Activism

India's First Openly Gay Indian Prince Fights to Ban Conversion Therapy

India's first openly-gay royalty vowed to fight conversion therapy. After surviving the horrors of conversion therapy, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil said he would work on making conversion therapy illegal in India.

Equaldex, a collaborative knowledge base for the LGBT movement, puts India in the 51st rank in their World Equality Index, including scores for legal rights and freedoms for LGBTQ+ people. Although Equaldex listed conversation therapy as banned in India, this is only valid for one state.

Victory! Canada Confirms Atheists are Eligible for Expedited Refugee Policy

On March 24, after a successful petition campaign, Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship confirmed that atheists and other non-religious are eligible for Less Complex Claims (LCC).

The LCC is an expedited refugee application process run by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. The process is handled by the Refugee Protection Division and allows for "short-hearing and file-review processes."

Undercover Israeli Jews Disguised as Muslims Thwart Al-Aqsa Prayer Ban

Jewish activists dress up as Muslims to circumvent the prayer ban in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Sunni Islam's third holiest site. Swapping their Jewish clothes for a thobe, also called a dishdasha or jalabiya, these activists defy the delicate agreement between Israel and Jordan.

The same site where the mosque sits is considered the holiest site in Judaism.

Secular Activist Raif Badawi Banned from Leaving Saudi Arabia for 10 years

On Saturday, March 12, the Saudi Arabia court confirmed the 10-year travel ban for the human rights activist and blogger Raif Badawi. The ban will effectively imprison Badawi in the country for another ten years.

Released on Friday, March 11, Badawi was arrested in 2012 and jailed for ten years for charges of "insulting Islam." 

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