Category: Openly

Articles Kenya LGBTQ+ News Life News Openly

Rejected by banks, Kenyan LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs turn to loan sharks

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Mary Akinyi, an intersex woman from the city of Mombasa, ended up borrowing money from a loan shark after being turned down for bank credit – a situation faced by many Kenyan LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs, advocates say. Akinyi said that despite having a solid business plan and credit score, she was told by a loan manager at the Kenya Women Finance Trust Bank in Nairobi she had been rejected because her gender identity did not match her ID card. “It was disheartening, I felt rejected, dejected and out of place because…

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Articles LGBTQ+ News Life News Openly Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, LGBTQ+ artists dodge discrimination to stay on stage

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It is tough making a living as an LGBTQIA+ performer in Zimbabwe – the economy is in disarray and homophobic heckling is an occupational hazard. But in a country where gay sex remains illegal and LGBTQIA+ people often face discrimination and harassment, gay and transgender musicians, poets and other artists are finding ways to stay on stage. “To get gigs in the corporate world, your brand has to be extra good because before everything else, your sexuality/gender identity already disadvantages you,” said Stewie Le Savage, a 27-year-old trans musician based…

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Articles LGBTQ+ News Life News Openly UK

Moving towards equality: UK’s lesbian-owned removals pioneer

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When Shirley McGah founded removal company Lesbus in London in the late 1980s, gay and bisexual men in the British capital were in the midst of the AIDS pandemic and very few – if any – firms were willing to help them move home. Newspapers at the time were awash with phrases such as “gay plague” and there was a widespread belief that AIDS could be spread through any form of contact with those infected. But McGah was unphased by the widespread fear of AIDS at the time. If someone…

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Articles Kenya LGBTQ+ News Life News Openly Supreme Court

Ruling by Kenya’s Supreme Court buoys LGBTQ+ community

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Ten months since a Supreme Court win, LGBTQ+ Kenyans say they feel more emboldened to fight for their rights and report hate crime – even as they face homophobic protests and a legislative proposal to toughen penalties for gay sex. The court ruled in February to allow the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), a rights group, to register as a non-governmental organisation – winning praise from LGBTQ+ campaigners but triggering a menacing backlash. Last month, the court upheld its original ruling following an appeal brought by a…

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Articles Europe Explainer Government LGBTQ+ News Life News Openly Politics

Which European countries have LGBTQ+ leaders?

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Greece’s leftist opposition Syriza party has elected gay former Goldman Sachs trader Stefanos Kasselakis as its leader, the first time an openly LGBTQ+ figure has headed one of the country’s main political parties. Married to nurse Tyler Macbeth since 2019, the 35-year-old Kasselakis has said “Greek people are ready to have a prime minister who is capable, incorruptible, unscathed and happens to be gay”. Europe leads the world in the number of openly gay political leaders in office, with four current heads of government in Luxembourg, Ireland, Serbia and Andorra.…

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Articles India LGBTQ+ News Life News Openly Same-sex marriage

Five years free: A new life for many LGBTQ+ Indians

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Hemant Kumar dreams of living a simple life – with a loving husband, doting daughter and all the respectability that comes from being an old-fashioned family man in small-town India. Five years ago, Kumar thought that was just a pipe dream. But a historic 2018 ruling by the country’s Supreme Court to decriminalise homosexuality opened the door to love for millions of LGBTQ+ Indians like Kumar who live in small cities and towns around the country. Now the 21-year-old student dares to dream of finding love, living openly with another…

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Articles germany LGBTQ+ News Life News Openly Trans

Why does Germany want to limit trans self-ID during wartime?

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Transgender rights advocates in Germany have criticised plans by the government to restrict legal gender change during war – a measure that seeks to stop men from abusing proposed trans self-ID rules to evade military conscription. Germany’s government last month approved draft legislation allowing people to change their legal gender simply by visiting the local civil registry office, a move that was initially welcomed by LGBTQIA+ rights campaigners. But trans advocates say the proposed wartime restrictions contained in the self-ID bill – which must still be approved by parliament –…

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Articles LGBTQ+ News Life News Nigeria Openly

For LGBTQ+ Nigerians, visiting the doctor can be traumatic

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When Abimbola, a gay man from Lagos, went to a sexual health clinic for a yeast infection, the nurse who saw him said she would only treat him if he promised to “pray against the demon”. He swiftly left without being treated. For LGBTQ+ people in Nigeria, where having same-sex relations can incur a jail sentence, a trip to the doctor can be traumatic, deterring many from seeking medical care – especially for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). “You could tell from how he looked at me and asked me about…

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Articles History LGBTQ+ News Life Matt Cook News Openly Trans

History offers lessons in debate around trans rights, says LGBTQ+ professor

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Toxic debate in Britain about transgender rights echoes the vilification of gay men in the 1950s – a historical parallel that could offer solutions to the current clash, says the country’s first professor of LGBTQ+ history. Matt Cook, who will take up the newly created post at Oxford University’s Mansfield College in September, said shifting ideas about gender identity over the centuries show us that debate about what it means to be a man or a woman is nothing new. “The debate in the UK about trans rights is particularly…

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Articles LGBTQ+ News Life News Openly Russia Surgery Trans

Trans Russians panic over proposed gender surgery ban

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When Dimitri, a transgender 17-year-old from Russia, found out about a proposed law that would ban people from transitioning gender, he considered taking his own life. “If it wasn’t for my beloved boyfriend and my best friend I would probably be in the next world,” Dimitri told Openly by phone from his home near Moscow, asking not to use his real name to protect his identity. The draft legislation, which would outlaw both changing gender on official documents and gender-affirming medical care including surgery, received initial backing on June 14…

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