Gay Rights (LGBT)

Members of Brazil's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community posing for a portrait inside a free residential shelter called CASA 1 or "House 1" in downtown São Paulo on May 16, 2017.

Brazil is accused of stripping away LGBT rights

Self-described “missionaries” are now approved to perform a widely discredited psychological treatment meant to make people heterosexual, angering Brazil's health and rights communities who pushed to ban it.

Brazil is accused of stripping away LGBT rights
A transgender brothel in Istanbul's run-down Tarlabasi neighborhood.

Trans people are risking their lives in Istanbul

Trans people are risking their lives in Istanbul
Black and white photo of man standing in room

'When I vote next week, I will be saying loud and clear, this is also my country.'

'When I vote next week, I will be saying loud and clear, this is also my country.'
Marcelo Crivella, the new mayor of Rio de Janeiro, gestures to photographers after voting during the municipal elections on Oct. 30.

Rio just elected a very conservative mayor. Activists are worried about LGBT rights.

Rio just elected a very conservative mayor. Activists are worried about LGBT rights.
Collage of self portraits in black and white

After a well-known artist's tragic death, Taiwan's LGBT community demands marriage equality

After a well-known artist's tragic death, Taiwan's LGBT community demands marriage equality
A man reads a publication by a civil society coalition on human rights and constitutional law in Kampala.

Uganda's anti-homosexuality law could be overturned in the courts

The Anti-Homosexuality Act passed in December in Uganda criminalized being gay or even promoting gay rights. Now a case that might repeal the law is working through the Ugandan Constitutional Court.

Uganda's anti-homosexuality law could be overturned in the courts
The Topography of Terror museum sits on the former site of the SS and Gestapo headquarters.

Gay victims of the Nazis are still kept in the closet

In many German museums, curators obscure the last names of those killed or persecuted by the Nazis for allegedly being homosexual. They say it is for privacy, but shame still persists for victims and their families.

Gay victims of the Nazis are still kept in the closet

How a lesbian couple from Cameroon escaped to San Francisco

A lesbian couple left Cameroon after they faced discrimination and death threats at home. But when they arrived in San Francisco with their daughter, they realized there were many more hurdles to overcome.

How a lesbian couple from Cameroon escaped to San Francisco
Iranian singer Googoosh

A beloved Iranian singer releases a music video in support of gay rights

Googoosh is a well-know Iranian singer whose career in her country ended with the Islamic revolution in Iran. Now recording in the US, she has stirred controversy among Iranians around the world by releasing a music video on Valentine's Day that portrays a lesbian couple.

A beloved Iranian singer releases a music video in support of gay rights
In the northern Nigeria state of Bauchi, the State Shariah Commission is using the Hisbah, or Islamic police, to find and arrest men they suspect of being gay. The hunt began when a local newspaper reported that homosexuals in Bauchi had formed an associa

Local authorities use a whisper campaign to round up gay men in northern Nigeria

Anti-gay sentiment is reaching a fever pitch in one state in northern Nigeria. Local authorities in Bauchi State are asking citizens to help find and jail men suspected of being gay. And the practice has the enthusiastic support of local residents.

Local authorities use a whisper campaign to round up gay men in northern Nigeria

Are we actually pushing Russia further away by shining such an intense spotlight on its questionable practices?

The Winter Olympics in Sochi have put a spotlight on Russian practices that don't comport with the rights and freedoms generally accepted in the west. But a Russian-born educator, who spent a long time living and working in the US after being forced out by the Soviet government, says we're not really helping move Russia forward.

Are we actually pushing Russia further away by shining such an intense spotlight on its questionable practices?
People sing the Russian national anthem while raising rainbow flags and a Russian flag  at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium

'You're gay, so it's normal that you were attacked'

Homophobia in Russia is growing more violent, in part because American evangelists have turned their attention to combating gay rights overseas, says Christopher Dickey, the Paris bureau chief for The Daily Beast.

'You're gay, so it's normal that you were attacked'
Digital sunrise

Is this China's environmental future?

China's notorious air pollution makes this photo of a digitally-presented sunrise in an ad seem very eerie. Uganda's president is reconsidering a widely-criticized anti-gay law that the country's parliament passed last month. And India's Olympic team just got the nod to head to Sochi, but can't represent the country. All that and more, in this special weekend edition of the Global Scan.

Is this China's environmental future?
Nigerian gay rights activist Davis Mac-Iyalla (left) holding a banner at London's 2013 Pride Parade protesting anti gay rights laws. On January 7th, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which criminalizes gay

It just got even tougher to be gay in Nigeria

Technically, it's been illegal to be gay in Nigeria since the country's independence from Britain in 1960. But the wording was vague and the law was hard to enforce. Now a new law just signed by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan creates an effective dragnet with the ability to arrest any Nigerian who is gay or who supports or advocates on any issues related to homosexuality.

It just got even tougher to be gay in Nigeria
Thomas Hitzlsperger, when he played for the English team, West Ham United, warming-up before a game in 2011.

Retired German soccer star announces he's gay

There are few openly-gay male players in professional sports leagues around the world. German star Thomas Hitzlsperger retired a few months ago and decided to come out.

Retired German soccer star announces he's gay