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sexual orientationlatest news & developments
The High Court has overturned a Home Affairs official’s decision to reject the asylum application of a man who fled his home country after he was imprisoned for homosexuality. Illustration: Lisa Nelson
ANTI HOMOSEXUAL LAWS

Judge slams home affairs department for ‘unintelligible, illogical babble’ in gay case

An immigration official rejected the asylum application of a man from Chad who was jailed solely for homosexuality in his home country

  • Tania Broughton
4 min read
Whatever someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity, abuse should not be tolerated
ARTICLE

Patriarchal view of only two genders is more complex than XX and XY

Gender identity and sexual orientation are not a choice – they happen during pregnancy

  • Philip Machanick
6 min read
Honouring the dead: A memorial to gay rights activist and Banyana star Eudy Simelane. Two men were convicted and jailed for her murder. (Mduduzi Ndzingi/Gallo Images/Drum)
BLACK LESBIANS

Hate killings of black lesbians in South Africa: 2008 to 2018

The second part of an edited extract from Femicide in South Africa (Kwela) by Nechama Brodie lists the names of black lesbians who were murdered, allegedly because of their…

  • Nechama Brodie
13 min read
Celebrating justice: Women’s rights activists outside the Khayelitsha magistrate’s court in 2012 at the sentencing of Zoliswa Nkonyana’s killers. Four men were sentenced to 18 years in jail each for the February 2006 murder of the 19-year-old lesbian. (Shelley Christians/ Gallo Images/The Times)
AIDS DENIALISM

‘We only write about them when they are dead’: Hate killings of black lesbians in South Africa

In her book ‘Femicide in South Africa’, journalist and researcher Nechama Brodie examines the violent history the country’s black lesbians have endured

  • Nechama Brodie
10 min read
ALBINISM

‘Covid-19 to deepen inequalities in education’ — report

A report from Unesco highlights a lack of access to online learning: only 12% of learners in sub-Saharan Africa can connect to the internet at home

  • Bongekile Macupe
3 min read
With social spaces for queer folk in Accra being very rare, Yolo Lounge offers a much-needed space for communing. (Carl Collison)
BISEXUAL

A queer night in Accra

Queer people in Ghana come up against religious conservatism every day. For one night a month, Yolo Lounge gives them a place to let down their guard and feel a sense of belonging.

  • Carl Collison
5 min read