Queer rights activists in front of the 112 HQ on 17 May 2018 (Photograph: Mari Nikuradze/OC Media)
Opinions towards queer rights have improved among Georgia’s young people, the latest NDI/CRRC polling has found, with a plurality in support of their protection. [Read more…]
(Photo: minorityaze.org)
Queer people in Azerbaijan frequently face hatred, violence, and isolation. Below is the story of one gay man who for years hid who he was from those closest to him, faced violence and rape during his military service, and despite fleeing to Europe, still faces death threats from his family because of his sexuality. [Read more…]
Queer rights activists calling for police protection for Tbilisi Pride on 14 June. (Mari Nikuradze / OC Media)
The organisers of Tbilisi Pride have evacuated their office after two of them received death threats from unidentified numbers. Several ultra-conservative groups organised marches in Tbilisi on Wednesday against Pride. [Read more…]
(Illustration: Dato Parulava)
Giorgi Ptskialadze is a spokesperson and executive committee member of the Georgian Young Greens. He has been involved in queer, feminist, left-wing, and green activism since 2017.
With its focus on personal freedom, Tbilisi Pride fits well into a liberal system in which queer people are used as tools in bigger political games and social solidarity is fast eroding. There can be no equality in Georgia as long as this system stands. [Read more…]
Protest of queer rights activists on 14 June 2019 at the government office. (Mari Nikuradze / OC Media)
Georgia’s Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has said that the queer rights are not a ‘problematic issue’ in Georgia, despite a homophobic mob surrounding and attempting to attack a small gathering of queer rights activists last week. [Read more…]
(Illustration: Dato Parulava; photo: Dina Oganova)
Giorgi Tabagari is a queer activist from Tbilisi and one of the organisers of Tbilisi Pride. He has worked for a number of local and international organisations across Europe, primarily focusing on the media, queer human rights, and EU affairs.
The worsening rights situation has forced many queer Georgians to leave the country. Georgian politicians and civil society need to make a choice, do they want a western, or a Russian-style democracy. [Read more…]
(Photo: Mari Nikuradze / OC Media)
A small impromptu gathering of queer rights activists calling for police protection for next week’s Tbilisi Pride led to a six-and-a-half-hour stand-off with homophobic counter-protesters. The activists were eventually evacuated by police in the early hours of Saturday morning. [Read more…]
Georgia’s Interior Ministry has announced that it is ‘impossible’ for Tbilisi Pride to go ahead in the planned locations in the city centre ‘due to safety risks’. [Read more…]
(Tbilisi Pride)
Queer rights activists abstained from holding a demonstration in Tbilisi for this year’s International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia over safety concerns. Next month, Tbilisi is expected to host its first ever queer pride event. [Read more…]
Anna Zhamakochyan is a sociologist and social critic, and co-founder of the Socioscope NGO, based in Yerevan, Armenia.
In a last-ditch attempt to regain support, Armenia’s corrupt former ruling class have joined with an odious crew of far-right and homophobic forces, attempting to turn society against the revolution. Despite the threat, Pashinyan still has a unique opportunity to build a new Armenia based on solidarity and equality. [Read more…]
