India

Fighting hate on the ballot: Queer resistance in elections in 2026
Map of the 65 countries where sexual relations between people of the same sex are illegal. YELLOW countries have sodomy laws that are currently being challenged before local courts. Sri Lanka, in PINK, currently has a bill before its parliament to repeal its sodomy law. Indonesia, in ORANGE, has laws that criminalize homosexuality only in some subnational jurisdictions. All states in RED have nationwide sodomy laws and no known legislative efforts or court challenges to remove them.
LGBTQ rights update: 2025 tally and 2026 preview
Map of LGBT Rights in Asia: DARK BLUE: Equal marriage and non-discrimination law; LIGHT BLUE: Limited recognition of same-sex unions and discrimination banned in certain regions only; PURPLE: Foreign same-sex marriages recognized, adoption legal, and discrimination banned; GREEN: At least some sexual orientation discrimination banned nationwide; PALE GREEN: Sexual orientation discrimination banned only in certain regions; BEIGE: Crackdowns on LGBT rights advocacy and expression, but homosexuality legal, if only technically; ORANGE: Sodomy illegal; MAGENTA: Sodomy illegal, but discrimination against trans people prohibited.
2025 LGBTQ rights update: Many bright spots in Asia amid the gloom
Donald Trump on the campaign trail in 2016 (David Becker photo courtesy of Reuters)
Annus Horribilis: After the grim revelations of 2025, what next?
Lesbian couple in India can form a family, judge rules
Donald Trump and Elon Musk (Chris Unger photo courtesy of Zuffa / Rolling Stone)
‘The World’s Richest Men Take On the World’s Poorest Children’
Anti-HIV program in Malawi teaches patients how to protect themselves with antiretroviral medications. (Robbie Flick photo courtesy of Creative Commons license.)
American-made catastrophe: Growing toll of losses and deaths from USAID demolition
Pepfar-supported health counseling in Kenya.
Health programs shutter around the world because Trump has paused foreign aid
Global update: The struggle for LGBTQ rights continues in Asia
Graphic from the 2020 report “Hate Speech Spreads Like Wildfire” on hate speech in social media in the Middle East and North Africa.
Facebook opens the door to more anti-LGBTQ lies and hate speech
Africa had anti-Western views long before anyone blamed the West for LGBT+ activism
Half the countries competing at Asian Cup have anti-LGBT laws
Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination Executive Director Essy Adhiambo. (Courtesy photo)
Global LGBT activists gather for Human Rights Campaign summit in DC
2022 in worldwide LGBT rights progress – Part 4: Asia
Indian Supreme Court decrees equal rights for families of same-sex couples
In September 2018, gay rights supporters in Bangalore, India, celebrate the Supreme Court ruling that overturned India's anti-gay law. (Photo courtesy of USA Today)
U.S. details its extensive LGBTQI rights advocacy in India