Friday, July 13, 2007

Gay Rights and Wrongs in the World

The following lists depict a panorama certainly sad for same-gender loving people worldwide. Let's start with the good news, and mention the countries that allow gay people to serve openly in their Armed Forces. I'd call this the

Hall of Fame
  • Austria
  • Bahamas
  • Belgium
  • Colombia
  • Croatia
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany (but can't be officers)
  • Hungary
  • Israel
  • Luxemburg
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Peru
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Russia
  • Slovenia
  • South Africa
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Taiwan

Now comes the sad part. There are laws against homosexuality, sodomy and gay sex in all these countries. We're noting the maximum prison sentence on each country, if known.

Hall of Shame
  • Algeria (3 years)
  • Angola (undefined)
  • Antigua & Barbuda (14 years)
  • Bahrain (10 years)
  • Bangladesh (10 years to life)
  • Barbados (undefined)
  • Benin (undefined)
  • Botswana (7 years)
  • Brunei (10 years)
  • Burma/Myanmar (undefined)
  • Cameroon (6 months to 5 years)
  • Cook Islands (5 to 7 years)
  • Djibouti (undefined)
  • Egypt (5 years, not under homosexuality but under inmorality laws)
  • Ethiopia (10 years)
  • Ghana (only punishable under charges of rape when one of both males files a police complaint)
  • Grenada (undefined)
  • Guinea (6 months to 3 years)
  • Guyana (life)
  • India (life)
  • Jamaica (10 years, prison or hard labor)
  • Kenya (14 years)
  • Kiribati (14 years)
  • Kuwait (7 years)
  • Lebanon (1 year)
  • Liberia (undefined)
  • Libya (3 to 5 years)
  • Malawi (punishable under "unnatural offences" and "public decency" laws, undefined term)
  • Malaysia (20 year + lashings)
  • Maldives (life)
  • Marshall Islands (10 years)
  • Mauritius (5 years)
  • Mongolia (undefined)
  • Morocco (6 months to 3 years)
  • Mozambique (3 years)
  • Namibia (undefined, only male sex is punishable)
  • Nauru (undefined)
  • Nepal (life)
  • Nicaragua (4 years)
  • Nigeria (14 years; in the northern states which may apply Islamic law, up to death)
  • Niue (10 years)
  • Oman (3 years)
  • Pakistan (life + 100 lashes, under Islamic law 100 lashes + death)
  • Papua New Guinea (5 to 14 years)
  • Qatar (5 years)
  • St. Lucia (undefined)
  • Samoa (5 to 7 years)
  • Senegal (1 to 3 years)
  • Seychelles (undefined)
  • Sierra Leone (undefined)
  • Singapore (life, but lesbian sex in private is legal)
  • Solomon Islands (14 years)
  • Somalia (3 months to 3 years)
  • Sri Lanka (10 years, but no law against lesbian sex)
  • Swaziland (undefined)
  • Syria (3 years)
  • Tokelau (10 years)
  • Tonga (10 years)
  • Tanzania (14 years, up to 25 if in Zanzibar)
  • Togo (3 years)
  • Trinidad & Tobago (10 to 20 years)
  • Tunisia (3 years)
  • Turkmenistan (2 years)
  • Tuvalu (14 years)
  • Uganda (7 years)
  • United Arab Emirates (10 to 14 years)
  • Uzbekistan (3 years for anal sex, oral sex is legal, and lesbians not mentioned in the law)
  • Zaire (5 years)
  • Zambia (14 years)
  • Zimbabwe (10 years)

And finally, the countries that punish homosexuality with death penalty:

  • Afghanistan
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Mauritania
  • Nigeria (in the northern states only)
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Sudan
  • Yemen

The above information has been collected from the page Homosexual Rights Around the World, where you can find much more detailed information, as well as read the whole detailed list of countries.

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