Africa has seen so much progress in the realm of LGBTQ rights over the past decade. The death penalty, while still on the book in a few countries, is only ever applied to LGBTQ people in territory controlled by terrorist group al-Shabaab, which is growing weaker by the month. Nations like Angola, Namibia, Gabon, and Botswana have repealed laws that criminalize LGBTQIA+ people, and every mass arrest made in the name of hyperreligious hatred in places like Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania now garners international outrage and global views shift in favor of human rights. When even nations like Morocco and Tunisia want to protect people persecuted for their sexual orientation, we have no reason to give up hope as we fight for change.
Needless to say, more work remains to be done. However, with all the momentum seen in Africa, it is time to expand our efforts to include Asia. As nations like Bhutan, Thailand, and Taiwan make great strides and nations like Vietnam, Malaysia, India, and Nepal serve as battlegrounds for major LGBT court cases and legal processes, nations like Brunei and Indonesia are working to criminalize people who already face social stigma, with Brunei passing a law in 2019 that allowed LGBT people to be stoned to death.
Meanwhile, with the exception of Israel, the situation in the Middle East is the worst in the world. Iran is the only nation in the world known to hand down death sentences to LGBTQ people, and most other countries in the region hand out long prison sentences and/or brutal beatings and lashes. If revolution can take place in the United States and Western Europe, then evolution that has been seen in Africa can certainly capitalize on the baby steps that have been taken.
In 2023, we will update our website to include organizations, petitions, videos, and other actions focused on Asia as well as Africa. The world has come so far, and we need to continue the push for dignity and for justice.
No comments:
Post a Comment