Anti-LGBT groups are making inroads across East Africa

The Global Post published an article on Anti-LGBT groups are making inroads across East Africa on 15 June 2015.

Across many parts of Africa, homophobic organizations as well as religious and political leaders are increasingly pushing an anti-gay agenda into the public discourse. This determined march against the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals in Africa contrasts with the movement in favor of equal rights that is underway in the US and Western Europe, capped last month by the vote in Ireland that overwhelmingly approved a referendum making same-sex marriage legal.

While there is a global wave in favor of gay rights, it has not reached all shores. Many countries still punish homosexual acts with prison time, torture and even death. And the place where the battle lines for the rights of LGBT individuals are most starkly drawn is in Africa, where 37 of the continent’s 54 countries consider homosexual acts criminal.