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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

South Africa’s First Gay-Friendly Mosque To Be Closed

South Africa’s first gay-friendly mosque could be shut down barely a week after it opened its doors to the public, a Cape Town local official has announced, saying that the Open Mosque had violated municipal by-laws by not having any parking spaces.


The mosque has come under heavy criticism from other Muslim believers who feel allowing gays into a place of worship was not ‘pure’. The mosque, which officially opened its doors last Friday, also allows women to lead prayers something that is uncommon in mosques across Africa.
“We have freedom of religion and expression in this country. No-one has the right to tell anyone what to believe in. This is a gender equal mosque, autonomous and independent and will remain so,” Open Mosque Founder Taj Hargey told BBC. Read More

 

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Brazil schoolboys wear skirts to support trans classmate

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A group of boys at São Cristóvão do Colégio Pedro II high school in Rio de Janeiro wore skirts to class after a transgender student was fined for breaking the school's dress code. Seventeen-year-old Maria Munez, born Mario Munez, recently came out as transgender by wearing a skirt to school but was fined for not wearing trousers. Read More

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Nearly 300 Latin American, Caribbean LGBT advocates attend Peru meeting

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The Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute co-organized what it described as the “first-ever gathering of LGBT political leaders” from the region alongside Promsex and Caribe Afirmativo, LGBT advocacy groups from Peru and Colombia respectively. Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute President Chuck Wolfe said:

“The LGBT community is global, and there is a growing need for out people around the world to become engaged as public leaders in their own communities.” Read More 

High Commissioner al Hussein delivers his inaugural address to the UN Human Rights Council.

He prefaced his written remarks with statement, during which he said: "There is no justification ever, for the degrading, the debasing, or the exploitation of other human beings – on whatever basis: nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age or caste."

After the High Commissioner's remarks, Allied Rainbow Communities International delivered their first UN statement since achieving ECOSOC accreditation, and highlighted the importance of addressing sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and intersex issues.  Read the pdf statement here. 

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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 

Gambia Lawmakers Pass Bill to Jail Gays for Life

Gambia's National Assembly has passed a bill imposing life imprisonment for some homosexual acts, potentially worsening the climate for sexual minorities in a country with one of Africa's most vocal anti-gay leaders. The charge of "aggravated homosexuality" could be leveled at repeat offenders and people living with HIV/AIDS.

Homosexual acts were already punishable by up to 14 years in prison under a law amended in 2005 to apply to women in addition to men. The bill awaits approval by President Yahya Jammeh, who in 2008 instructed gays and lesbians to leave the country or risk having their heads cut off. In February, Jammeh said, "We will fight these vermins called homosexuals or gays the same way we are fighting malaria-causing mosquitoes, if not more aggressively." Read More