting LGBT people and police may be posing as LGBT on social media to entrap you,” Grindr warned users in an on screen message. Read more

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Pro-gay ‘open mosque’ burnt by arsonists

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A Cape Town mosque which preached acceptance of gay people has been damaged in an arson attack. The controversial Open Mosque opened its doors last month, causing outrage among hard-line Islamists, as it allows women to lead prayers, does not segregate based on gender, and accepts gay people.


However, the mosque, whose founder Taj Hargey said he hoped to counter radicalism by being more inclusive, was damaged in an arson attack last night. Dr Hargey told AFP that the attack – which caused substantial damage to the building – was caught on CCTV on the eve of the Muslim holy festival of Eid. Read More

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Bestselling author calls India's colonial anti-gay law ‘our collective sin’

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Author Chetan Bhagat has spoken about India’s anti-gay law to say that it contradicts the country’s culture:

"Section 377 is not an Indian law but an inheritance of British law. The same law existed in over 40 colonies of the British empire. Most have junked or modified it to decriminalise homosexuality.

We have held on to it as if it is part of India’s cultural heritage, whereas it is nothing but a relic of an unscientific, Victorian past. Of course, the final question is this: Why should the selfish, non-homosexual, growth-seeking Indian care? Well, we should." Read More 

Egypt orders the arrest of nine men over gay wedding video

Egyptian prosecutor general ordered the arrest of 9 men, after a YouTube video depicting a gay marriage surfaced. The video, filmed in April but has only gone viral recently, entitled ‘Egypt’s First Gay Marriage’ shows two men appearing to have a ceremony on a Nile boat.

The two men hug and exchange rings, surrounded by male guests. Several charges have been levelled against the men including ‘inciting debauchery and violating public decency’. Read More

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Kazakhstan: Media are ‘brainwashing’ children with gay ‘propaganda’

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Mayor Akim Tasmagambetov of Kazakhstan's capital city has accused the international media of “promoting” homosexuality, and “brainwashing” children. “It has not just become a political norm in a range of developed countries, but the perception of the society has been distorted to such an extent that the US state of California approved a compulsory course on historical accomplishments of representatives of sexual minorities. I think you see for yourself how the topic is promoted in the international media.” Read More

Russia LGBT Activists Worried After Crimea Leader Lashes Out

Head of the Republic of Crimea, Sergey Aksenov, announced that LGBT people will not be allowed to hold public events and may be deported. Gay Forum Ukraine estimates there are about 10,000 gays and other sexual minorities living in Crimea. Russian activist Kochetkov says they have been caught up in the “general deterioration of human rights” in the region since it was annexed by Moscow where the anti-gay propaganda law has led to increased rights violations and violence since the new law was passed last year. Read More

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Cameroon AIDS support groups evicted for supporting LGBTs

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Two AIDS support groups, Colibri and Humanity First Cameroon, have been evicted from their respective headquarters due to homophobia, according to the organizations' leaders. Both centers provided human rights advocacy, health counseling, STI treatment, and HIV/AIDS prevention programs. Read More