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Nigeria Anti Gay Bill

January 21, 2014 By Connor Leave a Comment

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magazine gay lgbtOn Monday, the 13th of January, Goodluck Jonathan, the president of Nigeria, signed into law the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act. It includes a punishment of imprisonment around or in excess of ten years for known homosexuals.

The bill’s passing was the initiation of a hunt for gay Nigerians: police began by taking into custody individuals known to be gay, and continued by torturing them to extract information about the identity and location of other homosexuals.

Human rights and LGBT activists in Africa and across the world have condemned the bill, which, conversely, has been lauded and defended by Muslim and Christian leaders in Nigeria, who criticize what they see as pro-gay trends accompanying aid from the west.

Punishments according to the law are as follows: up to 14 years for gay marriage, and up to 10 for membership in or support of organizations, clubs, societies, and groups pertaining to pro-gay themes.

So far reports indicate that 38 men have been arrested, and a further 168 are being sought.

Nigeria’s population is the largest of any African nation, around 175 million. About fifty percent are Christian, with the other half Muslim, and a small minority of traditional religions remaining. Faith is strong, and sharia law prevails in the Muslim-majority provinces in the northern half of the nation.

Anti-gay sentiment is strong throughout much of Africa. 38 nations legally prohibit homosexuality. Three include the death penalty as a consequence: Mauritania, Sudan, and, following a traditional interpretation of Islamic legal thought, northern Nigeria. In Uganda, Tanzania, and Sierra Leone, the punishment is lifelong imprisonment. In Uganda, further anti-gay efforts continue: despite passing laws requiring lifetime prison sentences, members of the Ugandan parliament have called to upgrade the penalty to capital punishment.

The most liberal African nation in LGBT matters in South Africa, although LGBT rights in the nation have been described as the privilege of a minute minority of the white upper class.


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Ann Bannon – Odd Girl Out Ann Bannon published six novels of lesbian pulp fiction in the late 50s and early 60s. These novels have endured as classics since then. Odd Girl Out was the first of this series of six.
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Maurice – E.M. Forster Another classic, this one published in 1960. It follows a homosexual man named Maurice from his boyhood onward, detailing his life and experiences with love.
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Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides Published in 2002. A multi-generation story, it follows the grandparents of a boy named Cal as they immigrate from Asia Minor to Detroit. The second part of the book follows Cal, a man with a condition that leaves him with certain feminine traits. It shows his journey, and how he comes to understand his identity.
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The Front Runner – Patricia Nell Warren A beloved book from the 70s, telling the story of a college runner, Billy, and his coach, Harlan, who fall in love with one another. They are together for several years, and the book follows their relationship and Billy’s road to the olympics.
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