via Associated Press, by Raphael Tenthani BLANTYRE, Malawi — A judge convicted a gay couple in Malawi Tuesday of unnatural acts and gross indecency after a trial that drew worldwide condemnation of this southern African country’s colonial-era laws on homosexuality. The verdict is “extremely disturbing,” said Michaela Clayton of the Namibia-based AIDS & Rights Alliance for Southern Read More >>

via Edge, by Kilian Melloy Last December, a male same-sex couple in Malawi who celebrated their engagement to one another were arrested under that country’s “decency” laws. Ever since, Steven Monjeza, 26, and his fiancée, Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, have been held in prison in Blantyre, Malawi, and reportedly have been subjected to intrusive medical examinations to determine Read More >>

via afrol News, by afrol staff afrol News, 23 March – Homophobic laws in Uganda and an anti-gay court case in Malawi are only two current examples demonstrating a conservative wave regarding sexual minorities in Africa. But in other countries, in particular South Africa, gays and lesbians are enjoying increased freedom. There is a belt of current Read More >>

via edge Boston, by Kilian Milloy When 26-year-old Steven Monjeza and 20-year-old Tiwonge Chimbalanga celebrated an engagement ceremony in the African nation Malawi, it was symbolic of their love. But the legal ramifications that followed have been too severe, say critics of the way that the men were arrested under the country’s decency laws and kept confined Read More >>

via PinkNews.co.uk Peter Sawali, 21, was arrested last weekend when he was found putting the posters up on a main road in Blantyre. The posters, said to be expensively printed, read “gay rights are human rights”. Mr Sawali will be charged with “conduct likely to cause breach of peace,”, a police spokeswoman told AFP. If convicted, he Read More >>

Malawi laws, which outlaw sexual intercourse between people of the same sex, contravene the nation’s constitution and international conventions that guarantee equality and non-discrimination based on sexual orientation. via NYASA Times – Malawi Secretary to the Office of the President, responsible for HIV/AIDS and Nutrition, Dr. Mary Shaba, has said homosexuality is practiced in Malawi by mostly Read More >>

In the generalized epidemics of HIV in southern Sub-Saharan Africa, men who have sex with men have been largely excluded from HIV surveillance and research. Epidemiologic data for MSM in southern Africa are among the sparsest globally, and HIV risk among these men has yet to be characterized in the majority of countries. via PLoS ONE, by: Read More >>

via Aidsmap The majority of men who have sex with men (MSM) in three different African countries and in Tamil Nadu State in India also have sex with women, according to two presentations and a poster at the CROI Conference in Montreal. In Tamil Nadu, HIV prevalence is substantially higher in MSM than the general population and Read More >>

[via Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report] The United Nations Population Fund and Population Services International have introduced a program to distribute female condoms in Malawian beauty salons in an effort to encourage their use and curb the spread of HIV, VOA News reports. Pamela Msukwa, family planning and HIV technical coordinator for PSI/Malawi, said hair salons were chosen Read More >>