Africa and the Middle East Archives - World Wide Wave

Middle East: queer life in the gulf states

vaughan.mccarthy — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 11:24:17 +0000

In the Gulf States, penalties for queer acts can include imprisonment, deportation, torture and even death. Yet the region is dominated by migrants, including queer migrants, who make a deliberate decision to move there.

One such migrant is telling their stories, including where queer people are not just surviving, but thriving. Gaar Adams is the author of a recently released book titled, ‘Guest privileges, queer lives and finding home in the Middle East’.

The post Middle East: queer life in the gulf states appeared first on World Wide Wave.

Egypt: religion and discrimination against queer people

vaughan.mccarthy — Wed, 08 May 2024 12:14:04 +0000

Many queer people struggle to reconcile their religion with their sexuality. There just aren’t many accepting and inclusive religions. Queer Muslims are no exception. In Egypt, even though there is no explicit law against same-sex sexual acts, there are widespread reports of discrimination and even violence against LGBTQIA+ people.
Abdurahman Katamish is an Egyptian-born LGBT advocate, who moved to Melbourne seeking a more inclusive environment. In Egypt, he cofounded an underground organization to support queer individuals, despite the cultural stigmas.

The post Egypt: religion and discrimination against queer people appeared first on World Wide Wave.

Eurovision and the politics of the Israel-Palestine war

vaughan.mccarthy — Sat, 04 May 2024 09:25:03 +0000

With Eurovison, one thing is for certain, every year there will be controversy to some degree. This year the argument is over Israel. Elias Jahshan has been working for many years to give queer Arabs a voice. He has collected eighteen stories from queer Arabs in his new book, This Arab is Queer. The current war between Israel and Palestine has collided with Eurovision, leaving some to call for a boycott of Israel. Jahshan gives his perspective on this.

The post Eurovision and the politics of the Israel-Palestine war appeared first on World Wide Wave.

Ghana: Global pressure to halt harsh anti-gay laws

vaughan.mccarthy — Sat, 04 May 2024 09:11:21 +0000

The west African country of Ghana has passed some of the harshest anti-LGBT laws. The country now imposes gaol terms for anyone identifying as LGBTQ, anyone who participates in LGBTQ groups and members of the public who fail to report anyone who they think is LGBTQ. The only thing stopping these laws is the country’s president. This has triggered an internation push to pressure the president to veto the laws, but so far there’s no sign either way of the president’s next move. Ohotuowo Ogbeche, from global advocacy group Outright International, has conducted research on the impact of Ghana’s anti-LGBT bill.

The post Ghana: Global pressure to halt harsh anti-gay laws appeared first on World Wide Wave.

World Wide Wrap: LGBTIQ+ News for the Week to February 6, 2024

elliot.attard@joy.org.au — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 05:43:54 +0000

Listen to the week’s World Wide Wrap where we round up all that was in international LGBTIQ+ news for the week to February 6, 2024.

World Wide Wave aims to promote awareness of international LGBT issues. Our program provides in-depth analysis and interviews. We focus on the challenges facing the global LGBT community as well as some of our successes.

We take pride in interviewing a wide range of international LGBT people and supporters including politicians, activists, academics, parents, authors, students, professionals and more.

The post World Wide Wrap: LGBTIQ+ News for the Week to February 6, 2024 appeared first on World Wide Wave.

Uganda: A Refugee’s Story of a New Beginning

Peter — Wed, 24 May 2023 07:05:39 +0000

When you woke up this morning, you probably thought about what you had on today – checked the weather, perhaps how you would get to work, perhaps who you would see or what you’ll have for dinner. For our guest tonight, each day started wondering if they would be attacked, imprisoned or even murdered. Each day was a test of survival.

From Uganda to a refugee camp in Kenya and now to a new home in Australia, in this podcast we hear an intensely personal story of Robert Kasozi. Robert who has come to Australia with the help of LGBTIQ charity Humanity in Need, Rainbow Refugees who support refugees in East Africa. Also joining us is David Ayliffe from Humanity in Need.

The post Uganda: A Refugee’s Story of a New Beginning appeared first on World Wide Wave.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Supporting the LGBTQ+ Community

Peter — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 06:36:25 +0000

In this podcast we venture to Central Africa and a country we have not visited before in over 11 years on air. In some ways, the Democratic Republic of Congo is more liberal than many African states, yet as we will hear, so many of the LGBTI community’s challenges are similar.

Despite these challenges, another similarity is that there are dedicated and committed champions for the Congolese rainbow community. To share their story, we are joined by Raphaëlle Mutambala, Finance Officer at Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko.

The post Democratic Republic of Congo: Supporting the LGBTQ+ Community appeared first on World Wide Wave.

Qatar: Shocking LGBT+ Record Highlighted on the World Stage

Peter — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 06:02:02 +0000

The FIFA World Cup is soccer’s greatest tournament. It is the Olympics of the football world. Right now, for the first time, the tournament is being held in the Arab world. But rather than celebration, from the very first announcement of Qatar as the host country, the event has been shrouded in controversy.

But the efforts of the Qatari government to paint a rosy picture of their country has been overshadowed. Human rights complaints, labour abuses and a horrific record on LGBT rights have all been stories the government would rather the world did not see. The first Qatari to declare himself openly gay via the media is one of those determined to raise the issue of Qatar’s shocking LGBT record. That man – Dr. Nasser Mohamed, or Nas as he prefers to be called – tells his story in this World Wide Wave podcast.

Sign the petition to tell FIFA and Qatar that love is not a crime.

The post Qatar: Shocking LGBT+ Record Highlighted on the World Stage appeared first on World Wide Wave.

Nas Mohamed – Special Extended Interview

Peter — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 06:01:37 +0000

This podcast is the special extended interview with Dr. Nasser Mohamed.

Sign the petition to tell FIFA and Qatar that love is not a crime.

The post Nas Mohamed – Special Extended Interview appeared first on World Wide Wave.

Iraq: Everyone Wants Me Dead

Peter — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 05:36:42 +0000

It’s hard to think of a worse place in the world to be queer than Iraq. Aside from the criminalisation of homosexuality and the death penalty under Sharia laws, LGBT people have to deal with violence in the family, armed vigilantes enforcing so-called morality laws and discrimination from a society that doesn’t understand them – and doesn’t want to.

Human Rights Watch in partnership with IraQueer have documented stories from LGBT people in Iraq. In a challenging read, they have produced the report – Everyone Wants Me Dead: Killings, Abductions, Torture, and Sexual Violence against LGBT People by Armed Groups in Iraq. In this podcast we hear from report author Rasha Younes from Human Rights Watch and brave activist Amir Ashour from IraQueer.

The post Iraq: Everyone Wants Me Dead appeared first on World Wide Wave.