One of the cardinals who is reportedly in the running to succeed Pope Francis has described homosexuality as an “abomination.”

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, the archbishop of Kinshasa in Congo, made the comment in a Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar statement in response to Francis’s 2023 decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples.

“Within the church family of God in Africa, this declaration has caused a shockwave, it has sown misconceptions and unrest in the minds of many lay faithful, consecrated persons, and even pastors and has aroused strong reactions,” wrote Ambongo in the Jan. 11, 2024, statement he signed. “The African Bishops’ Conferences emphasize that people with a homosexual tendency must be treated with respect and dignity, while reminding them that unions of persons of the same sex are contrary to the will of God and therefore cannot receive the blessing of the church.”

The statement notes several Biblical passages that “condemn homosexuality, notably Lv. 18:22-23 where homosexuality is explicitly prohibited and considered an abomination.”

“In addition to these biblical reasons, the cultural context in Africa, deeply rooted in the values of the natural law regarding marriage and family, further complicates the acceptance of unions of persons of the same sex, as they are seen as contradictory to cultural norms and intrinsically corrupt,” it reads.

Ambongo, who is president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, in 2024 said homosexuality “does not exist” in Africa outside of “a few isolated cases.” La Croix, a French Catholic newspaper, reported he made the comment during a rally that took place outside of Kinshasa.

Actualité, an online Congolese newspaper, reported Ambongo reiterated his opposition to homosexuality and same-sex unions in his 2023 Christmas message.

“Same-sex unions are not accepted in our church,” he said. “Although homosexuals should be treated with respect, compassion, and sensitivity, homosexuality remains a moral disorder contrary to natural law and our African culture.”

Jérémie Safari, executive director of Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko, a Congolese LGBTQ+ rights group, criticized Ambongo when he spoke with the Los Angeles Blade.

“This cardinal is very homophobic; very, very homophobic,” said Safari.

Francis died on April 21.

The Vatican’s tone on LGBTQ+ and intersex issues softened under the Argentine-born pope’s papacy, even though church teachings on homosexuality did not change.

Francis, among other things, described laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations as “unjust” and supported civil unions for gays and lesbians.

Francis last August met with two African activists — Clare Byarugaba of Chapter Four Uganda and Rightify Ghana Director Ebenezer Peegah — at the Vatican last August. Francis in 2023 visited Congo and South Sudan.

Juan Carlos Cruz, a GLAAD board member who survived clerical sex abuse in Chile, is among the hundreds of thousands of people who attended Francis’s funeral that took place at the Vatican on April 26. Transgender people were among those who greeted Francis’s coffin at Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica before his burial.

The conclave to select Francis’s successor will begin on May 7.

The Associated Press notes Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the former archbishop of Manila in the Philippines; Archbishop of Bologna (Italy) Cardinal Matteo Zuppi; and Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest (Hungary) Cardinal Peter Erdo are among those who are considered potential Francis successors.

“He [Erdo] has been reluctant to take positions on several of the government’s policies that divided society in Hungary, such as public campaigns that villainized migrants and refugees and laws that eroded the rights of LGBTQ+ communities,” said the AP.

New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ+ Catholic organization, in an April 21 statement said it hopes “our loving God, who is a God of justice and equality, will continue to bless us by extending Francis’ welcoming and inclusive message in the next papacy.”

Anti-LGBTQ+ Catholic figures offered a far different view.

Doug Mainwaring — described as a “marriage, family, and children’s rights activist” — on Monday described Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah as “the only conclave participant to counter LGBT ambiguity and lies of Francis pontificate” in a post that LifeSiteNews, an anti-LGBTQ+ Canadian Catholic website, published.

“There is just one cardinal about to enter the conclave who is crystal clear, fearless, and uncompromising with the truth when it comes to pastoring those of us who experience same-sex attraction and gender confusion: Cardinal Robert Sarah,” wrote Mainwaring. 

Mainwaring also highlighted anti-LGBTQ+ comments that Sarah made in his 2019 book.

“I think that the first victims of the LGBT ideology are the persons who experience a homosexual orientation. They are led by its militants to reduce their whole identity to their sexual behavior,” Sarah wrote, according to Mainwaring. “I beg Catholics who are tempted by homosexuality not to let themselves be shut away in this prison of LGBT ideology. You are a child of God by baptism! Your place is in the church, like all Christians. And if sometimes the spiritual combat becomes too hard, fraternal charity will support you.”

Catholic League President Bill Donohue on April 22 urged the cardinals to consider an African counterpart to succeed Francis.

“If the cardinals decide to choose someone who is a traditionalist, they can do no better than to look to Africa. It is home to the most brilliant orthodox clergy in the world,” said Donohue. “If the cardinals want to choose someone more like Francis, they will look to Europe.”

Pope Francis died on Monday at his official residence at the Vatican. He was 88.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, said Francis passed away at Casa Santa Marta at 7:35 a.m. local time (1:35 a.m. ET.)

“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his church,” said Farrell. “He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the one and triune God.”

Francis, a Jesuit who was previously known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was born in Buenos Aires to Italian immigrant parents in 1936. He became archbishop of the Argentine capital in 1998.

Pope John Paul II in 2001 appointed him cardinal. The College of Cardinals in 2013 elected Francis to succeed Pope Benedict XVI after he resigned.

Francis vehemently opposed Argentina’s marriage equality law that then-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner signed in 2010. Francis as pope backed civil unions for gays and lesbians and in 2023 said priests can bless same-sex couples.

Francis in 2023 said laws that criminalize homosexuality are “unjust.” He appointed Robert McElroy, an LGBTQ+-friendly cardinal from San Diego, as the new archbishop of Washington.

The pontiff in 2015 met with a group of gay, transgender, and HIV-positive prisoners in the Italian city of Naples. A Vatican charity in 2020 gave money to a group of trans sex workers in Italy who were struggling to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Francis last October met with a group of trans and intersex Catholics and LGBTQ+ allies at the Vatican. GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis and Juan Carlos Cruz, a gay Chilean man who is a clergy sex abuse survivor, are among those who also met with Francis during his papacy.

Church teachings on homosexuality and gender identity, however, did not change under his papacy.

“From the early months of his papacy when he uttered the now-iconic ‘Who am I to judge?’ in response to a question about accepting gay priests, through numerous affirming pastoral messages to individual LGBTQ+ people, to his support for civil unions, and his condemnation of criminalization laws, Pope Francis has changed the church irreversibly by allowing people to see how their Catholic faith requires acceptance and equality,” said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Mount Rainier, Md., based LGBTQ+ Catholic advocacy organization, in a statement.

DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke met Francis in 2023.

The group in a statement acknowledged the pontiff’s “legacy on LGBTQ+ issues is complicated,” noting “even with the recognition of so many positive words and actions, church teachings and even some recent Vatican documents remain problematic.” DignityUSA President Meli Barber nevertheless praised Francis.

“We also recognize that Pope Francis has raised awareness of LGBTQ+ issues in our church in truly unprecedented ways,” said Barber. “He spoke about us using our own terms and made a point of being seen meeting with LGBTQ+ people frequently. This sent a message of recognition and inclusion we never experienced from the Vatican before.”

Pope’s legacy is ‘mixed’

Activists in Argentina and around the world also mourned Francis.

“We mourn his death and embrace the people who are suffering today because of his passing,” LGBT Federation of Argentina President María Rachid told the Washington Blade.

Dindi Tan, national president of LGBT Pilipinas in the Philippines, on her Facebook page wrote Francis “was unafraid to challenge age-old dogmas and to ‘rattle’ the cage.” Pedro Julio Serrano, president of the Puerto Rico LGBTQ+ Federation, said Francis was an “ally of equity, humanity and dignity of LGBTQ+ people, not only during his pontificate, but throughout his life.”

Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ+ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, in a statement acknowledged Francis’s “more compassionate tone towards sexual minorities” that includes blessings for same-sex couples. Tatchell, nevertheless, pointed out the Vatican under Francis’s papacy continued to oppose marriage equality and trans rights.

“The Catholic Church remains a force for discrimination and suffering,” said Tatchell. “Under his leadership, the Vatican continued to oppose same-sex marriage and trans rights. Catholic bishops lobbied against the decriminalization of homosexuality in many parts of the world. The Vatican still upholds the homophobic edicts of the Catechism, which denounces the sexual expression of same-sex love as a ‘grave depravity’ and ‘intrinsically disordered.’ Francis’s legacy is, therefore, a mixed one — offering some progress but leaving deep-rooted inequalities largely intact.”

Vance met with Francis on Easter Sunday

Francis earlier this year spent more than a month in a Rome hospital after he developed double pneumonia.

He met with Vice President JD Vance at the Vatican on Easter Sunday, hours before his death.

The pope had previously criticized the Trump-Vance administration over its immigration policies.

“I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis,” said Vance on X after the Vatican announced Francis’s death. “My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.”

I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.

I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days…

— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 21, 2025

Argentine President Javier Milei, who previously criticized Francis, mourned him in a statement he posted to X. Milei also announced Argentina will observe seven days of mourning.

“It is with profound sorrow that I learned this sad morning that Pope Francis, Jorge Bergoglio, passed away today and is now resting in peace,” said Milei. “Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his goodness and wisdom was a true honor for me.”

“As president, as an Argentine, and, fundamentally, as a man of faith, I bid farewell to the Holy Father and stand with all of us who meet today with this sad news,” he added.

ADIÓS
Con profundo dolor me entero esta triste mañana que el Papa Francisco, Jorge Bergoglio, falleció hoy y ya se encuentra descansando en paz. A pesar de diferencias que hoy resultan menores, haber podido conocerlo en su bondad y sabiduría fue un verdadero honor para mí.… pic.twitter.com/3dPPFoNWBr

— Javier Milei (@JMilei) April 21, 2025

A transgender Brazilian congresswoman says the U.S. issued her a visa that listed her gender as “male.”

Erika Hilton on Wednesday wrote on her Instagram page that she requested a visa that would have allowed her to travel to the U.S. in order to participate in the Brazil Conference at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The conference took place earlier this month.

“I was classified as ‘male’ by the U.S. government when I went to get my visa,” wrote Hilton, who added a visa she received from the U.S. in 2023 listed her gender as “female.”

Hilton is a Black travesti and former sex worker from São Paulo who won a seat in the Brazilian Congress in 2022. The Washington Blade spoke with Hilton shortly after her election.

“It is a big responsibility … but I feel very honored,” said Hilton. “I very much like to be able to be a representative for my people, and the more than 250,000 people who voted for me have confidence in me,” she said after she spoke at a rally in support of now Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a São Paulo square. “This demonstrates that our work has the potential to have a gigantic reach; where we can advance efforts to end death, poverty, misery, genocide that we have.”

President Donald Trump in his inaugural speech announced the federal government’s “official policy” is “there are only two genders, male and female.” The Trump-Vance administration has also banned the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers.

Germany and Denmark are among the countries that have issued travel advisories for trans and nonbinary people who plan to visit the U.S. These warnings come ahead of WorldPride, which is scheduled to take place in D.C. from May 17-June 8.

Hilton said she is “not surprised” the U.S. issued her a visa with a male gender marker.

“I’m also not surprised by the level of hatred and fixation these people have with trans people,” she said. “After all, the documents I presented are rectified, and I’m registered as a woman, even on my birth certificate.”

Hilton further accused the U.S. of “ignoring official documents from other sovereign nations, even from a diplomatic representative.”

“At the end of the day, I’m a Brazilian citizen, and my rights are guaranteed and my existence is respected by our own constitution, legislation, and jurisprudence,” she said.

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Editor’s note: Duda Salabert, another transgender Brazilian congresswoman, also said the U.S. listed her gender as “male” on her American visa.

A powerful earthquake that rocked Myanmar on March 28 unleashed devastation across the central part of the country.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at 7.7, and pinpointing its epicenter roughly 10 miles west of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city. A 6.4-magnitude aftershock jolted the area 12 minutes later, compounding the destruction and deepening the crisis for a nation already strained by conflict.

The earthquake struck with terrifying intensity near its epicenter, wreaking havoc on Mandalay and the nearby city of Sagaing. 

Mandalay, a bustling city of approximately 1.5 million residents, bore the brunt of the destruction. Among the most striking losses was the 12-story Sky Villa Condominium, which collapsed, leaving scores trapped beneath the wreckage. Rescue workers scrambled to pull survivors from the rubble, but the rising death toll underscored the tragedy’s magnitude.

In Sagaing, which is located closer to the epicenter, more than 70 percent of buildings sustained damage. The Ava Bridge, an essential artery spanning the Irrawaddy River, collapsed, cutting off a critical connection to Mandalay. The earthquake’s shallow depth of less than seven miles amplified its power, reducing homes, temples, and schools to rubble.

The earthquake’s death toll continues to climb, with at least 3,649 confirmed dead, more than 5,000 injured, and approximately 145 people missing. Amid the widespread devastation, questions loom about the impact on vulnerable populations. The Los Angeles Blade reached out to Colors Rainbow, an organization advocating for LGBTQ+ rights in Myanmar, to understand how the crisis has affected one of the nation’s most marginalized communities.

Colors Rainbow Executive Director Hla Myat Tun spoke about how his organization is working to address the crisis faced by Myanmar’s LGBTQ+ community in the aftermath of the earthquake. 

Colors Rainbow has implemented a system of multipurpose cash transfers, directing funds to local LGBTQ+ partner organizations. These grassroots partners, in turn, provide essential support to affected individuals that includes emergency cash assistance, food, non-food items, clean water, and basic emotional support tailored to the immediate needs of their communities.

“We estimate that around 500–800 LGBTQ individuals have been impacted in the affected areas, particularly in Mandalay Region, Sagaing Region, and southern Shan state,” said Hla Myat Tun. “So far, we have been able to directly assist around 80–100 LGBTQ individuals.”

Hla Myat Tun told the Blade that Colors Rainbow is actively gathering data to assess the specific challenges that LGBTQ+ people are facing in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Preliminary observations, he noted, point to heightened vulnerability among LGBTQ+ people, driven by social exclusion and limited access to mainstream humanitarian aid. Hla Myat Tun, however, emphasized more comprehensive information is necessary to fully understand the scope of their needs and vulnerabilities in this crisis.

“We are partnering with international LGBTQ and feminist organizations that focus on displaced communities,” said Hla Myat Tun. “These partners provide emergency funds, and we coordinate with local LGBTQ groups to deliver aid directly to affected individuals on the ground.”

Addressing reports of military restrictions on humanitarian aid, Hla Myat Tun explained how Colors Rainbow is managing to reach LGBTQ+ people who are in conflict zones and areas the military junta controls. Hla Myat Tun highlighted the importance of the organization’s trusted local LGBTQ+ partners, who are embedded in these regions. Their presence and established networks, he said, are vital in navigating restricted areas and ensuring that aid reaches the LGBTQ+ people who are most in need.

Hla Myat Tun also provided insight into how Colors Rainbow is tailoring its relief efforts to meet the LGBTQ+ community’s specific needs. 

He said his organization is gathering information directly from LGBTQ+ people through close coordination with its local partners, relying on both formal and informal communication channels. Hla Myat Tun told the Blade his team conducts daily check-ins via quick telephone calls, ensuring a continuous flow of information to guide their response efforts despite limited internet access, electricity and other challenges.

“Our approach is collaborative — we set strategies and share responsibilities to respond flexibly and safely, based on the rapidly changing local context,” he said. “Personal stories are being documented, but for security reasons, we are cautious about sharing them publicly.”

When asked whether staff or volunteers had harassment, discrimination, or violence while delivering aid — a concern given the precarious legal and social climate for LGBTQ+ people in Myanmar — Hla Myat Tun said there have been no reported incidents thus far. 

“So far, we haven’t received any reports from our staff or local partners about harassment or violence while delivering aid,” he noted, emphasizing Colors Rainbow remains vigilant and has implemented robust safety protocols to protect all involved.

Colors Rainbow relies primarily on funding from international LGBTQ+-focused partners. He noted, however, humanitarian funding specifically dedicated to LGBTQ+ communities remains vastly under-resourced, relative to the pressing needs on the ground. Hla Myat Tun said this shortfall severely limits the scale and reach of Colors Rainbow’s efforts.

“While Myanmar’s legal framework remains outdated, societal attitudes — especially during the civilian government — have shown signs of progress,” said Hla Myat Tun. “We have seen positive change thanks to the work of local LGBTQ organizations.” 

“In the current crisis, many communities are working together despite legal barriers. However, in areas without LGBTQ-led organizations, inclusive humanitarian responses are still lacking,” he added. “There’s an urgent need for international humanitarian actors to understand and implement LGBTQ-inclusive practices in Myanmar.”

When asked about long-term strategies to support the recovery and resilience of LGBTQ+ communities as Myanmar rebuilds, Hla Myat Tun affirmed Colors Rainbow is deeply committed to fostering resilience. The organization’s initiatives include leadership development, community empowerment through training and workshops, sub-granting programs, and organizational development support. He also highlighted Colors Rainbow’s advocacy for LGBTQ+-inclusive policies and collaboration with ethnic groups to promote an inclusive federal democracy, and specifically thanked Outright International, a global LGBTQ+ and intersex rights group, for “amplifying our work.

“This kind of international attention shines a spotlight on the challenges LGBTQ communities in Myanmar are facing and helps open doors for more support,” Hla Myat Tun told the Blade. “It also boosts visibility and solidarity, both locally and globally, which we deeply appreciate.”

Editor’s note: Washington Blade International News Editor Michael K. Lavers will be on assignment in Argentina through April 12.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — A group of Argentine transgender activists with whom the Blade spoke on April 4 said President Javier Milei’s policies have made their community even more vulnerable to violence, discrimination, and poverty.

“The situation is really chaotic, desperate,” said Florencia Guimares García, a travesti activist who is president of the House of Lohana and Diana Civil Association. “There is also a lot of fear among the trans and travestí community towards the government’s policies.”

Guimares’s group is named after Diana Sacayán, a prominent trans activist who was stabbed to death inside her Buenos Aires apartment in 2015, and Lohana Berkins, the founder of the Association for the Fight for Travesti and Transsexual Identity who died in 2016.

Guimares and three other trans activists — Julia Amore, Sasha Solano, and Daniela Ruiz — spoke with the Blade after they participated in a trans and travestí rights forum that took place at an LGBTQ cultural center in downtown Buenos Aires. Alba Rueda, the country’s former special envoy for LGBTQ rights, also took part.

“We are in a bad moment for the rights and quality of life of LGBTQ+ people,” Rueda told the Blade during a February 2024 interview.

Milei took office on Dec. 10, 2023, after he defeated then-Economy Minister Sergio Massa in the second round of that year’s Argentina’s presidential election. Rueda resigned before Milei assumed the presidency.

Milei, an economist and former congressman, shortly after he took office eliminated the country’s Women, Gender and Diversity Ministry.

Milei last year closed the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism, a government agency known by the acronym INADI that provided support and resources to people who suffered discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and other factors. Milei in 2024 also dismissed trans people who the government hired under the Trans Labor Quota Law, which set aside at least 1 percent of public sector jobs for trans people.

Argentina’s landmark Gender Identity Law that, among other things, allows trans and nonbinary people to legally change their gender without medical intervention, took effect in 2012 when Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was president. Milei on Feb. 5 issued a decree that restricts minors’ access to gender-affirming surgeries and hormone treatments.

Gay Congressman Esteban Paulón, a long-time LGBTQ activist, filed a criminal complaint against Milei after he linked the LGBTQ community to pedophilia and made other homophobic and transphobic comments during a Jan. 23 speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Millions of people in Buenos Aires and across Argentina participated in marches against Milei that took place less than two weeks later.

Milei is among the heads of state who attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Milei also spoke at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md.

“Violence is more explicit, more common,” Guimares told the Blade, noting police violence has become more common against sex workers who are trans or travestí since Milei took office. Guimares added this situation is worse outside of Buenos Aires.

“The situation is different, depending on the location, and even more so in other provinces,” she said. “Even living in the province of Buenos Aires isn’t the same as living in Salta, or in Jujuy, or in Corrientes, or in provinces where the population is more conservative, where the discourse from the churches is much stronger, where all of this has a much crueler impact.”

“Milei’s discourse has legitimatized all of this,” added Guimares.

Amore said Argentina before Milei “had been a beacon” for human rights around the world.

“We’ve been building these laws with a lot of struggle, a lot of effort, with allies, and it wasn’t enough because we didn’t reach our goal,” she said. “These are very young. Our democracy is very young; we have a 40-year-old democracy and we are talking about a Gender Identity Law that is 12-years-old.

Amore added Milei is trying to erase trans and travestí people. Ruiz, an activist and actress who founded Siete Colores Diversidad, agreed.

“It is a cultural battle for us,” Ruiz told the Blade, referring for the continued struggle for trans and travestí rights in Argentina.

“It marks a cultural paradigm shift that we were carrying out day after day, making ourselves visible,” she added. “We carried it out by making ourselves politically visible, by presenting our travestí and trans Latin American visibility as a beacon to the world.”

The activists spoke with the Blade less than three months after Trump took office.

The American president, like Milei, has targeted the trans community with executive orders and policy directives. These include banning the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers and prohibiting trans adults and young people from sports teams that correspond with their gender identity.

Solana, a trans woman from Peru who advocates on behalf of migrants, noted one of the first executive orders that Trump signed directed the federal government to only recognize two genders: Male and female.

“Man and woman. Period,” she said.

Guimares added Milei’s anti-LGBTQ discourse isn’t even his “original speech, but rather a line drawn from the U.S. government of Donald Trump and its agenda, which he established from the beginning and which he campaigned on as well.”

“This also follows in line with parties like Vox in Spain and other European countries, where we see how in Hungary, where an LGBTI Pride march (in Budapest) is now banned, and in other countries around the world where the population is having a really hard time,” said Guimares. “So, it’s not something original from Milei, but rather he’s taking part in those political agendas to generate strategies and alliances to be able to access economic resources.”

Amore, for her part, urged her American counterparts to continue the fight.

“Don’t let down your guard,” said Amore. “Organize. Come together. Speak out. Become visible in community. Respect the diversity of voices and put your own voices first and make yourselves more visible.”

India’s premier literary institution on March 7 announced it would allow LGBTQ+ poets to participate in its marquee Festival of Letters in New Delhi.

The Sahitya Akademi, often seen as a mirror of the government’s cultural agenda, for the first time allowed these poets into a high-profile poetry reading at the Rabindra Bhavan. They shared the stage with more than 700 writers across 50 languages.

Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat kicked off the Festival of Letters with Mahesh Dattani, the acclaimed English-language playwright famed for his provocative works, as the main guest. Dubbed Asia’s grandest literary gathering, the Sahitya Akademi took place over six days under the “Indian Literary Traditions” theme.

The 2025 Festival of Letters showcased a sweeping range of voices — young writers, women writers, Dalit authors from marginalized castes, Northeast Indian scribes, tribal poets, and LGBTQ+ poets — cementing its reputation as a literary kaleidoscope. 

Kalki Subramaniam, a leading transgender rights activist and author, on March 9 chaired a literary session titled “Discussion on Literary Works of LGBTQ Writers in the 21st Century,” which spotlighted contemporary queer voices.

“It was enriching to listen to the profound thoughts of LGBT writers from various parts of the country in their speeches,” said Subramaniam. “The session was particularly memorable with the participation of A. Revathi Amma from Tamil Nadu, Reshma Prasad from Bihar, Sanjana Simon from New Delhi, and Devika Devendra Manglamukhi and Shivin from Uttar Pradesh and Aksaya K Rath from Orissa.”

Subramaniam discussed how global politics shape gender rights and the persistent erasure of trans identity, urging a unified push for solidarity within the LGBTQ+ community. She stressed the vital need to elevate queer works and writers, casting their voices as essential to the literary vanguard.

“It was a pleasure to meet great writers from around the country in the festival as well as meet my writer activist friends Sajana Simon and Revathi Amma after a long time,” said Subramaniam. 

The government on March 12, 1954, formally established the Sahitya Akademi. A government resolution outlined its mission as a national entity tasked with advancing Indian literature and upholding rigorous literary standards; a mandate it has pursued for seven decades.

The Sahitya Akademi in 2018 broke ground in Kolkata, hosting the country’s first exclusive gathering of trans writers, a landmark nod to queer voices in Indian literature. 

Hoshang Dinshaw Merchant, India’s pioneering openly gay poet and a leading voice in the nation’s gay liberation movement, on March 9 recited a poem at the Festival of Letters, his verses carrying the weight of his decades-long quest for queer recognition. He later thanked the session’s chair for welcoming the community, a gesture that underscored the event’s third day embrace of diverse voices.

The Sahitya Akademi in 2024 honored K. Vaishali with the Yuva Puraskar for her memoir “Homeless: Growing Up Lesbian and Dyslexic in India,” a raw account of navigating queerness and neurodivergence. Vaishali in a post-win interview reflected on India’s deep-seated conservatism around sexuality, noting she wrote from a place of relative safety — an upper-caste privilege that shielded her as she bared her truth. The award, she said, was the Akademi’s indelible seal on her lived experience, a validation no one could challenge.

The Sahitya Akademi’s inclusion of LGBTQ+ writers in its main program this year jars with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government’s conservative stance, which, in 2023, opposed same-sex marriage in the Supreme Court, arguing it erodes Indian family values. Yet, under Shekhawat, the Sahitya Akademi’s spotlight on queer voices at the Rabindra Bhavan suggests it could be a tentative crack in a regime typically rooted in tradition.

The Festival of Letters hosted a translators’ meeting on March 10, spotlighting P. Vimala’s 2024 award-winning Tamil translation of Nalini Jameela’s “Autobiography of a Sex Worker,” a work steeped in marginalized voices that include queer perspectives.

This platform gained significant support from the BJP-led government, with Shekhawat securing a 15 percent budget increase to ₹47 crore ($5.63 million) in 2024. In Tamil Nadu state, however, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, has long opposed such cross-linguistic efforts, fearing dilution of Tamil identity amid decades of anti-Hindi sentiment — a tension the Sahitya Akademi’s inclusive showcase sought to bypass.

‘The Akademi is very inclusive and has a friendly festival ambience,” Subramaniam told the Los Angeles Blade.

Japan’s Nagoya High Court on March 7 ruled the lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriages violates the country’s constitution. 

The plaintiffs argued Japan’s Civil Code and Family Registration Act, which does not recognize same-sex marriages, violates the country’s constitution. They cited Article 14, Paragraph 1, which guarantees equality under the law and prohibits discrimination based on factors that include race, creed, sex, or social status. The plaintiff also invoked Article 24, Paragraph 2, which emphasizes that laws governing marriage and family matters must uphold individual dignity and the fundamental equality of the sexes.

The plaintiffs sought damages of 1 million yen ($6,721.80) under Article 1, Paragraph 1, of the State Redress Act, which provides for compensation when a public official, through intentional or negligent acts in the course of their duties, causes harm to another individual. The claim centered on the government’s failure to enact necessary legislation, which prevented the plaintiff from marrying.

The court noted same-sex relationships have existed naturally long before the establishment of legal marriage. It emphasized that recognizing such relationships as legitimate is a fundamental legal interest connected to personal dignity, transcending the confines of traditional legal frameworks governing marriage and family.

The court further observed same-sex couples encounter significant disadvantages in various aspects of social life that cannot be addressed through civil partnership systems. These include housing challenges, such as restrictions on renting properties, and financial institutions refusing to recognize same-sex couples as family members for mortgages. Same-sex couples also face hurdles in accessing products and services tailored to family relationships. While the court deemed the relevant provisions unconstitutional, it clarified that the government’s failure to enact legislative changes does not constitute a violation under the State Redress Act.

The lawsuit, titled “Freedom of Marriage for All,” brought together a large coalition of professionals, including more than 30 plaintiffs and 80 lawyers. They filed six lawsuits in five courts throughout Japan.

“We filed these lawsuits on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2019, in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Sapporo, and in September of that year in Fukuoka,” noted Takeharu Kato, director of Marriage for All Japan. “Then, in March 2021, the Sapporo District Court handed down the first ruling declaring the current laws unconstitutional, which received extensive worldwide media coverage. Subsequently, the Osaka District Court unfortunately ruled that the current law is constitutional, but among the 10 rulings handed down so far, nine have ruled that not recognizing marriage equality is unconstitutional.”

Kato is a lawyer who is part of the legal team in the Sapporo case. He is also a board member of Marriage for All Japan, a marriage equality campaign.

“The MFAJ (Marriage for All Japan) is fully supporting the lawsuits by publicizing the current status of the trials and the rulings in our websites and social networks, setting up press conferences at the time of the rulings,” Kato told the Los Angeles Blade. “We also make the best of the impact of the lawsuits in our campaign by holding events with the plaintiffs of the lawsuits and inviting them to the rally at Diet (the Japanese parliament) members’ building.”

Kato said the campaign has significantly shifted public opinion, with recent polls indicating more than 70 percent of Japanese people now support marriage equality — up from approximately 40 percent before Marriage for All Japan launched. He also noted 49 percent of Diet members now back marriage equality.

Japan is the only G7 country that does not legally recognize same-sex couples. Taiwan, Nepal, and Thailand have extended full marriage rights to gays and lesbians.

Expressing disappointment, Kato said many Japanese politicians continue to resist marriage equality, despite overwhelming public support. Kato added Marriage for All Japan expects the Supreme Court to rule on their lawsuits in 2016.

“We believe that the Supreme Court will also rule that the current laws are unconstitutional,” he said. “However, the Supreme Court’s ruling alone is not enough to achieve marriage equality under the Japanese legal system. We should put more and more strong pressure on the Diet to legalize marriage equality in Japan as soon as possible.”

Several municipalities and prefectures issue certificates that provide limited benefits to same-sex couples, but they fall short of equal legal recognition.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government has faced mounting pressure on the issue as public support for marriage equality has surged in recent years. Kishida has yet to push reforms within his own party; encountering fierce opposition from its traditional leadership.

His government in June 2023 passed Japan’s first law addressing sexual orientation and gender identity, aiming to “promote understanding” and prevent “unfair discrimination.” Activists, however, widely criticized the legislation on grounds it fails to provide comprehensive protections or extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.

A report that a Chilean advocacy group released on Tuesday says 2024 was a “year of regression” for LGBTQ+ rights.

The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (Movilh)’s 23rd Sexual and Gender Diversity Human Rights report notes LGBTQ+ rights for the first time since democracy returned to Chile in 1990 not only stopped advancing, but saw significant rollbacks in the three branches of government.

The Movilh report describes 2024 as “the year of regression,” noting 23.5 percent of human rights violations against LGBTQ+ people over the last two decades occurred last year. A total of 2,847 discrimination complaints were reported in 2024, representing a 78.7 percent increase over the previous year.

The report documents two murders, 44 physical or verbal assaults, two incidents of violence in police stations, 89 reports of abuse in the workplace, and 65 incidents in educational institutions in 2024. The transgender community was particularly affected, with a 462.6 percent increase in discrimination cases compared to 2023.

The Movilh report notes the growing influence of the ultra-right, whose narratives have fostered hate speech, is one of the main factors behind the deterioration of LGBTQ+ rights in Chile. The advocacy group also criticizes authorities who have remained silent in the face of these attacks, even though they say they support the LGBTQ+ community.

The report specifically singles out the Executive Branch.

Movilh specifically highlights the prohibition of public funds for hormone treatments for trans minors and the postponement of these procedures in public hospitals. The government reversed course after intense pressure and judicial appeals.

The report also criticizes the judiciary.

The Oral Criminal Trial Court of San Antonio refused to classify the murder of a trans woman as a femicide, arguing her identity card still reflected the gender assigned to her at birth. The Court of Appeals of Santiago also ordered the removal of a homophobia complaint on social media, setting what NGOs have described as a dangerous freedom of speech precedent.

The report notes Valparaíso, Metropolitana, and Biobío are the three regions with the highest number of discrimination complaints, with 51.3 percent, 25.1 percent, and 5.8 percent respectively. Reported cases increased in 11 of Chile’s 16 regions, with Ñuble leading the way with a 300 percent increase.

Faced with this bleak panorama, advocacy groups have intensified their efforts to denounce the violence and demand LGBTQ+ rights are once again guaranteed. Movilh, along with other organizations, have approached the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the U.N. about the situation in Chile.

“We are seeing a reversal of rights that cost decades of struggle,” warns the report. “If the State does not act urgently, we run the risk of discrimination and violence becoming institutionalized.”

Kenyan President William Ruto is facing backlash for backing U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order that recognizes only two genders: Male and female.

Ruto’s support for Trump’s decision to ban transgender people from serving in the U.S. military and competing on women’s sports teams has drawn criticism from human rights defenders, lawmakers, lawyers, and intersex activists.

Ruto’s critics cite Kenya’s 2022 landmark decision to officially recognize intersex people as the third gender with an “I” gender marker after years of court battles for recognition and their inclusion in a national Census for the first time in 2019.

“We are very proud that contrary to what has been happening in the past, this year we got some very welcoming developments in the United States that as a leading democracy, we have gotten to understand that the policy direction of the U.S. supports what we believe in,” Ruto stated during a Jan. 26 speech at the Global Cathedral Church’s annual convention in Nairobi. “Boys must remain boys, men must remain men, women must remain women and girls must remain girls.”

Ruto’s position to side with Trump on sex and gender identity contradicts his previous stance during the Biden-Harris administration when he was cautious about speaking about transgender and queer rights in order not to jeopardize his relationship with Washington.

Trump on Jan. 21 signed an executive order that directed the U.S. federal government to only recognize male and female genders. This directive revoked the Biden-era policy that recognized trans rights and allowed trans servicemembers.

Trump on Feb. 6 signed another executive order that bans trans athletes from competing on female sports teams

“The war on women’s sports is over,” he said.   

“We’re putting every school receiving taxpayer dollars on notice that if you let men take over women’s sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding,” Trump warned. “From now on, women’s sports will be only for women.”

His executive order relies partly on the U.S. Justice Department’s authority to bring enforcement actions under Title IX, which bars sex discrimination in education and requires schools to offer girls an equal opportunity to play sports. The law, under Trump’s interpretation, forbids trans girls from playing in girls’ sports.

Trump in 2017 banned trans people from serving openly in the U.S. military.

“We thank God that this year the first very news from the U.S. in the new administration is to confirm what the Bible says, what our faith believes in, and what our tradition firmly is grounded on,” Ruto said in his speech.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), a government-funded body, described Ruto’s comments as “embarrassing and unfortunate.”

“In Kenya, the law is very clear and the Children’s Act recognizes the intersex because they are unique persons as they have no issues based on sex identity or gender orientation,” said an intersex rights activist who asked the Washington Blade to remain anonymous. “His sentiments are likely to increase stigma against the intersex persons and if they are discriminated against, anyone will just go to court because they are also protected by the law.”

Esther Passaris, an opposition MP who represents Nairobi County, maintained there are not two sexes in Kenya.

“Let’s face it, we have intersex children with two or incomplete sexes. These children require our love as a society,” she said. “Let God deal with the genders.”

Since the recognition of intersex people, several policy measures to tackle discrimination have been implemented to ensure their protection and equal treatment. 

Kenya last week officially recognized intersex people at birth, allowing them to receive birth certificates with an “I” gender marker. The KNCHR described this decision as “a historic milestone” that aligns with the Kenyan constitution and other existing policy measures that include the Children Act and the proposed Intersex Persons Bill, 2024.

“This is a major step towards securing rights, dignity, and equal opportunities for all intersex persons in Kenya,” KNCHR stated.

KNCHR asked Kenyans, state, and non-state institutions to support awareness, policy reforms, and the inclusion of intersex people for the latest reform to be implemented successfully.

The Trump-Vance administration’s decision to freeze nearly all U.S. foreign aid spending for at least 90 days has had a devastating impact on the global LGBTQ+ rights movement.

The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights, a Washington-based group that championed LGBTQ+ and intersex rights in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America, on Feb. 1 announced it has suspended programming because it lost nearly 80 percent of its funding.

“Despite some limitations we are facing at the moment, we want to share that our commitment is unwavering,” said the organization in an email it sent to supporters on Wednesday. The message also asked them to make a donation.

Outright International, a global LGBTQ+ and intersex advocacy group, in a statement to the Los Angeles Blade said it has “had to halt direct funding and capacity-building support to LGBTIQ groups in more than 32 countries” in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America.

“The community-based groups we support with USAID (the U.S. Agency for International Development) funding carry out critical human rights, humanitarian and development work,” said Outright International. “This includes protecting community members from violence, providing skills training that allows LGBTIQ people to access employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, and essential services, including healthcare services.”

The LGBTQ+ Victory Institute works with Caribe Afirmativo in Colombia, Promsex in Peru, VoteLGBT in Brazil, and a number of other advocacy groups outside the U.S. LGBTQ+ Victory Institute President Elliot Imse told the Blade his organization has lost around $600,000, which is two-thirds of its entire global program budget.

“We’re scrambling to secure new funding to restore half of the amount we lost, which would allow us to make a similar impact on LGBTQ inclusion worldwide,” he said.

Equal Namibia and Namibia Pride received a $30,000 grant from USAID. Omar van Reenen, co-founder of Equal Namibia, told the Washington Blade it “was the largest grant and biggest grant on such a scale we have received.

“When we received this grant it was the first time we had substantial funding for our organization,” they said.

Van Reenen said the organizations have lost $10,000 of the original $30,000 they received from USAID.

“This means we do are back to zero funds for the organization and will need to continue our campaigns on a voluntary basis,” they told the Blade. “This comes at the worst time as we will need to challenge the new anti-same-sex marriage act passed by the president in October and the upcoming decriminalization case which the Supreme Court will hear soon.” 

The Center for Integrated Training and Research, a group known by the Spanish acronym COIN that fights the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Dominican Republic and in other countries in the Caribbean, on Feb. 6 said the funding freeze “directly affects the continuity of the free services that COIN provides to more than 2,300 patients who receive antiretroviral treatment” in the Dominican Republic.

COIN said its patients will continue to receive free antiretroviral drugs because the Dominican government provides them; but the funding freeze has forced it to suspend urology, internal medicine, and pediatric services. COIN said it will continue to provide vaccines and general medicine, gynecological, and family planning services, but “with limitations.” COIN also noted its PrEP service will continue, “but with reduced capacity.”

“In light of this situation, we urgently call upon the national and international community, strategic allies, and sectors sensitive to our cause to find solutions that allow us to continue offering these vital services,” said COIN. “The health and well-being of thousands of people depends on the solidarity and commitment of everyone.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Jan. 24 directed State Department personnel to stop nearly all U.S. foreign aid spending for 90 days in response to an executive order that President Donald Trump signed after his inauguration. Rubio later issued a waiver that allows the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and other “life-saving humanitarian assistance” programs to continue to operate during the freeze. (The Blade last week reported PEPFAR-funded programs in Kenya and other African countries have been forced to suspend services and even shut down because of a lack of U.S. funding. Dozens of HIV/AIDS activists on Feb. 6 protested outside the State Department and demanded U.S. officials fully restore PEPFAR funding.)

The Trump-Vance administration is also trying to dismantle USAID.

A statement the White House issued on Feb. 3 said the organization “has been unaccountable to taxpayers as it funnels massive sums of money to the ridiculous — and, in many cases, malicious — pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats, with next-to-no oversight.” The statement also contains examples of what it described as “the waste and abuse” that include:

• $1.5 million to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities”

• $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia

• $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru

• $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala

The statement links to an article the Daily Mail published on Jan. 31 that President Donald Trump “strips millions from DEI foreign aid programs funding Irish musicals, LGBTQ programs in Serbia and more.” The claim that USAID paid for “sex changes and ‘LGBT activism’ in Guatemala” appears to come from an article the Daily Caller published on Sept. 19, 2024.

Sources with whom the Blade has spoken say the White House’s claims are incorrect.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Feb. 2 welcomed efforts to dismantle USAID.

“Most governments don’t want USAID funds flowing into their countries because they understand where much of that money actually ends up,” he wrote on X. “While marketed as support for development, democracy, and human rights, the majority of these funds are funneled into opposition groups, NGOs with political agendas, and destabilizing movements.”

Most governments don’t want USAID funds flowing into their countries because they understand where much of that money actually ends up.

While marketed as support for development, democracy, and human rights, the majority of these funds are funneled into opposition groups, NGOs… pic.twitter.com/bXpdK29zH5

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) February 2, 2025

Mónica Hernández, executive director of ASPIDH Arcoíris Trans, a transgender rights group in El Salvador, spoke with the Blade last week in San Salvador, the country’s capital. Posters with USAID’s logo were on the wall inside the organization’s office.

Hernández said she learned on Jan. 27 the U.S. had suspended funding that ASPIDH Arcoíris Trans received through Freedom House and other groups that partnered with the State Department. She told the Blade that Washington cancelled the grants the following day.

“The (challenge) is to look for other funds from another institution that is not USAID, or that is not from the United States that has to go through the State Department,” she said.

Outright International told the Blade that USAID is not it’s “only source of funding,” but noted “USAID, and the U.S. government more broadly, have in recent years become an extremely important source of funding for LGBTIQ rights around the world, allowing us and our partners to expand our efforts to promote inclusive development and combat pervasive human rights violations.”

Council for Global Equality Chair Mark Bromley told the Blade the U.S. funds roughly a third of the global LGBTQ+ rights movement. Imse said the global LGBTQ rights movement is set to lose more than $50 million.

“It is a catastrophe,” he told the Blade.

Bromley added it will be “challenging, if not impossible” to fill the funding gap.

“There isn’t a short term way to fill the current funding gap,” he said. “It sets the movement back at least 10 years.”