From Human Rights Watch
For Immediate Release
Egypt: Court Upholds HIV Sentences, Reinforces Intolerance
Five Convictions in Fear-Driven Crackdown a Blow to Health and Justice
(Cairo, May 29, 2008) – A Cairo appeals court's decision to uphold the sentences imposed on five men jailed in a crackdown on people living with HIV/AIDS underscores the Egyptian government's dangerous indifference to public health and justice, Human Rights Watch said today. The May 28 ruling upheld the maximum three-year prison terms for each of the five, following a months-long campaign targeting men with HIV/AIDS. A total of nine men have been sentenced to prison so far.
"To send these men to prison because of their HIV status is inhuman and unjust," said Joe Amon, director of the HIV/AIDS program at Human Rights Watch. "Police, prosecutors, and doctors have already abused them and violated their most basic rights, and now fear has trumped justice in a court of law."
On May 7, a court of first instance in Cairo had convicted the five men on charges of "habitual practice of debauchery," a phrase that in Egyptian law encompasses consensual sexual acts between men.
Before their first trial, a prosecutor told the men's lawyer that they should not be allowed to "roam the streets freely" because the government considered them "a danger to public health."
Since October 2007, Cairo police have arrested a dozen men on suspicion of being HIV-positive. The crackdown began when one man, stopped on the street during an altercation, told officers he was HIV-positive. Police arrested him and the man with him, beat and abused them, and interrogated them to name sexual contacts. Police then began picking up others based on information from those interrogations.
On January 14, 2008, a Cairo court sentenced four of those men to one-year prison terms on "debauchery" charges. An appeals court upheld those sentences on February 2. The present five defendants were referred for trial separately in March. Authorities released three other men, who tested negative for HIV, without charge, after months in detention.
While the 12 were in detention, doctors from the Ministry of Health forcibly subjected all of them to HIV tests without their consent. Doctors from Egypt's Forensic Medical Authority performed abusive anal examinations on the men to "prove" they had had sex with other men. Human Rights Watch has documented that such examinations conducted in detention constitute torture (http://hrw.org/reports/2004/egypt0304/). Police and guards beat several of the men in detention. A prosecutor told one of the men that he had tested positive for HIV by saying, "People like you should be burnt alive. You do not deserve to live."
The prisoners who tested HIV-positive were chained to their beds in hospitals for months. After a local and international outcry, the Ministry of Health ordered the men unchained on February 25.
"Putting these men in prison serves neither justice nor public health," Amon said. "The Egyptian government and the country's medical profession must act to end this campaign of intolerance."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more of Human Rights Watch's work on Egypt, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/doc?t=mideast&c=egypt
For more of Human Rights Watch's work on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/doc/?t=lgbt
For more of Human Rights Watch's work on HIV/AIDS and human rights, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/doc/?t=hivaids&document_limit=0,5
For more information, please contact:
In Berlin, Scott Long (English): +1-646-641-5655 (mobile)
In New York, Joe Amon (English): +1-212-216-1286; or +1-609-475-2365 (mobile)
In Washington, DC, Joe Stork (English): +1-202-612-4327; or +1-202-299-4925 (mobile)
In Washington, DC, Abderrahim Sabir (Arabic, French, English): +1-202-612-4342; or +1-202-701-7654 (mobile)
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Egypt: New Indictments in HIV Crackdown; Persecuting People Living with HIV/AIDS Feeds the Epidemic
From March 10, 2008
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Egypt: New Indictments in HIV Crackdown
Persecuting People Living With HIV/AIDS Feeds the Epidemic
(New York, March 11, 2008) – The Egyptian government's new indictments against several men arrested apparently on suspicion of having HIV violate their basic rights and deeply undermine Egypt's fight against HIV/AIDS, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International called on Egyptian officials to quash the indictments and overturn the convictions of four others who were sentenced in February 2008 to one-year prison terms.
On March 4, 2008, Cairo prosecutors handed down indictments against five men on charges of "habitual practice of debauchery," a term used under Egyptian law to prosecute consensual sexual acts between men. One of them faces an additional charge of facilitating the practice of debauchery for the other men. The trial date is set for March 12. The charges were dropped for three other men.
Before issuing the indictment, the lead prosecutor told a lawyer for the defendants that the men should not be allowed to "roam the streets freely" because the government considered them "a danger to public health."
"These misguided prosecutions reveal official ignorance and prejudice about HIV," said Joseph Amon, director of the HIV/AIDS Program at Human Rights Watch. "Prosecuting people for their HIV serostatus will frighten Egyptians from seeking treatment for HIV/AIDS, or information about prevention."
The five indicted men are among 12 men detained on grounds of HIV since October 2007, in what appears to be a widening police crackdown. According to human rights activists in Cairo, police arrested the first two men after stopping them during an altercation in the street, when one told police officers that he was HIV-positive. The defendants' lawyers told Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International that officers detained both men, beat them and subjected them to abusive and intrusive physical examinations, trying to prove they had engaged in homosexual conduct. They then arrested other men whose names or personal information were found in the two men's possession.
According to the Cairo-based Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), doctors from Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population subjected all 12 detainees to HIV tests without their consent. Authorities kept those who tested HIV-positive confined in hospitals for weeks. They were chained to their beds until February 25, when the ministry ordered them unchained after domestic and international outcry.
The case files of the five indicted men included the results of forced anal examinations, which are not only medically spurious but constitute torture. The results indicate that they were inconclusive, not revealing any sexual activity, but contained a standard caveat that it is possible to engage in anal sex without leaving any traces. The case files also contained the results of the compulsory HIV tests. Four of the five men tested HIV-positive. The three men whose charges were dropped tested HIV-negative.
The prosecutor's office detained two of the five men beyond the 90-day limit in Egyptian law.
"These men have been treated as if they are a national threat simply because four of them were found to be HIV-positive," said Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. "The authorities should not be prosecuting them, but rather investigating the abuse and ill-treatment meted out against them and taking steps to ensure that such abuse does not happen again."
Four of the 12 men known to have been arrested in the HIV crackdown since October 2007 have already been sentenced to prison terms. On January 13, 2008, a Cairo court convicted them of the "habitual practice of debauchery," imprisoning all four for one year. An appeals court confirmed their sentences on February 2.
The imprisonment of individuals for actual or alleged consensual same-sex relations between adults is a serious violation of human rights. The Egyptian law used to prosecute adult consensual same-sex sexual conduct violates protections for privacy and against discrimination in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The UN Human Rights Committee holds that both sexual orientation and HIV serostatus are grounds protected against discrimination under the ICCPR's provisions. Individuals held solely on the basis of alleged consensual same-sex relations between adults in private are victims of arbitrary detention who should be released immediately and unconditionally.
The use of the Egyptian law on "debauchery," both to detain people on the basis of their declared or suspected HIV status and to subject them to HIV tests without their consent, also violates those international protections and the prohibition of arbitrary detention.
________________________________
Related Material
More of Human Rights Watch's work on Egypt
Country Page
More of Human Rights Watch's work on LGBT Rights
Thematic Page
Egypt: Spreading Crackdown on HIV Endangers Public Health
Press Release, February 15, 2008
In a Time of Torture: The Assault on Justice In Egypt's Crackdown on Homosexual Conduct
Report, March 1, 2004
From: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/03/11/egypt18257.htm
© Copyright 2003, Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Egypt: New Indictments in HIV Crackdown
Persecuting People Living With HIV/AIDS Feeds the Epidemic
(New York, March 11, 2008) – The Egyptian government's new indictments against several men arrested apparently on suspicion of having HIV violate their basic rights and deeply undermine Egypt's fight against HIV/AIDS, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International called on Egyptian officials to quash the indictments and overturn the convictions of four others who were sentenced in February 2008 to one-year prison terms.
On March 4, 2008, Cairo prosecutors handed down indictments against five men on charges of "habitual practice of debauchery," a term used under Egyptian law to prosecute consensual sexual acts between men. One of them faces an additional charge of facilitating the practice of debauchery for the other men. The trial date is set for March 12. The charges were dropped for three other men.
Before issuing the indictment, the lead prosecutor told a lawyer for the defendants that the men should not be allowed to "roam the streets freely" because the government considered them "a danger to public health."
"These misguided prosecutions reveal official ignorance and prejudice about HIV," said Joseph Amon, director of the HIV/AIDS Program at Human Rights Watch. "Prosecuting people for their HIV serostatus will frighten Egyptians from seeking treatment for HIV/AIDS, or information about prevention."
The five indicted men are among 12 men detained on grounds of HIV since October 2007, in what appears to be a widening police crackdown. According to human rights activists in Cairo, police arrested the first two men after stopping them during an altercation in the street, when one told police officers that he was HIV-positive. The defendants' lawyers told Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International that officers detained both men, beat them and subjected them to abusive and intrusive physical examinations, trying to prove they had engaged in homosexual conduct. They then arrested other men whose names or personal information were found in the two men's possession.
According to the Cairo-based Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), doctors from Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population subjected all 12 detainees to HIV tests without their consent. Authorities kept those who tested HIV-positive confined in hospitals for weeks. They were chained to their beds until February 25, when the ministry ordered them unchained after domestic and international outcry.
The case files of the five indicted men included the results of forced anal examinations, which are not only medically spurious but constitute torture. The results indicate that they were inconclusive, not revealing any sexual activity, but contained a standard caveat that it is possible to engage in anal sex without leaving any traces. The case files also contained the results of the compulsory HIV tests. Four of the five men tested HIV-positive. The three men whose charges were dropped tested HIV-negative.
The prosecutor's office detained two of the five men beyond the 90-day limit in Egyptian law.
"These men have been treated as if they are a national threat simply because four of them were found to be HIV-positive," said Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. "The authorities should not be prosecuting them, but rather investigating the abuse and ill-treatment meted out against them and taking steps to ensure that such abuse does not happen again."
Four of the 12 men known to have been arrested in the HIV crackdown since October 2007 have already been sentenced to prison terms. On January 13, 2008, a Cairo court convicted them of the "habitual practice of debauchery," imprisoning all four for one year. An appeals court confirmed their sentences on February 2.
The imprisonment of individuals for actual or alleged consensual same-sex relations between adults is a serious violation of human rights. The Egyptian law used to prosecute adult consensual same-sex sexual conduct violates protections for privacy and against discrimination in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The UN Human Rights Committee holds that both sexual orientation and HIV serostatus are grounds protected against discrimination under the ICCPR's provisions. Individuals held solely on the basis of alleged consensual same-sex relations between adults in private are victims of arbitrary detention who should be released immediately and unconditionally.
The use of the Egyptian law on "debauchery," both to detain people on the basis of their declared or suspected HIV status and to subject them to HIV tests without their consent, also violates those international protections and the prohibition of arbitrary detention.
________________________________
Related Material
More of Human Rights Watch's work on Egypt
Country Page
More of Human Rights Watch's work on LGBT Rights
Thematic Page
Egypt: Spreading Crackdown on HIV Endangers Public Health
Press Release, February 15, 2008
In a Time of Torture: The Assault on Justice In Egypt's Crackdown on Homosexual Conduct
Report, March 1, 2004
From: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/03/11/egypt18257.htm
© Copyright 2003, Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA
Friday, March 7, 2008
HIV and Gay in Tunisia: A Twin Taboo
From Reuters - March 7, 2008
TUNIS (Reuters Life!) - Homosexual men living with HIV/AIDS In the Arab world face a twin taboo, but Karim doesn't look like someone burdened by stigma.
Smiling and self-assured, the healthy looking Tunisian says his peace of mind comes from accepting what he cannot change, living in the moment and taking care to present a normal face to the world.
The 34-year-old draws the menace from his infection by seeing it as his offspring.
"Personally, I accept the illness. I consider the virus my little baby. Together, we make up the same person," he said.
Dressed in jeans and a V-neck pullover, Karim sounds matter-of-act about his condition, but acknowledges that it wasn't always so easy.
Karim first learned he had HIV when he returned to his native country from France in 2005. He was infected during an eight-year relationship with a French man.
"First, I thought I had flu. But my health kept worsening and analysis showed I had AIDS. A person who was so important to me had infected me," he said.
"I WAS FURIOUS"
"At the beginning, I was furious. I hated everything. But afterwards, I thought that it's better to be hopeful than crying."
He decided to face up to the illness, sensing that a positive mental attitude would translate into stronger physical health. Also, he is on anti-retroviral medication.
"I'm quite good. My health situation is stable. HIV-positives who can't move or even walk are people who refuse the fact that they're infected with HIV. They suffer because they're in very low spirits and not because of the virus."
"I have a principle in my life which says we must make the most of life while we still have its advantages. So, I still enjoy my life. I consider AIDS a flu."
He lives with his Tunisian boyfriend, who is uninfected. They have protected sex.
"I was sincere. I told him the truth and he accepted. His attitude really moved me," said Karim.
"ENJOY THE MOMENT"
Unlike most Tunisians, Karim refuses to draw up plans for his future, even in the short-term, as he doesn't know when AIDS will bring his life to an end.
"I can't do long-term projects. I can't even plan for the summer holidays. I think just about what I can do in the next week and enjoy the moment."
HIV/AIDS is a common topic of conversation widely discussed in many Western countries. But it is still an invisible disease in north Africa and many other parts of the world.
Karim, one of 1,428 Tunisians who live with HIV, has learnt to keep his status a tightly guarded secret in a society where fear, prejudice and ignorance about the disease prevail.
Seventy new cases are declared per year in the North African country, according to official figures.
HIV-positive people who become known as such are shunned by society.
"To live in Tunisia, people infected with HIV have to lie and never say they suffer from AIDS," he said.
"I told my boss, because he's French. If I told a Tunisian about that he'd have a cardiac arrest," said Karim.
"I hate the Tunisian way of thinking. They present themselves as open-mind people and cultured. But it's just a mask," he said.
"In reality, they still think they can be infected via the air."
TUNIS (Reuters Life!) - Homosexual men living with HIV/AIDS In the Arab world face a twin taboo, but Karim doesn't look like someone burdened by stigma.
Smiling and self-assured, the healthy looking Tunisian says his peace of mind comes from accepting what he cannot change, living in the moment and taking care to present a normal face to the world.
The 34-year-old draws the menace from his infection by seeing it as his offspring.
"Personally, I accept the illness. I consider the virus my little baby. Together, we make up the same person," he said.
Dressed in jeans and a V-neck pullover, Karim sounds matter-of-act about his condition, but acknowledges that it wasn't always so easy.
Karim first learned he had HIV when he returned to his native country from France in 2005. He was infected during an eight-year relationship with a French man.
"First, I thought I had flu. But my health kept worsening and analysis showed I had AIDS. A person who was so important to me had infected me," he said.
"I WAS FURIOUS"
"At the beginning, I was furious. I hated everything. But afterwards, I thought that it's better to be hopeful than crying."
He decided to face up to the illness, sensing that a positive mental attitude would translate into stronger physical health. Also, he is on anti-retroviral medication.
"I'm quite good. My health situation is stable. HIV-positives who can't move or even walk are people who refuse the fact that they're infected with HIV. They suffer because they're in very low spirits and not because of the virus."
"I have a principle in my life which says we must make the most of life while we still have its advantages. So, I still enjoy my life. I consider AIDS a flu."
He lives with his Tunisian boyfriend, who is uninfected. They have protected sex.
"I was sincere. I told him the truth and he accepted. His attitude really moved me," said Karim.
"ENJOY THE MOMENT"
Unlike most Tunisians, Karim refuses to draw up plans for his future, even in the short-term, as he doesn't know when AIDS will bring his life to an end.
"I can't do long-term projects. I can't even plan for the summer holidays. I think just about what I can do in the next week and enjoy the moment."
HIV/AIDS is a common topic of conversation widely discussed in many Western countries. But it is still an invisible disease in north Africa and many other parts of the world.
Karim, one of 1,428 Tunisians who live with HIV, has learnt to keep his status a tightly guarded secret in a society where fear, prejudice and ignorance about the disease prevail.
Seventy new cases are declared per year in the North African country, according to official figures.
HIV-positive people who become known as such are shunned by society.
"To live in Tunisia, people infected with HIV have to lie and never say they suffer from AIDS," he said.
"I told my boss, because he's French. If I told a Tunisian about that he'd have a cardiac arrest," said Karim.
"I hate the Tunisian way of thinking. They present themselves as open-mind people and cultured. But it's just a mask," he said.
"In reality, they still think they can be infected via the air."
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Bangladesh Holds Meetings on Upholding Human Rights for MSM
From the Daily Star
'Change mindset to ensure rights of MSM people in society'
Staff Correspondent
Speakers at a meeting yesterday underscored the need for changing the mindset towards MSM (male having sex with male) people to ensure their rights in the society.
They said although the constitution ensures basic human rights of all, this group is the most neglected and marginalised one in the society.
The speakers also called upon all stakeholders including different policy makers, NGOs and media workers to work together for mainstreaming them in the society.
The meeting titled 'Upholding human rights of MSM: Sharing experience and lesson learned for future direction' was organised by Bandhu Social Welfare Society (BSWS) in collaboration with Manusher Jonno Foundation at Brac Centre Inn in the city.
Presenting a slideshow titled '377, MSM and Human Rights in Bangladesh', Barrister Sara Hossain said the law enforcement agencies generally prefer to avoid family feuds, but in the case of MSM people they interfere and harass them using the section 377 of the Penal Code.
She said the section has become an instrument of harassment for people, especially for the MSM people.
Dr Shariful Islam Khan Bobby of ICDDR,B said the MSM people suffer from psycho-sexual and psycho-biological problems including low self- esteem and identity crisis.
He said there are some obstacles to work with MSM people due to poor coordination among the policymakers, donors and NGOs.
"We have to sensitise media and build awareness among the lawyers regarding the MSM issue," he said, adding that media can play an immense role in this regard.
Rina Roy, director (rights) of Manusher Jonno Foundation, said MSM is a marginalised group of people who are denied of their human rights.
"We want a society where all people can live with equal rights and opportunities, and we have to build up that society," she added.
Saleh Ahmed, executive director of BSWS, spoke about the projects that they are carrying out in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet and Mymensingh for protecting the human rights of MSM people.
Dr Robert Kelly, country director of FHI, Anisul Islam Hero, chairperson of BSWS, and Tamanna Rahman, executive member of BSWS, also spoke on the occasion.
'Change mindset to ensure rights of MSM people in society'
Staff Correspondent
Speakers at a meeting yesterday underscored the need for changing the mindset towards MSM (male having sex with male) people to ensure their rights in the society.
They said although the constitution ensures basic human rights of all, this group is the most neglected and marginalised one in the society.
The speakers also called upon all stakeholders including different policy makers, NGOs and media workers to work together for mainstreaming them in the society.
The meeting titled 'Upholding human rights of MSM: Sharing experience and lesson learned for future direction' was organised by Bandhu Social Welfare Society (BSWS) in collaboration with Manusher Jonno Foundation at Brac Centre Inn in the city.
Presenting a slideshow titled '377, MSM and Human Rights in Bangladesh', Barrister Sara Hossain said the law enforcement agencies generally prefer to avoid family feuds, but in the case of MSM people they interfere and harass them using the section 377 of the Penal Code.
She said the section has become an instrument of harassment for people, especially for the MSM people.
Dr Shariful Islam Khan Bobby of ICDDR,B said the MSM people suffer from psycho-sexual and psycho-biological problems including low self- esteem and identity crisis.
He said there are some obstacles to work with MSM people due to poor coordination among the policymakers, donors and NGOs.
"We have to sensitise media and build awareness among the lawyers regarding the MSM issue," he said, adding that media can play an immense role in this regard.
Rina Roy, director (rights) of Manusher Jonno Foundation, said MSM is a marginalised group of people who are denied of their human rights.
"We want a society where all people can live with equal rights and opportunities, and we have to build up that society," she added.
Saleh Ahmed, executive director of BSWS, spoke about the projects that they are carrying out in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet and Mymensingh for protecting the human rights of MSM people.
Dr Robert Kelly, country director of FHI, Anisul Islam Hero, chairperson of BSWS, and Tamanna Rahman, executive member of BSWS, also spoke on the occasion.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Gay Africans and Arabs Come Out Online
From Reuters Canada
By Andrew Heavens
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - When Ali started blogging that he was Sudanese and gay, he did not realize he was joining a band of African and Middle Eastern gays and lesbians who, in the face of hostility and repression, have come out online.
But within days the messages started coming in to black-gay-arab.blogspot.com.
"Keep up the good work," wrote Dubai-based Weblogger 'Gay by nature'. "Be proud and blog the way you like," wrote Kuwait's gayboyweekly. Close behind came comments, posts and links purporting to be from almost half the countries in the Arab League, including Egypt, Algeria, Bahrain and Morocco.
Ali, who lists his home town as Khartoum but lives in Qatar, had plugged into a small, self-supporting network of people who have launched Web sites about their sexuality, while keeping their full identity secret. Caution is crucial - homosexual acts are illegal in most countries in Africa and the Middle East, with penalties ranging from long-term imprisonment to execution.
"The whole idea started as a diary. I wanted to write what's on my mind and mainly about homosexuality," he told Reuters in an e-mail. "To tell you the truth, I didn't expect this much response."
In the current climate, bloggers say they are achieving a lot just by stating their nationality and sexual orientation.
"If you haven't heard or seen any gays in Sudan then allow me to tell you 'You Don't live In The Real World then,"' Ali wrote in a message to other Sudanese bloggers. "I'm Sudanese and Proud Gay Also."
His feelings were echoed in a mini-manifesto at the start of the blog "Rants and raves of a Kenyan gay man" that stated: "The Kenyan gay man is a myth and you may never meet one in your lifetime. However, I and many others like me do exist; just not openly. This blog was created to allow access to the psyche of me, who represents the thousands of us who are unrepresented."
NEWS AND ABUSE
That limited form of coming out has earned the bloggers abuse or criticism via their blogs' comment pages or e-mails.
"Faggot queen," wrote a commentator called 'blake' on Kenya's 'Rants and raves'. "I will put my loathing for you faggots aside momentarily, due to the suffering caused by the political situation," referring to the country's post-election violence.
Some are more measured: "The fact that you are a gay Sudanese and proudly posting about it in itself is just not natural," a reader called 'sudani' posted on Ali's blog.
Some of the bloggers use the diary-style format to share the ups and downs of gay life -- the dilemma of whether to come out to friends and relatives, the risks of meeting in known gay bars, or, according to blogger "...and then God created Men!" the joys of the Egyptian resort town Sharm el-Sheikh.
Others have turned their blogs into news outlets, focusing on reports of persecution in their region and beyond.
The blog GayUganda reported on the arrests of gay men in Senegal in February. A month earlier, Blackgayarab posted video footage of alleged police harassment in Iraq.
Kenya's "Rants and Raves" reported that gay people were targets in the country's election violence, while blogger Gukira focused on claims that boys had been raped during riots. Afriboy organized an auction of his erotic art to raise funds "to help my community in Kenya."
There was also widespread debate on the comments made by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last September about homosexuals in his country.
The total number of gay bloggers in the region is still relatively small, say the few Web sites that monitor the scene.
"It is the rare soul who is willing to go up against such blind and violent ignorance and advocate for gay rights and respect," said Richard Ammon of GlobalGayz.com which tracks gay news and Web sites throughout the world.
"There are a number of people from the community who are blogging both from Africa and the diaspora but it is still quite sporadic," said Nigerian blogger Sokari Ekine who keeps a directory of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender blogs on her own Web site Black Looks.
WAYS TO MEET
The overall coverage may be erratic, but pockets of gay blogging activity are starting to emerge.
There are blogs bridging the Arabic-speaking world from Morocco in the west to the United Arab Emirates in the east. There is a self-sustaining circle of gay bloggers in Kenya and Uganda together with a handful of sites put up by gay Nigerians.
And then there is South Africa, where the constitutional recognition of gay rights has encouraged many bloggers to come wholly into the open.
"I don't preserve my anonymity at all. I am embracing our constitution which gives us the right to freedom of speech ... There is nothing wrong that I am doing," said Matuba Mahlatjie of the blog My Haven.
Beyond the blogging scene, the Internet's chat rooms and community sites have also become one of the safest ways for gay Africans and Arabs to meet, away from the gaze of a hostile society.
"That is what I did at first, I mean, I looked around for others until I found others," said Gug, the writer behind the blog GayUganda.
"Oh yes, I do love the Internet, and I guess it is a tool that has made us gay Ugandans and Africans get out of our villages and realize that the parish priest's homophobia is not universal opinion. Surprise, surprise!"
(Editing by Andrew Dobbie and Sara Ledwith)
© Reuters 2008 All rights reserved.
February 18, 2008
By Andrew Heavens
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - When Ali started blogging that he was Sudanese and gay, he did not realize he was joining a band of African and Middle Eastern gays and lesbians who, in the face of hostility and repression, have come out online.
But within days the messages started coming in to black-gay-arab.blogspot.com.
"Keep up the good work," wrote Dubai-based Weblogger 'Gay by nature'. "Be proud and blog the way you like," wrote Kuwait's gayboyweekly. Close behind came comments, posts and links purporting to be from almost half the countries in the Arab League, including Egypt, Algeria, Bahrain and Morocco.
Ali, who lists his home town as Khartoum but lives in Qatar, had plugged into a small, self-supporting network of people who have launched Web sites about their sexuality, while keeping their full identity secret. Caution is crucial - homosexual acts are illegal in most countries in Africa and the Middle East, with penalties ranging from long-term imprisonment to execution.
"The whole idea started as a diary. I wanted to write what's on my mind and mainly about homosexuality," he told Reuters in an e-mail. "To tell you the truth, I didn't expect this much response."
In the current climate, bloggers say they are achieving a lot just by stating their nationality and sexual orientation.
"If you haven't heard or seen any gays in Sudan then allow me to tell you 'You Don't live In The Real World then,"' Ali wrote in a message to other Sudanese bloggers. "I'm Sudanese and Proud Gay Also."
His feelings were echoed in a mini-manifesto at the start of the blog "Rants and raves of a Kenyan gay man" that stated: "The Kenyan gay man is a myth and you may never meet one in your lifetime. However, I and many others like me do exist; just not openly. This blog was created to allow access to the psyche of me, who represents the thousands of us who are unrepresented."
NEWS AND ABUSE
That limited form of coming out has earned the bloggers abuse or criticism via their blogs' comment pages or e-mails.
"Faggot queen," wrote a commentator called 'blake' on Kenya's 'Rants and raves'. "I will put my loathing for you faggots aside momentarily, due to the suffering caused by the political situation," referring to the country's post-election violence.
Some are more measured: "The fact that you are a gay Sudanese and proudly posting about it in itself is just not natural," a reader called 'sudani' posted on Ali's blog.
Some of the bloggers use the diary-style format to share the ups and downs of gay life -- the dilemma of whether to come out to friends and relatives, the risks of meeting in known gay bars, or, according to blogger "...and then God created Men!" the joys of the Egyptian resort town Sharm el-Sheikh.
Others have turned their blogs into news outlets, focusing on reports of persecution in their region and beyond.
The blog GayUganda reported on the arrests of gay men in Senegal in February. A month earlier, Blackgayarab posted video footage of alleged police harassment in Iraq.
Kenya's "Rants and Raves" reported that gay people were targets in the country's election violence, while blogger Gukira focused on claims that boys had been raped during riots. Afriboy organized an auction of his erotic art to raise funds "to help my community in Kenya."
There was also widespread debate on the comments made by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last September about homosexuals in his country.
The total number of gay bloggers in the region is still relatively small, say the few Web sites that monitor the scene.
"It is the rare soul who is willing to go up against such blind and violent ignorance and advocate for gay rights and respect," said Richard Ammon of GlobalGayz.com which tracks gay news and Web sites throughout the world.
"There are a number of people from the community who are blogging both from Africa and the diaspora but it is still quite sporadic," said Nigerian blogger Sokari Ekine who keeps a directory of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender blogs on her own Web site Black Looks.
WAYS TO MEET
The overall coverage may be erratic, but pockets of gay blogging activity are starting to emerge.
There are blogs bridging the Arabic-speaking world from Morocco in the west to the United Arab Emirates in the east. There is a self-sustaining circle of gay bloggers in Kenya and Uganda together with a handful of sites put up by gay Nigerians.
And then there is South Africa, where the constitutional recognition of gay rights has encouraged many bloggers to come wholly into the open.
"I don't preserve my anonymity at all. I am embracing our constitution which gives us the right to freedom of speech ... There is nothing wrong that I am doing," said Matuba Mahlatjie of the blog My Haven.
Beyond the blogging scene, the Internet's chat rooms and community sites have also become one of the safest ways for gay Africans and Arabs to meet, away from the gaze of a hostile society.
"That is what I did at first, I mean, I looked around for others until I found others," said Gug, the writer behind the blog GayUganda.
"Oh yes, I do love the Internet, and I guess it is a tool that has made us gay Ugandans and Africans get out of our villages and realize that the parish priest's homophobia is not universal opinion. Surprise, surprise!"
(Editing by Andrew Dobbie and Sara Ledwith)
© Reuters 2008 All rights reserved.
Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Senegal: Reading, Writing, and HIV: When Reproductive Health Becomes Part of the Curriculum
From UNFPA
These students are typical of their peers nationwide as part of a national sexual education curriculum, developed by the Senegalese government and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. The courses in sexual and reproductive health, or Education in Family Life as they are officially called, have become as integrated into the typical school year as mathematics. Every Senegalese public school student must take them, beginning in primary school and continuing through to the final levels of high school.
The Government's early, consistent and multisectoral actions to prevent the spread of HIV has garnered international attention and helped maintain Senegal's very low infection rate: less than 1 per cent of the population is HIV-positive. Education ha been an important part of the country's response.
Besides providing students with a relaxed setting to talk about these often-sensitive issues, the clubs have a visible impact on the local community, creating what is effectively a young civil society. In the last few months, students from Safietou and Cheikh's clubs have organized an HIV/AIDS-awareness march and a day of free HIV testing and counselling.
Reading, Writing, and HIV: When Reproductive Health Becomes Part of the Curriculum
 |  Keeping young people informed is an integral part of Senegal's successful response to the AIDS epidemic. Photo: Dima Gavrysh/UNFPA |
05 February 2008
KOLDA, Senegal — "Monsieur! Monsieur!" Fingers snapping, faces eager, the students in this small classroom in rural Senegal battle between their desire to follow the strict rules of the classroom and the sheer joy of knowing the answer. The conflict lasts about a second, with propriety losing badly. Many of the students are half-leaping out of their seats by the time the teacher points towards one of his pupils for a description of the image he has hung on the blackboard.
"Well? What's happening in this picture?"
"The girl is saying to him, 'I do not have sexual relations without a condom.'"
Just another school day in Senegal.
|
We focus on abstinence, but with the understanding that people are also human, that some make mistakes, and that we need to look after the health of those that do.
These students are typical of their peers nationwide as part of a national sexual education curriculum, developed by the Senegalese government and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. The courses in sexual and reproductive health, or Education in Family Life as they are officially called, have become as integrated into the typical school year as mathematics. Every Senegalese public school student must take them, beginning in primary school and continuing through to the final levels of high school.
Breaking a social taboo
Ninety-five per cent of this West African nation's population is Muslim, and sex remains a taboo subject in many homes. This can make talking about issues like sexually transmitted infections a difficult proposition. The national curriculum breaks the social taboo by making such conversations an obligatory part of going to school.
"This is a Muslim country, and Islam forbids sex before marriage," explains Dr. Cheikh Ba, the head of UNFPA's office in Kolda. "So we focus on abstinence, but with the understanding that people are also human, that some make mistakes, and that we need to look after the health of those that do."
|
The Government's early, consistent and multisectoral actions to prevent the spread of HIV has garnered international attention and helped maintain Senegal's very low infection rate: less than 1 per cent of the population is HIV-positive. Education ha been an important part of the country's response.
Afterschool raps and movies about serious issues
Extracurricular Education in Family Life clubs are run by the Group for the Teaching and Study of Population Issues, a UNFPA-supported Senegalese NGO. The clubs are student-run and voluntary. Members meet after school or during free periods to discuss issues ranging from female genital mutilation/cutting to HIV to early pregnancy.
Persuading teenagers to give up free time might seem like a tricky proposal, but the clubs have their own ways of drawing interest. Safietou Baldé, 17, was first attracted by the informational movies offered, which have proven popular with students. Safietou was eventually elected president of her club and smiles with pride when talking about the first event of her tenure.
"We organized a film screening on early pregnancy, and the room was full!"
Cheikh Tidiane is 15 years old and also a club president. He and his friends are serious hip-hop fans and mobilize their collective talents to cobble together raps about HIV and AIDS with the aim of sparking discussion. If faced with a recalcitrant student -- someone who ought to come to the club but doesn't want to --Tidiane tells him, "This will teach you how to lead your family."
|
Besides providing students with a relaxed setting to talk about these often-sensitive issues, the clubs have a visible impact on the local community, creating what is effectively a young civil society. In the last few months, students from Safietou and Cheikh's clubs have organized an HIV/AIDS-awareness march and a day of free HIV testing and counselling.
Taking a stand on early marriage
Students in Sedhiou, a town near Kolda, learned that one of their classmates was being pressured into an early marriage. They held a protest march, after which the parents relented. The girl now remains unmarried and free to pursue her studies.
Nevertheless, programmes such as these have not changed Senegalese culture completely. With sex before marriage contrary to religious custom, condoms have not yet lost their stigma. One club member described picking some up at a local health centre, then coming home and hiding them so no one would find out.
Yet he tells this story with a laugh, for he is at school now, and he has no reason to hide anything here. Across the country, Senegal's next generation is being educated in the same spirit of openness, paving the way for what will hopefully be a healthier future for all.
— Arthur Plews
Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.
Uganda: New Study Shows Low Condom Use Among HIV Discordant Couples
UGANDA: New study shows low condom use among HIV discordant couples
NAIROBI, 14 February 2008 (PlusNews) - Condom resistance remains a real problem among HIV discordant couples in Uganda, new research has found.
The study, whose results were presented at the 15th conference on retroviruses and opportunistic infections in Boston, Massachusetts, found that of 36,000 couples tested, 96 percent of those in sexually active discordant relationships (where only one partner is HIV positive) reported not using condoms during their last sexual encounter.
"The people we studied were in stable relationships - usually man and wife - and thus they did not feel the need to use condoms," said Dr Elioda Tumwesigye, the lead researcher. "Even after testing, many continued to practice unprotected sex, saying that discordance was fate or that one partner must be immune."
The research was as a result of a United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) initiative to provide home-based voluntary counselling and testing to 250,000 people in in the western district of Bushenyi between 2004 and 2006.
Tumwesigye added that knowledge of HIV prevention was high in the community, but people felt condoms did not belong in the marital bed.
The men in the Bushenyi sample were more likely to be infected than the women, something Tumwesigye said was likely to be as a result of the age difference between men and women in the couples; on average, women were 30 years old while their spouses had a median age of 40.
"It's possible that these older men, with more sexual experience and higher exposure to HIV, married young girls with relatively little sexual experience," he said. "It is important to send a strong message to these couples that condoms will protect them and their relationships."
He noted that it was particularly urgent because in the study, discordant couples represented over 60 percent of the couples in which one or both partners was HIV-positive.
According to James Kigozi, spokesman for the Uganda AIDS Commission, resistance to and inconsistent use of condoms is a pattern replicated across the country.
"It is a real challenge trying to get married couples to use condoms because of the way they are perceived, as a tool for single people," he said.
"We routinely encourage couples to come for testing together but usually only the women come as part of their ante-natal care; if they test negative their husbands will feel like they too must then be negative and thus won't come," he added. "Another challenge is that women are often not in apposition to negotiate safer sex, so they continue to be put at risk in discordant relationships."
Kigozi said the government was using radio programmes, billboards and other media to encourage couples to jointly test. CDC's home-based care initiative in Bushenyi is also using radio and home visits to pass on the importance of VCT and condom use in discordant relationships.
The HIV/AIDS sero-behavioural survey of 2004-5 found that about five percent of about 4,000 cohabiting couples in Uganda were discordant. An estimated three percent of the couples were both HIV-positive.
 Photo: IRIN  |
| Condoms are perceived as unnecessary within the marital context |
The study, whose results were presented at the 15th conference on retroviruses and opportunistic infections in Boston, Massachusetts, found that of 36,000 couples tested, 96 percent of those in sexually active discordant relationships (where only one partner is HIV positive) reported not using condoms during their last sexual encounter.
"The people we studied were in stable relationships - usually man and wife - and thus they did not feel the need to use condoms," said Dr Elioda Tumwesigye, the lead researcher. "Even after testing, many continued to practice unprotected sex, saying that discordance was fate or that one partner must be immune."
The research was as a result of a United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) initiative to provide home-based voluntary counselling and testing to 250,000 people in in the western district of Bushenyi between 2004 and 2006.
Tumwesigye added that knowledge of HIV prevention was high in the community, but people felt condoms did not belong in the marital bed.
The men in the Bushenyi sample were more likely to be infected than the women, something Tumwesigye said was likely to be as a result of the age difference between men and women in the couples; on average, women were 30 years old while their spouses had a median age of 40.
"It's possible that these older men, with more sexual experience and higher exposure to HIV, married young girls with relatively little sexual experience," he said. "It is important to send a strong message to these couples that condoms will protect them and their relationships."
He noted that it was particularly urgent because in the study, discordant couples represented over 60 percent of the couples in which one or both partners was HIV-positive.
According to James Kigozi, spokesman for the Uganda AIDS Commission, resistance to and inconsistent use of condoms is a pattern replicated across the country.
"It is a real challenge trying to get married couples to use condoms because of the way they are perceived, as a tool for single people," he said.
"We routinely encourage couples to come for testing together but usually only the women come as part of their ante-natal care; if they test negative their husbands will feel like they too must then be negative and thus won't come," he added. "Another challenge is that women are often not in apposition to negotiate safer sex, so they continue to be put at risk in discordant relationships."
Kigozi said the government was using radio programmes, billboards and other media to encourage couples to jointly test. CDC's home-based care initiative in Bushenyi is also using radio and home visits to pass on the importance of VCT and condom use in discordant relationships.
The HIV/AIDS sero-behavioural survey of 2004-5 found that about five percent of about 4,000 cohabiting couples in Uganda were discordant. An estimated three percent of the couples were both HIV-positive.
Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)