Rolling Stone's "100 Pictures of Uganda's Top Homos Leak"
In response to Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill, in April, 2009 there was a newspaper that was printed by a local Ugandan with the names of people who were thought to be homosexuals. In addition, another newspaper was printer with tips on how to identify if someone is homosexual. In October, 2009, the Ugandan, weekly, tabloid, newspaper, Rolling Stone, published a front page article that was titled "100 Pictures of Uganda's Top Homos Leak" with their photos and addresses. Not only was this completely judging 100 people, but next to the story was a yellow strip with the words “hang them” right next to it. After this story was published, many people who were on the list, began living their life in complete fear and even moving to a different area.
Human Rights Watch
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an organization trying to protect the human rights of people around the world. After several months of advocacy performed by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) staff has helped stall the passage of the controversial bill in Uganda against homosexuality. Under consideration, the bill would include several criminal penalties, including the death penalty. In addition, anyone who was supporting Lesbian Gay Bisexal Transgender (LGBT) rights would be a crime. Maria Burnett, a senior researched of Uganda, has been closely working with the Ugandan society with the intentions to help reform the mentality and erase the hatred of homosexuals. People still fight that homosexuality is a crime and against humanity, however, HRW continues to advocate and help the homosexual crowd find their voice.
Homophobia in Africa
In the article, "Homophobia in Africa is Not a Single Story" posted by The Guardian states that fact that people cannot refer to Africa as a solid homophobic country, and that it depends on the specific locations in the country. During 2010, on February 10th, Kenya was faced with a mass attack directed towards males whom are gay. This attack is unique because it was strictly organized by a number of religious organizations. After this mass attack, organizations began to take a stand in this continuous problem of homophobia. Many activist organizations such as, Minority Women in Action (MWA), and Gay Kenya have been established, and they have began running educational conventions across the country. Other human rights group in Kenya have experienced their efforts resulting in rage, from acceptance to indifference and hatred. As a country, Africa'a conceptions of homosexuality are shaped by many factors, such as, nationalism, globalization, migration, ethnicity and religion. Also, in 2010 after the death penalty for some gays was proposed, the homophobia in Africa began to rise in many different places.
Listen to the Ugandan Story Here!
Listen to the Ugandan Story Here!
Gay Rights Campainers-More Forceful
Since the police in Malawi had been pursuing gay activists and anyone who they just suspected of being homosexual, the Malawian authorities believe that gay activists should be more open. However, if they do come out into the open, they would be arrested since homosexuality is illegal. Many gay rights activists are being faced with more and more difficult challenges making it harder to even speak their voice. Monica Mbaru, who is from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission strongly believes these crackdowns are a result of the struggles going on in Uganda. The rise of homophobia has caused gay activists to be much more forceful with their job, to be effective. Behind the Mask, is a gay rights group that strictly believes there's a lack of understanding on homosexual issues. They believe these misunderstandings are fuelled by the press, and how they misrepresent some things, like some very intense speeches by religious leaders, etc.