Just over a year ago we posted 'Not-So-Gay Travel: Better to be safe than sorry! One of the reasons behind the post was because we were looking for destinations to head to on our next holiday and were interested in finding out how accepting different countries were of gay people. Even though Egypt featured on the Top 10 list of places that were NOT gay friendly we had a great day trip there last summer- but we were cautious not to be overly affectionate in public.
The recent news in the UK that the house of Commons has backed the gay marriage bill has brought equality and treatment of gay people back into the news and that is never a bad thing. (See L's post on it here). However while the UK may be showing that equality is the way for the 21st century there are still plenty of countries that are left in the dark ages.
The latest update we have seen on countries stance came in the Metro paper on Wednesday - alongside the article on gay marriage! So if you didn't see the article here's the latest list of punishments you could expect in certain countries:
Antigua and Barbuda: 15 years' jail
Barbados: Life in prison
Dominica: Ten years in prison or sectioning (put in a secure unit)
Grenada: Ten years in jail for men
Guyana: Life in prison
Jamaica: Ten years' hard labour for men
Kenya: 14 years jail time
Malaysia: 20 years in prison
Mauritius: Five years in jail
Morocco: Three years prison time
Saint Kitts and Nevis: Ten years jail time for men
St Lucia: Ten years in prison for men
St Vincent and the Grenadines: Ten years jail time
Seycelles: 14 years in prison
Solomon Islands: 14 years in jail
Singapore: 2 years in jail
Trinadad and Tobago: 25 years in prison
Tunisia: 3 years in jail
United Arab Emirates: Deportation or death!!!!!
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| The most Homophobic Countries |
On the positive side, the countries that have come out to welcome gay people include:
Netherlands
Belgium
Scandinavia - Denmark especially
Great Britain (of course)
Germany
Switzerland
Spain
Portugal
On the note of gay/equal marriage there was another BBC article that came out in the wake of the commons debate that summed up what happened that day and it's fair to say that some of the comments that came out were truly shocking. The day in quotes is here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21343387 So while the majority of UK people have supported a huge step forwards in progress there still remains some who are just as homophobic and outdated as ever.
Funnily enough in a conversation with L's grandparents and later her Dad they both highlighted that holding on to outdated views is no way to make the better place. To explain further we were discussing how in the States the Scouts are currently debating on whether gay people should be allowed to join. The debate featured a young Scout advocating that without allowing gays the Scouts will are discriminatory organisation. The guy arguing the opposite was an older guy who stood fast in his belief that 'the old way was best' - as L's Dad said - when kids look at joining the Scouts whose the opinion are they more likely to take into consideration: a young, up to date Scout or an out-dated old guy who will be dead soon?! (and hopefully his views with him?!) See what Ellen has to say below:
Enjoy the rest of your weekend
Lovely post, ladies! I tried harassing the Boy Scouts on Twitter but they didn't bite. Good news, though - the Girl Scouts are way better, with a "don't ask, don't evangelize" policy. And they're super accepting of transgender girls, too.
ReplyDeleteBig question, though - wtf is "sectioning"?? It sounds really, really scary.
It's a scary reality. Good thing to be aware of.
ReplyDelete