SUDAN - President Kiir: no place for gays in new Southern Sudan (2010, Alternate Link): He has promised democracy, equality and justice for all in Southern Sudan. Homosexuals, however, would not be accepted in the new country. "It is not in our character [...] it is not there and if anybody wants to import it to Sudan [...] it will always be condemned by everybody." - Cross-dressing men flogged in Sudan for being 'womanly' (2010): A group of young Muslim men have been publicly flogged in Sudan after they were convicted of wearing women's clothes and make-up. The court said the 19 men had broken Sudan's strict public morality codes.Police arrested them at a party where they were found dancing "in a womanly fashion", the judge said. - Sudanese flogged for being gay (2010). - At UN, Gay Rights Group Loses 9-7 in NGO Committee, Sudan Wins, Egypt Speaks (2011): The International Lesbian and Gay Association has been applying to ten years for consultative status with the UN’s Economic and Social Council. On Friday afternoon, Belgium called for a vote on its application. Sudan immediately countered with a No Action Motion, to block voting on Belgium’s proposal and the group.

Freedom Sudan, The Sudanese LGBT Association (2009, Alternate Link). - Sudan's First LGBT Rights Organization? (2010): Freedom Sudan is the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organization in Sudan. Our organization has been formed in December 2006. Our status is illegal. Homosexual behavior is illegal in Sudan and homosexuals facing the death penalty. That's why our organization was formed in secret and all our activities are carried out secretly, hoping that one day we will get accepted in our communities and even in our families, and hope that we can be FREE to be the way we are. Freedom Sudan is an organization run by volunteers only. - Comment: Muhammad Osman (2010): I picked up the link to the LGBT website from your roundup post, thanks btw. When I read the list of the names of the organization’s board, my initial reaction was like “Oh boy, they must be out of their minds” But guess what, in hindsight, I felt a sense of relief that the voices of our fellow Sudanese homosexuals are finally unbridled. It’s time to blow the cover off the myth that there are no homosexuals in Sudan. I personally know far too many to go into..

Sudan’s church condemns gay bishop (2006): The Episcopal Church of the Sudan (ECS) has passed a resolution condemning the Episcopal Church in the USA (ECUSA) and the Anglican Church of Canada for consecrating an openly gay person into the office of bishop, and blessing same-sex marriages. - South Sudan Anglican Church rejects tribalism and homosexuality (2006). - U.S. sides with Iran, Sudan to bar gay groups from UN (2006): In a surprising reversal, the United States voted with Iran and other anti-gay countries at the United Nations to deny observer status to two gay rights groups at the world body. The UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations of the United Nations Economic and Social Council voted January 23, 10-5 with three abstentions to deny the International Lesbian and Gay Association of Brussels and the Danish National Association for Gays and Lesbians of Denmark consultive status at the UN. Such status, which is enjoyed by over 3,000 NGOs around the world, allows access to UN proceedings, presence at conferences, and the right to propose agenda items..

A voice from Sudan (2004): he told me that his brother saw him kissing another guy, he told me I think he is going to kill me as he is very anti homosexuality. So I was trying to calm him dawn & I told him don't be ridiculous no body is going to kill you just because of that & if at the time of the incident he did nothing I think he is not going to harm you, I told him to go back home and act as nothing was happened. I wish I said nothing. - Soudan: Un rapport de l'ONU condamne la peine de mort pour homosexualité (2007, Translation): Le Comité des droits de l'homme de l'ONU dénonce les entorses au Pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques qui ont cours au Soudan, et particulièrement dans la province en guerre du Darfour (ouest). Parmi les sujets que les experts indépendants ont jugés inquiétants, dans un récent rapport, figurent la peine de mort pour homosexualité, la torture de prisonniers, le recrutement d'enfants soldats et les mutilations sexuelles..

blackgayarab Blog: Gay And Proud: Sudanese & Gay! (2007):  Then, if it's matter of my sexual orientation, forgive me for saying this, it's non of anyone damn business. If you haven't heard or seen of any gays in Sudan then allow me to tell you "You Don't live In The Real World then". What's left then, oh yeah posting as Sudanese Gay. Well, I'm Sudanese and Proud Gay Also. As far as I know I have all the rights to post and post whatever I want to as long as I'm not hurting anyone. - Gay Africans and Arabs come out online (2008): When Ali started blogging that he was Sudanese and gay, he did not realize he was joining a band of African and Middle Eastern gays and lesbians who, in the face of hostility and repression, have come out online... - Podcast: Homosexuality in Sudan – A conversation with a gay blogger (2010). - Reem’s Podcast With a Gay Sudanese Blogger (2010): .

Widespread Gang-Rape of Boy Slaves by Arab Masters (2002): "This type of sex is very strange to us," said recently redeemed slave Deng Deng.  "Many times during rape boys would cry so loudly that the Arabs would stuff rags in their mouths so they could not be heard.  I witnessed this often. If you refuse [sex], sometimes they would shoot you." Deng Deng is a Christian who said that as a slave he was often beaten because he would not convert to Islam. Another recently freed boy slave, Deng Ayuel testified: "I watched the Arabs rape my two sisters and I watched many slave boys being raped as well.  They would often take a girl or boy and do whatever they wanted with them sexually.  I too was raped many times by my master and his Arab friends.". - The rape of slave boys in Sudan (2004): 'They raped me', Majok cried. 'And when I tried to refuse, they beat me'.  After taking care of his master's cattle all day, Majok said he was often raped at night. He told me that his rapes were very painful and he would rarely get a full night's sleep. He also spoke about the other slave boys he saw who suffered the same fate...

UN staff accused of raping children in Sudan (2007): "A man in a white car drove past and asked me if I wanted to get into the car with him. I saw that the car was a UN car because it was white with the black letters on it. The man had a badge on his clothes. When he stopped the car, we got out, he put a blindfold on me and started to abuse me. It was painful and went on for a long time. When it was over we went back to the place we had been, and he pushed me out of the car and left." Jonas now returns to the same place regularly in the hope of being picked up and paid something for his services. "I know it is a terrible thing to do but I see the UN cars around late at night by the drinking places and I sit there in the hope of being picked up. If I get 1000 SD ($3) a day then that is a good day."

Resources: - Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country: Sudan. Sudan Archive. - African Veil: Countries Covered: Sudan.  - Queer afrol. - Afrol News; Gay/Lesbian Archives. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. - Freedom Sudan, The Sudanese LGBT Association.

Global Gayz: Africa: Sudan News Reports From 2004 to the Present. - ILGA: Africa: Sudan. - LGBT rights in Sudan. - Sodomy Laws: Sudan. - Human Rights Watch: Use Search Function. - Amnesty International: Use Search Function. - Pink News: Europe's Largest Gay News Service: Africa. - AsylumLaw.Org: Sexual Minorities & HIV Status: Documents / Reports / Website Links / Organizations. - Sudan Individual Documents Since 2000. - Links to News Sources for GLBT World.
MSMGF News Articles & Documents Resources. By Region & Country:  Middle East & North Africa: - Sudan.

ETHIOPIA - Secretive lives for gays in conservative Ethiopia (2009, Alternate Link): It's nearly an hour before midnight in a street in one of Addis Ababa's bustling districts and less than a dozen young men can be spotted below the glow of half-lit street lights. In near-slow motion, a handful of vehicles pass by over potholed roads while gay men and male prostitutes hold discreet conversations on cracked pavements.  - Ethiopian clerics seek constitutional ban on homosexuality (2008). - Ethiopian gays threatened as clerics seek homosexuality ban (2009): She further highlighted that even though homosexuality is illegal in the country the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community congregates at secluded places. “For those of us who live here we make and build our communities. We get together and we have places to go in the evenings however nothing is out in the open, it’s a hidden community”, Casuist said.. - Homosexuality in Ethiopia (2010). - In Homophobic Ethiopia, new website for gays launches (2010): “Peace [Selam] seeker” (pseudonym), an Ethiopian gay asylum seeker, has written to us to announce his new website, set up for Ethiopian LGBT around the world.

Revelation of Homosexual Life in Ethiopia – Part 1 (2011, Alternate Link): We follow Abiye as he moves to Addis Ababa and almost inevitably sinks into a life of male gay prostitution. He was warmly welcomed into a sub-culture that is almost impossible to believe exists in the Addis Ababa we know and live in. The community of male homosexual prostitutes has its own leaders, code names, protocols and etiquette. Clients encompass the gamut of society from all rungs of the economic ladder, religious affiliation and educational background. In the homosexual world, which Abyie inhabited in his time as a male sex worker, gender is fluid, no longer a distinguishing characteristic. Male prostitutes engage in various acts of sex, including orgies, oral and anal intercourse with paying clients during the night. During the day they search for romantic partners with whom they pursue monogamous relationships extending to and including a form of marriage. The overarching rule is complete and absolute secrecy as clients, and to an extent even the male prostitutes, have separate lives that can be irreparably damaged by exposure. Abiye chose to break this rule after years of shame and guilty when he was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. His diagnosis accompanied by the similarly tragic fates of his friend’s made him see the importance of saving others.Below is a short interview with Abiye and Atelele, one of the leaders in the homosexual prostitute world... - Revelation of Homosexual Life in Ethiopia – Part 2 (2011, Alternate Link): In an interview for the DVD, Ato Seifu Hagos summarized his findings which is featured in a publication of the Ethiopian Public Health Association. His research discovered that homosexuals in Addis Ababa congregate in gay owned bars and cafes as well as designated streets. He says that homosexuals are not an external entity to our society but very much a part of it.

Homosexuality in Ethiopia (2011, 2009): This paper analyses the concept and the construction of homosexuality in relation to the issue of gender and feminism in Ethiopia. While female homosexuality is simply overlooked, male homosexuality has been criminalised under Ethiopian law with imprisonment up to three years. The media and the elite has been creating homophobia in discourse and linguistic terms; however, it is the church which has been effectively campaigning for hatred and abhorrence against homosexual persons in the county. My hypothesis is that besides the campaigns by the church and the media, gender relation and the absence of feminism have much to do with the status of homosexuality in the country today. My intention is to understand the concept and the construction of homosexuality by the elite and the church, and how this process has shaped the views ordinary citizens currently hold against homosexuality. By analysing media discourse, earlier empirical studies and primary data from interviews, I have come to the understanding that there is a discrepancy between the concept of homosexuality as defined in the west and the concept of homosexuality in Ethiopia. Homosexuality is the least understood subject because it is mostly viewed as only men‟s behaviour or disease, which is contagious due to association. Generally, Female homosexuality is unknown to ordinary citizens, and it is less active than male homosexuality. Despite the oppressive environment however, homosexuality is under transformation from being taboo to the issue of public debate due to attitude change induced by the process of globalisation. - Balcha, Daniel Iddo (2009). Homosexuaity in Ethiopia. Master's Dissertation, Faculty of the Social Sciences, Lund University. PDF Download. PDF Download. Download Page.

Holding Hands (2005):  It was an easy mistake to make. If you see two men holding hands in the UK or the US, it is a reasonable assumption to make that they are gay. Here, of course, it means no such thing... It is ironic that this acceptance of public displays of male affection does not actually go along with an acceptance of homosexuality. People I've spoken to about it in Addis tend to have two attitudes on the subject... If any Ethiopians were gay, she said, it was a condition they had "caught" from visiting foreigners. The other attitude I have come across it straight-out hostility. [Many commentaries on homosexuality]. - Beware of gays (2003): Sources in Addis Ababa report that local government officials recently called meetings in the various suburbs and villages of Addis Ababa to warn parents about the hazards of homosexuality. Concerned that homosexuality is becoming more visible in the city local authorities are reacting to a recent spate of people coming out as gay or lesbian in the city. . - A tale from Addis (2002): I tried to mention in the last edition that there are so many gays and lesbians living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - but they live undercover, unconfident and in fear. Speaking to fellow Ethiopian gays who live in South Africa I tried to get a picture of life back in Addis - my own experience there being so limited. One man shared with me his sexual experiences as well as telling me about other gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people in Ethiopia..

GayEthiopians.com (To 2009): created for Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual and Trans-gendered Ethiopians by a group of Ethiopians who feel our community needs a proper venue to express itself. We hope that this site will bring about change and in the process open up a dialogue of acceptance and respect. GayEthiopians.com also aims to bring together fellow GLBT Ethiopians from all over the world to create a safe-haven where we can find information on various issues that concern us. The site is dedicated to the advancement and awareness of Gay Ethiopians in Ethiopia and the Diaspora... - Our Stories (To 2008). - Links (To 2008). - Addis Gay Cafe: Ethiopian GLBT blog.

Ethiolgbt.com: History tells us that the Agaw people who are the ancestors of the Agame tirgre and the Adgi(amhara) practised same sex marriages until late 17th century. Now was it globalization that led them to do so?  I recall a Ugandan Gay rights activist saying “It is thought the white man brought homosexuality to Africa but, it is  the white man that brought Homophobia" referring  to an American evangelical preacher shouting on a loud as mad megaphone ''death to the homos''... Though this site really is no more than a drop in the ocean in terms of work that needs to be done to bring about the desired change in attitude at individual and societal levels to alter the very many misconceptions about our Community in general, I hope that it is to the very least a step in the right direction.A better, fairer Ethiopia free of hate, Prejudice and discrimination. Related: In Homophobic Ethiopia, new website for gays launches (2010): “Peace [Selam] seeker” (pseudonym), an Ethiopian gay asylum seeker, has written to us to announce his new website, set up for Ethiopian LGBT around the world... Until about late in my teens I was convinced that I am probably the only gay Ethiopian and that I was either cursed or am a result of some sort of witchcraft on my parents. Every single day of High School was anything but a happy growing period. I was very shy, very conscious of my appearance and did every thing possible to camouflage my self in some way or another but thinking back now I realize it was all in vain as almost every one around knew I was somehow different. Most just did not figure it out and some probably did but chose to hold back on it and use it for their own purpose, but that's all a different story... All in all, I was destined to perish without a doubt and for me it was all about when it would be. I knew for a fact that my sexuality would come out at some point and I would be stoned to death or languish in the filthy jails of Addis. Then only other option was to go quietly, end it! Take my own life. Every opportunity I analyzed to come up with the best means for suicide. I wasn't even 16 by the time I was trying to figure out how quietly and with minimum pain to my self and my family I could die, preferably with no corpse afterwards.

Behind the mask (2006): Who would have thought it? Ethiopia's most radical new publication is a fashion magazine. Myfashion is, as far as I know, the country's only home-grown glossy. Issue 2 has everything you would expect - a photo spread on Osman Mohamed Osman's new 'Ras Africa' leather line, an introduction to interior decoration for the Addis elite and an interview with the country's latest supermodel. And then from pages 38-40 there is a society feature on 'Gay Ethiopians behind the mask'.

‘Unrecognized victims’: Sexual abuse against male street children in Merkato area, Addis Ababa(2009): Quantitative data revealed that about 28.6% of male street children had been abused. Physical and mental immaturity of the children, secrecy and lack of awareness, use and abuse of drugs, the nature of street life, exposure to pornographic films and limited legal enforcement were found to be major reasons which predispose street boys to the risk of sexual abuse..

Hagos, Saifu (2006). Assessment of HIV/AIDS related risks among men having sex with men (MSM) in Addis Ababa. Master's Dissertation, Department of community health, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University. PDF Download. Related paper: Gebreyesus SH, Mariam DH (2009). Assessment of HIV/AIDS related risks among men having sex with men (MSM) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Journal of Public Health Policy, 30(3): 269-79. Abstract.  We found that contextual factors, such as sociocultural background and politicolegal situation, predisposed to HIV/AIDS-related risk behavior among members of the study subgroup. The infection might have been transmitted between the study population and heterosexual people in the community by many possible routes. The study showed that men have sex with men among a segment of Addis' population. The portion of the population involved is non-negligible. They are exposed to HIV/AIDS risks. It is, therefore, high time that the issue be openly discussed in the context of current efforts to control the HIV pandemic.

Resources: - Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country:  Ethiopia. Ethiopia Archive. - African Veil: Countries Covered: Ethiopia. - Queer afrol. - Afrol News; Gay/Lesbian Archives. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. - Ethiolgbt.com.  - Addis Gay Cafe: Ethiopian GLBT blog.

Global Gayz: Africa: Ethiopia News Reports from 2003 to the Present. - ILGA: Africa: Ethiopia. - LGBT rights in Ethiopia. - Sodomy Laws: Ethiopia. - Human Rights Watch: Use Search Function. - Amnesty International: Use Search Function. - Pink News: Europe's Largest Gay News Service: Africa. - AsylumLaw.Org: Sexual Minorities & HIV Status: Documents / Reports / Website Links / Organizations. Ethiopia Individual Documents Since 2000. - Links to News Sources for GLBT World.

MSMGF News Articles & Documents Resources. By Region & Country:  Sub-Saharan Africa: - Ethiopia.