Uganda arrted 16 LGBTQ activists. Here’s where else gay rights are a battleground the world. - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• LGBTQ ACTIVISTS UGANDA ' SHOCK' OVER ANTI-GAY LEGISLATN, FEARG MASS ARRTS
• MEET THE LGBT ACTIVISTS FIGHTG UGANDA'S ANTI-GAY LAW
• UGANDA ANTI-HOMOSEXUALY BILL: LIFE PRISON FOR SAYG YOU'RE GAY
• UGANDA'S LGBTQ MUNY IS ' SHOCK' OVER NEW MEASURE, GAY ACTIVIST SAYS
• UGANDA ARRTS 16 LGBT ACTIVISTS ON SPICN OF GAY SEX
• UGANDAN LGBTQ ACTIVIST RALLI SUPPORT FOR PATRTS AFTER ANTI-GAY BILL
• UGANDA ARRTED 16 LGBTQ ACTIVISTS. HERE’S WHERE ELSE GAY RIGHTS ARE A BATTLEGROUND THE WORLD.
• GAY ACTIVIST SAYS UGANDA LGBTQ MUNY ' SHOCK' AT NEW LAW

LGBTQ ACTIVISTS UGANDA ' SHOCK' OVER ANTI-GAY LEGISLATN, FEARG MASS ARRTS

KAMPALA, April 13 (Rters) - (This April 13 story has been rrected to remove reference to crimalisg intifyg as LGBTQ, a provisn dropped the draft stage, paragraph 3)When Frank Mugisha me out two s ago, beg gay Uganda uld be lonely and unfortable, but was rarely a matter of life and then, as Mugisha has emerged as the untry's most proment LGBTQ rights activist, the perils have multiplied. Policians and relig anisatns have fanned anti-gay sentiment and lobbied for harsh laws, culmatg parliament's passage last month of one of the strictt piec of anti-LGBTQ legislatn anywhere the world. "If I was seven, ne, twelve, fourteen, I don't thk I would tell anyone I am gay right now, " he yet, Mugisha says he will not give an ch the face of the new bill, which is awag Print Yoweri Meveni's bill passed wh near unanimo support parliament.

If Meveni signs - as he is wily expected to - Mugisha's work uld land him jail unr a provisn that punish the "promotn" of homosexualy wh up to 20 years Mugisha said he feels an obligatn to fight back on behalf of LGBTQ Ugandans, many of whom have left the untry or fled their hom for safe ho sce the bill was passed. "I gus I am gog to be trouble a lot bee I am not gog to stop, " Mugisha bill also impos the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated homosexualy, which clus havg gay sex while OUT[1/5]Ugandan LGBTQ activist Frank Mugisha pos for a photograph after a Rters terview Makdye, suburb, of Kampala, Uganda March 30, 2023.

MEET THE LGBT ACTIVISTS FIGHTG UGANDA'S ANTI-GAY LAW

REUTERS/Abubaker LubowaA practisg Catholic typilly seen a blue su and whe shirt, Mugisha had what he lls a normal childhood, gog to school and playg soccer his Kampala realised he was gay as early as the age of seven but did not start to e out until he was 14. Mugisha said he enuntered no overt hostily om iends about his sexualy, although some kept their distance for fear they would be spected of beg gay 2007, Mugisha took over learship of Sexual Mori Uganda (SMUG), an advocy group he had earlier joed as an the followg years, he saw a harng of anti-LGBTQ views, which he attribut to mpaigng by ultra-nservative Christian groups, some om the Uned Stat.

WorldMembers of Uganda's LGBTQ muny are shock and fear beg arrted after parliament passed a new law that mak a crime to intify as gay, and impos tough sentenc that clu the ath penalty certa s, an activist said on Wednday. Ll for Ugandan ernment to rensirUgandan Member of Parliament John Mira drsed an anti-LGBTQ gown gtur as he leav the chambers durg the bate of the Anti-Homosexualy bill, which impos tough new penalti for same-sex relatns durg a stg at the Parliament buildgs Kampala, Uganda, on Tuday. (Abubaker Lubowa/Rters)Members of Uganda's LGBTQ muny are shock and fear beg arrted after parliament passed a new law that mak a crime to intify as gay, and impos tough sentenc that clu the ath penalty certa s, an activist said on "Anti-Homosexualy Bill, 2023" was passed wh a near-unanimo majory by lawmakers the east Ain untry where anti-LGBTQ sentiment ns Mugisha, one of a few Ugandans who live openly as gay, told Rters he was sred the law will trigger "mass arrts of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer (LGBTQ) persons and mob vlence toward LGBTQ muni.

UGANDA ANTI-HOMOSEXUALY BILL: LIFE PRISON FOR SAYG YOU'RE GAY

A Ugandan transgenr woman who was recently attacked and currently beg sheltered watch a TV screen showg the live broadst of the ssn om the Parliament for the anti-gay bill, at a lol chary supportg the LGBTQ Communy near Kampala on Tuday. (Stuart Tibawwa/AFP via Getty Imag)Law nmned ternatnallySame-sex relatns were already illegal Uganda, but supporters of the new law say is need to punish a broar array of LGBTQ activi, which they say threaten tradnal valu the nservative and relig East Ain clus steep sentenc that clu ath for "aggravated homosexualy" and life prison for same-sex relatns. Aggravated homosexualy appli to same-sex activi wh people unr the age of 18 or when the perpetrator is HIV posive, among other tegori, acrdg to the pass bill crimalizg people for intifyg as LGBTQAS IT HAPPENSUgandan activist vows to keep speakg out spe new law that bans intifyg as LGBTQU.

The legislatn passed by the Ugandan Parliament yterday, known as the Anti-Homosexualy Act, is appallg and abhorrent – no one, nowhere, should have to live fear bee of who they are or whom they love. "The law vlat fundamental nstutnal rights like privacy and ee speech, so purely based on the law, I thk will be a strong se, " said lawyer Adrian | LGBTQ activist Uganda endur threats:Day 69:14Ugandan LGBTQ activist says threats and vlence won't stop the fight for civil rightsUgandan LGBT activist Pepe Julian Onziema helped shut down a 2014 law that lled for the ath penalty for homosexual acts.

UGANDA'S LGBTQ MUNY IS ' SHOCK' OVER NEW MEASURE, GAY ACTIVIST SAYS

"There weren't any queer reprentatns around me growg up, and ma me feel alone; I was nvced I was gog to hell when I nnected my feelgs to the anti-homosexual teachgs the Bible, " Kiki says.

Uganda is a untry loted East Ai, and the muny has been h wh humane anti-LGBTQ+ laws – members of the LGBTQ +muny who are nvicted of “aggravated homosexualy” are subjected to the ath penalty. The 28 year-old is the founr of KAKYOPROJECT, a safe space for queer the anti-gay laws were put place, Kakyo grew up as a cur and open-md thker immersg herself arts and crafts, which fueled her sire for a project like KAKYOPROJECT. When Frank Mugisha me out two s ago, beg gay Uganda uld be lonely and unfortable, but was rarely a matter of life and then, as Mugisha has emerged as the untry’s most proment LGBTQ rights activist, the perils have multiplied.

“If I was 7, 9, 12, 14, I don’t thk I would tell anyone I am gay right now, ” he yet, Mugisha says he will not give an ch the face of the new bill, which is awag Print Yoweri Meveni’s bill passed wh near unanimo support parliament.

UGANDA ARRTS 16 LGBT ACTIVISTS ON SPICN OF GAY SEX

If Meveni signs — as he is wily expected to — Mugisha’s work uld land him jail unr a provisn that punish the “promotn” of homosexualy wh up to 20 years Mugisha said he feels an obligatn to fight back on behalf of LGBTQ Ugandans, many of whom have left the untry or fled their hom for safe ho sce the bill was passed. “I gus I am gog to be trouble a lot, bee I am not gog to stop, ” Mugisha bill also impos the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated homosexualy, which clus havg gay sex while outA practicg Catholic typilly seen a blue su and whe shirt, Mugisha had what he lls a normal childhood, gog to school and playg soccer his Kampala realized he was gay as early as the age of seven but did not start to e out until he was 14. ”Mugisha is one of the activists who, together wh ne other petners, is seekg to overturn a tough anti-gay law that was signed by Uganda’s Print Yoweri Meveni Febary, threateng anyone nvicted of homosexualy wh a life sentence, and banng the promotn of gay mpaigners are argug that the law, which they scribe as dranian, is valid bee was passed parliament whout the necsary quom of lawmakers.

Photograph: Lda Nyld Photograph: Lda NyldIn recent years, legislative homophobia has been sweepg slowly across Ai wh Nigeria passg new anti-homosexual legislatn this January and the lik of Ethpia and the Democratic Republic of Congo threateng to follow s footsteps. Sce at least 2009, when MP David Bahati first tabled the anti-homosexualy bill, Uganda has very much been at the vanguard of this spread of homophobiaSpurred on by radil US evangelils such as Stt Lively, Ugandan MPs and relig lears have long been fomentg homophobia. They have acced homosexuals of beg a risk to children and of tryg to “rec” others to their e, and have nsistently lled on ernment to take more heavy-hand actn agast what they see as “immoral” and “un-Ain” tabloids have also got volved, most famoly October 2010 when Uganda’s Rollg Stone published the photos of 100 alleged homosexuals unr the headle “Hang Them!

Many onlookers rema the opposg si, LGBTI groups, human rights anisatns and some Wtern ernments have fought agast the homophobic trends, and was perhaps thanks to their prsure that a vote on Bahati’s bill end up beg postponed for so long.

UGANDAN LGBTQ ACTIVIST RALLI SUPPORT FOR PATRTS AFTER ANTI-GAY BILL

In Febary, however, after half a of to-g and o-g, the ferrals fally me to an end and, the face of overwhelmg domtic support for the anti-gay bill, Meveni signed to this rnatn of the act, the ath penalty proposed the origal draft had been removed, but life sentenc were troduced for so-lled “aggravated homosexualy” and, what’s more, the “promotn of homosexualy” was outlawed for the first might have been expected, however, the specific legal ntent of the act was not as important as the basic msage sent out to society, and after the bill’s signg, homophobic cints skyrocketed by somewhere between 750% and 1, 900% acrdg to statistics gathered by SMUG. Ined, is partly thanks to the systems that many groups have been able to ntue providg support for those need, while activists are, now as ever, still llg upon fellow human rights anisatns for assistance, meetg wh policians the hope of fdg alli, and fightg hard the urts to challenge the nstutnaly of the anti-homosexualy act.

It has also been about advotg for change, anisg gay pri march to give the LGBTI muny a sense of digny and uny, and tryg to change the mdset of Ugandan LGBTI muny wants to be unrstood, accepted and loved, not jt to survive. Homosexual acts are already illegal Uganda but this bill troduc many new crimal well as makg merely intifyg as gay illegal for the first time, iends, fay and members of the muny would have a duty to report dividuals same-sex relatnships to the was passed wh wispread support Uganda's parliament on Tuday eveng.

The bill's backers say they are tryg to protect children but Ms Byagaba said: "Whether you're heterosexual or homosexual, the ernment and parliament should troduce laws, or at least implement existg laws that protect all children - boys, girls om filement. The fal versn has yet to be officially published but elements discsed parliament clu: A person who is nvicted of groomg or traffickg children for purpos of engagg them homosexual activi fac life prisonIndividuals or stutns which support or fund LGBT rights' activi or anisatns, or publish, broadst and distribute pro-gay media material and lerature, also face prosecutn and imprisonmentMedia groups, journalists and publishers face prosecutn and imprisonment for publishg, broadstg, distributn of any ntent that advot for gay rights or "promot homosexualy"Death penalty for what is scribed as "aggravated homosexualy", that is sexual abe of a child, a person wh disabily or vulnerable people, or s where a victim of homosexual asslt is fected wh a life-long illnsProperty owners also face risk of beg jailed if their premis are ed as a "brothel" for homosexual acts or any other sexual mori rights' activiA small group of Ugandan MPs on a mtee sctisg the bill disagreed wh s premise.

UGANDA ARRTED 16 LGBTQ ACTIVISTS. HERE’S WHERE ELSE GAY RIGHTS ARE A BATTLEGROUND THE WORLD.

They argue the offenc seeks to crimalise are already vered the untry's Penal Co 2014, Uganda's nstutnal urt nullified another act which had toughened laws agast the LGBT clud makg illegal to promote and fund LGBT groups and activi, as well as reeratg that homosexual acts should be punished by life imprisonment, and was wily nmned by Wtern urt led that the legislatn be revoked bee had been passed by parliament whout the required quom. KAMPALA, Uganda — Members of Uganda’s LGBTQ muny are shock and fear beg arrted after Parliament passed a measure that would make a crime to intify as gay and impose tough sentenc that clu the ath penalty certa s, an activist said “Anti-Homosexualy Bill, 2023” was passed wh a near-unanimo majory by lawmakers  the east Ain untry, where anti-gay sentiment ns ep. Ronald Kabuubi / APThe legislatn will next be sent to Print Yoweri Meveni, who has repeatedly nounced homosexualy, to be signed to Mugisha, one of a few Ugandans who live openly as gay, told Rters he was sred the measure would trigger “mass arrts of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer persons and mob vlence toward LGBTQ muni.

There’s gog to be a lot of trma and s of mental health that will lead to a lot of suici, ” he relatns were already illegal Uganda, but supporters of the new law say is need to punish a broar array of LGBTQ activi, which they say threaten tradnal valu the nservative and relig East Ain measure clus steep sentenc that clu ath for “aggravated homosexualy” and life prison for same-sex relatns. It first gaed ternatnal notoriety 2009 when David Bahati, a member of the Ugandan parliament whose views were heavily fluenced by Amerin evangelils, troduced the now famo “Kill the Gays” bill. Sylvia Tamale observ, “ is not homosexualy that is un-Ain but the laws that crimalized such relatns…what is alien to the ntent is legalized homophobia, exported to Ai by the imperialists where there had been difference to and even tolerance of same-sex relatns.

On the heels of Wasswa’s murr, the recent threat of retroducg the “Kill the Gays” bill om member of Parliament (MP) Jam Buturo and other MPs, and the arrts of over one hundred spected homosexuals at an LGBTQ iendly bar, tapulted Uganda back to the ternatnal spotlight, signalg an latn of vlence and reprsn toward the Ugandan LGBTQ muny. This is not about the Wt exportg homosexualy to Ai or a “gay agenda”; is stead about right-wg Christian evangelils om the Wt g homophobia as a tool to tablish a foothold the Ain ntent, and lol Ugandan policians and “men of the cloth” profg om this narrative. Uganda has said has arrted 16 LGBT activists on spicn of gay sex, which is punishable wh life imprisonment, what fellow activists lled an latg mpaign agast sexual 16 men, believed to be aged between 22 and 35, were taken to ctody late on Monday at the office of a sexual health chary where they all worked and lived, fellow activists was not clear if the men had been formally charged nor when they might appear urt.

GAY ACTIVIST SAYS UGANDA LGBTQ MUNY ' SHOCK' AT NEW LAW

“Normally we will hear of maybe one arrt of someone om the muny unr the anti-gay laws one month, but is really unual to see 16 people charged like this, ” said Frank Mugisha, the executive director of Sexual Mori Uganda. [1/4]Papa De aka DeLovie Kwagala, a queer Ugandan photographer and LGBTQ rights activist livg South Ai, tak part a monstratn agast the proposed anti-gay law Uganda, Pretoria, South Ai March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Alet PretoriJOHANNESBURG, April 20 (Rters) - DeLovie Kwagala (Papa De), a queer Ugandan photographer and activist, was livg South Ai when the news me that Uganda's parliament had passed one of the world's tought anti-LGBTQ bill, which passed March, impos severe penalti cludg 20 years prison for "promotg" homosexualy and for certa crim that volve gay sex, the ath penalty.

Kwagala said they had experienced a lany of discrimatn Uganda, cludg beg jailed for two days after beg arrted at a gay bar, gettg evicted for livg wh a girliend and beg sexually asslted by burecrats. That’s even after the ernment 2014, rpondg to ternatnal prsure, nullified a bill known Uganda as “Kill the Gays, ” makg homosexualy a pal law Uganda — which bans “rnal terurse agast the orr of nature” — is a holdover om Brish lonial Rsell, the Uganda-based executive director of Health GAP, an anizatn that mpaigns for accs to HIV-meditns, noted that there’s been “important progrs” neighborg untri and other former Brish monwealths repealg siar Brish lonial laws, cg Botswana, Angola, Mozambique and India. “The ncellatn after ath threats prompted a Lebane ftival July to pull an appearance by one of the Middle East’s most popular bands, Mashrou’ Leila, which has a gay ontman, leadg to fears of a crackdown on LGBT+ rights, ” Rters reported at the time.

The Uned Natns and Uned Stat on Wednday add to ternatnal outrage over a hardle bill passed by Ugandan lawmakers that crimaliz simply intifyg as LGBTQ+, prcrib a life sentence for nvicted homosexuals and a ath penalty for “aggravated homosexualy.