SA CARDINAL & VATICAN BACKTRACK ON PRO-GAY STATEMENT
The Archbishop of Durban is among conservative Catholic leaders who are backing out of a ground-breaking Vatican statement on gays and lesbians. On Monday, the Church’s Synod on the Family released an interim report stating that “homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer the Christian community” and calling for flexibility when dealing with divorce, homosexuality, […]
NIGERIAN ARCHBISHOP BACKTRACKS ON ANTI-GAY LAW
Nigerian Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama has made a remarkable about-turn on his country’s anti-gay law, saying that he does not support jailing gay people. Earlier this year, Kaigama, on behalf of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, congratulated President Goodluck Jonathan for signing the draconian bill into law. The law outlaws any kind of same-sex relationships […]
VICTORY FOR TRANSGENDER HUNGER STRIKER!
The South African transgender woman who embarked on a hunger strike to protest the Department of Home Affairs’ three year delay in correcting her ID has won her battle for equality. On Sunday, Home Affairs confirmed to Nadia Swanepoel, who began her transition four years ago, that her name and gender identity have been changed to female […]
HOME AFFAIRS DRIVES TRANS WOMAN TO HUNGER STRIKE
Alleged incompetence and discrimination by the Department of Home Affairs has pushed a transgender Gauteng woman to the point of being prepared to end her life. Nadia Swanepoel from Florida, who began her transition four years ago, has embarked on a food and liquid hunger strike to protest the department’s alleged continued refusal to change […]
COURT REJECTS FIRED LESBIAN MINISTER’S APPEAL
The Supreme Court of Appeals in Bloemfontein has dismissed an appeal by a fired lesbian Methodist minister and has ruled that courts should not be expected to decide on internal religious matters. Ecclesia De Lange has been fighting for more than four years to have her job reinstated after she was dismissed by the Methodist […]
SOUTH AFRICA VOTES ‘YES’ FOR GLOBAL LGBT EQUALITY
The South African government has stuck to its constitutional commitments and voted in favour of another ground-breaking resolution on sexual orientation and gender identity at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). On Friday afternoon, the country was the only African nation in Geneva to say “yes” to resolution A/HRC/27/L.27/Rev.1, condemning violence and discrimination on the […]
GROUPS SAY SA GOV MUST BACK UN LGBTI RESOLUTION
Human rights groups have written to the South African government insisting that it support a pending resolution on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity at the 27th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. The resolution, sponsored by Chile, Uruguay, Colombia and Brazil, is a follow-up to the landmark 2011 resolution […]
EKURHULENI LESBIAN MURDERED, LEFT BEHIND KILLER’S BED TO ROT
South Africa’s LGBTI community remains under siege. Another lesbian woman has been raped and murdered in an apparent hate crime in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni, outside of Johannesburg. According to activists, the body of Thembelihle ‘Lihle’ Sokhela, believed to be in her late 20s, was found in her alleged killer’s room on Tuesday, two days after she’d […]
IS SOUTH AFRICA PLANNING TO VOTE AGAINST LGBTI RIGHTS AT THE UN?
There are concerns that South Africa will not vote in favour of a new UN resolution against LGBTI discrimination and violence. The country has in the past been accused of inconsistency and of flip-flopping on the issue of international LGBTI equality, especially when it comes to other African countries. After a miserable record in that […]
OUTRAGEOUS! UGANDA WOOS GAY TOURISTS
In an unbelievable move, Uganda’s tourism association is trying to convince America’s gay and lesbian community to holiday and spend its dollars in the country. The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) has revealed that it recently met with staff from Uganda Tourism and tourism businesses from Uganda’s private sector to discuss LGBT tourism […]