On February 25th, the US House passed the Equality Act. The passing of this landmark act for LGBTQ rights (with a 224-206 vote) deters discrimination pertaining to sexual orientation and gender identity in many circumstances and in several settings, including employment, housing, education, public accommodations, and merchantry.
The majority of Christian history has a shameful past of bloody torture combined with racism and slavery, especially so in the southern United States. The bible itself condones slavery, even to the point of offering ‘Dos and Donts’ guidance to slaveholders — never once condemning it — not even in the Ten Commandments.
Yet Joseph E. Strictland, a Texas Catholic Bishop, vilifies atheism, claiming it is much worse than racism. And he blames atheists for every “ill that plagues our society.”
As it sought dismissal of the petitions to recognize same-sex marriages within existing laws, the Centre told the Delhi High Court (HC) that marriage in India depends on “age-old customs, rituals, practices, cultural ethos and societal values.” In the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Section 377 that covers homosexuality, the Supreme Court only decriminalized “a particular human behavior,” but it did not legitimize the human conduct in question.
On February 25th, a gay Malaysian man won a breakthrough court battle against Salengor’s Islamic ban on sex “against the order of nature,” drawing the LGBTQ community one step closer to wider acceptance of gay rights in a predominantly Muslim country.
According to Iranian media, the Women's Alpine ski team traveled to Italy for the World Championships without their coach, Samira Zargari. Under Iran's Sharia laws, husbands may stop their wives from leaving the country. Zargari's husband barred her from attending the championships with her team.
West Virginia Legislature introduced a controversial bill on February 10th, 2021, to remove essential teachings from public schools.
House Bill 2157 proposes eliminating any teachings of sexuality and forbids displays meant to promote understanding among all students related to such instructions in public schools. Although it doesn’t specify any particular group or sexuality in written form, it is widely known as an attempt to ban any mention of the LGBTQ+ community.
On January 31st, the Statistical Center of Iran reported that approximately 9,058 girls between ages 10 and 14 were married in 2020.
Officials who enact marriage laws based on the Islamic constitution often cite the eighth-century Muslim scholar Imam Sadiq, who stated that a 'happy father' does not permit his daughter to menstruate in his house. Today, the basis of Iran’s matrimonial laws is formed from this specific interpretation of Islam.
Over 9,000 10–14 year-old girls married in 3 months
On Sunday, February 14th, a Hamas-run Islamic court ruled that unmarried women in the Gaza Strip now require permission from a male ‘guardian’ to travel, which is usually an older male relative. A married woman would require approval from her husband. Permission to travel without guardianship would have to be authorized by a court.
On Wednesday, February 10th, the United Nations released a report describing the heinous human rights violations in Iran. The report reveals appalling details of electric shock and other means of torture that the Islamic Republic of Iran uses against LGBT children while claiming their intent is to “cure” them.
Same-sex relations are finally legal in Angola as of February 10th. The changes were passed in January 2019 when Angola’s Parliament approved the amendments.
