Tag Archives: Joyce Banda

Stronger voices for LGBT rights in Malawi

Posted on January 16, 2016 by

By Jack Flanagan The news coming from Malawi may suggest a gradual shift in political opinion about LGBT rights. Recently, Malawian President Peter Mutharika announced through his press secretary Gerald Viola that he “wants gay rights protected,” in an interview … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Africa (Sub Saharan) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Malawi outraged as West opposes revival of gay arrests

Posted on December 19, 2015 by

Malawi is no longer a beacon of hope for human rights activists; instead it may be backsliding into an official embrace of anti-gay repression that the country had left behind. At the same time, many Malawians are focusing relatively little … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Africa (Sub Saharan), Anti-LGBT laws and legislation, International pressure for LGBT rights | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

It’s official: No more Malawi arrests under anti-gay laws

Posted on July 14, 2014 by

Malawi has stopped arresting people for same-sex intimacy pending a review of the country’s anti-gay laws, Malawi’s justice minister told the U.N. Human Rights Committee last week. The latest moratorium is related to last fall’s move by the country’s High … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Africa (Sub Saharan), Anti-LGBT laws and legislation, International pressure for LGBT rights, Positive steps | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

3 in Malawi prisons await ruling on sodomy law

Posted on June 16, 2014 by

Powerful figures in Malawi are battling in court over whether the country’s law against homosexual activity should be repealed. Malawian human rights activists argue that the law that criminalizes homosexual behavior (Section 153) is unconstitutional and in violation of  Malawi’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Anti-LGBT laws and legislation, International pressure for LGBT rights | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

UN joins legal challenge to Malawi’s anti-gay law

Posted on January 21, 2014 by

The United Nations AIDS task force has joined a constitutional challenge to Malawi’s sodomy law, which will go before that country’s High Court on March 17. The law has been on hold since November 2012, when Justice Minister Ralph Kasambara declared … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa (Sub Saharan), Anti-LGBT laws and legislation, HIV / AIDS, International pressure for LGBT rights | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Malawi High Court weighs overturning anti-gay law

Posted on November 6, 2013 by

Malawi’s anti-gay law faced a new challenge this week as the Malawi High Court decided to review the constitutionality of the country’s ban on  homosexual intercourse. That law has been on hold since November 2012, when Justice Minister Ralph Kasambara has … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa (Sub Saharan) | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

Jailed for first try at gay wedding, Malawian wants another

Posted on December 10, 2012 by

After fleeing to South Africa in the months after his 14-year prison sentence for homosexuality was reversed in Malawi, Tiwonge Chimbalanga says he has no regrets about his 2009 engagement ceremony there. “I did nothing wrong not even a tiny … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa (Sub Saharan), Harassment / murders, Trials / punishments | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments