TAG: religious discourses

Sexual Politics in January 2017

In January, the first and foremost events to be reported are avalanche of draconian and regressive policy measures adopted in the chaotic first two weeks of the Trump administration. Though buried beneath the impact of outrageous closure of borders and decisions about trade agreements – which are subject to contradictory interpretations — gender and sexuality […]

Lebanon Edges Closer to Decriminalizing Same-sex Conduct

A Lebanese judge challenged the legal basis of the arrest of men for same-sex conduct, declaring in a Metn court ruling last week that “homosexuality is a personal choice, not a criminal offence”.

“Not dancing to their music”: report on LGBTQ people in Nigeria

“Not dancing to their music” is a report by Bisi Alimi Foundation, in which 446 LGBT Nigerians completed an online survey that uncovered disturbing stories of mental health abuse, coercion, exclusion, exploitation, isolation, abduction, rape, physical violence and detention. The report suggests that the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, cultural attitudes, and infrastructure in Nigeria […]

Sexual Politics Round-up in 2016

As 2017 begins, SPW highlights the main events and trends as well as tensions and challenges traversing sexual politics worldwide. January In January, the Zika virus epidemics stormed the headlines, as Brazilian babies affected by Zika congenital syndrome prompted a global alarm. Even though Zika had been previously detected in other countries, the Brazilian epidemic […]

The abortion law reform bill in Malawi that is causing debate on all sides

Newspapers and web-based news sites have carried a flurry of responses to the new abortion bill in Malawi, and has led the country’s president to deny that a bill even exists. The reasons why law reform was proposed by a commission which met from 2012 to 2015 are clear. Studies have revealed that about 70,000 Malawian […]

Reflections on Authoring the Chapter on Young Women for the 2016 Arab Human Development Report

After a long delay, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has finally published its latest Arab Human Development Report, ADHR 2016: Youth and the Prospects for Development in a Changing Reality. In this text, we would like to share our misgivings with the final product—more specifically the chapter we were involved with as authors, as […]

Sexual Politics in late October and November 2016

November began with a resounding shift in global politics: Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. As the reactions flooded through the world media, SPW has developed a preliminary view on what this may imply for sexual politics in the US and beyond and compiled a series of articles written by a wide […]

The controversy surrounding gender: a central question of (sexual) politics in Colombia

By Mara Vivero. In this text I will present some elements on gender ideology, its antecedents and contemporary uses and secondly I will refer to the Colombian case, as one of the cases in which the term “gender ideology” has been used as part of a conservative rhetorical strategy to the constant interfaces between religious and political sectors that oppose the changes that have occurred in society in terms of gender and sexuality.

Brazilian Supreme Court decision re-ignites the abortion rights debates

In the midst of the conservative restoration that swept Brazil in 2016, the First Chamber of the Brazilian Supreme Court, where five of the eleven judges have a seat, issued on November 29 an unexpected decision, which argues in favor of the decriminalization of abortion until the twelve week of pregnancy. Though the decision is […]

UN: Victory for LGBT Rights

A close vote on November 21, 2016, by a United Nations General Assembly committee affirming that the newly appointed UN expert to address violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity should continue his work is a victory for human rights, Human Rights Watch said today.

Sex, gender and far right’s global attack

In fact, “gender ideology” is an invention of the right. It’s a hodgepodge of disparate ideas developed by a diverse group of thinkers over the past 50 years, linked mainly in the minds of its opponents. It doesn’t really exist beyond its creators’ manifestos and protest banners, but it’s already helped them score some very real victories.

Morocco: Religious Fundamentalism and Safe Abortion

This research study was carried out by the Moroccan Family Planning Association (MFPA) in partnership with the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), Malaysia, to generate evidence on the nature and consequences of unsafe abortions in Morocco and how religious fundamentalism (in the case of Islam) prevents adequate policies and practices for safe abortion services.