LGBTI

Marchers wave rainbow flags and carry colourful banners at a Pride parade celebrating LGBTQ+ equality and visibility. © Mercedes Mehling/Unsplash

Georgia’s LGBT Community Faces Stark Choices

Many fear that they will be forced to choose between asylum or emigration if Georgian Dream wins election.

24 Oct 24

Reporters for Tolo News cover their faces as they attend an editorial meeting at Tolo TV station in Kabul on May 22, 2022. © WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images

The Afghan Women Journalists Defying the Taleban

Against all odds and despite constant danger, a brave few continue to report.

8 Mar 24

Karine (not her real name) was 15 when she realised that the male body she was born into was not hers. She moved from the rural community she grew up in to the capital Yerevan to be free to be herself. Unlinke many people in her community she was able to find a stable job as a hairdresser and manicurist. © Anahit Zakaryan

Life in the Shadows for Armenia’s Transgender Community

Recent murder highlights widespread discrimination and violence against LGBTI people.

13 Nov 23

Arsen and Tigran, a young Armenian couple, committed suicide together on 20 October '22. © Instagram/rayyyyyennnnn

Armenia: a Young Gay Couple’s Tragic Fate

The apparent suicide led to an outpouring of homophobic hate speech in a country that ranks low on LGBTI rights.

16 Nov 22

In late September, the LGBTI community in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv defied ongoing shelling to hold a week of Pride events under the slogan, United as Never Before. © KharkivPride

Ukraine: Amid War, LGBTI People Fight for Equal Rights

The issue of same-sex marriage has been thrown into focus by the ongoing conflict.

3 Oct 22

Andrey Kolioglo came out in March 2018 and faced widespread harassment. Since March 2022 he lives in France, where he was granted asylum in the wake of the discrimination he faces in his native Moldova.

Coming Out in Gagauzia’s Conservative Society

“Living life with a constant feeling of fear; this is what you have to get used to here if you are gay.”

15 Sep 22

Moldova's largest Pride march took place on June 19 under heavy security. Police officers outnumbered participants by one to four. © Aliona Ciurca

Moldova’s Largest Ever Pride March Defies Critics

Discrimination remain common as the country edges towards the European integration.

27 Jun 22

Cuba’s LGTBI Community Demands Change

Although discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is illegal, the reality is different.

18 May 22

Lilit Martorysyan is Armenia's most propminent transgender activist. In 2019 she addressed the Parliament, calling for protection and respect for her community. Her brief and healt-felt speech prompted political and diplomatic arguments, but it also marked a landmark step for LGBTI rights in the country. © Mania Israyelyan

Armenia: “I Was Born in a Body That Was Not Mine”

Country’s most prominent transgender activist describes her struggle to protect her community from discrimination and violence.

31 Mar 22

Counter protesters celebrated by dancing and singing in front of parliament, where they tore down the US and EU flags and replaced them with a black iron cross. © Davit Mdzinarishvili/IWPR

Georgia: LGBTI Activists Fear Far-Right Alliances

Could a toxic partnership be developing between mainstream politics and extremists?

23 Feb 22

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