News and views

-Gay sex decriminalised in India
2/7/09
The Safra Project wishes to congratulate the hard work of our sisters, brothers and those in between in India and the disaspora. Finally the left over homophobic British law in penal code 377 has been sent into history on this historic day. Homosexual intercourse between consenting adults is no longer a criminal act.

To find out more about the change in law go to:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8129836.stm

-Support Sisters In Islam
19/6/09
Networking colleagues in Malaysia at Sisters In Islam (SIS)- a group of Muslim women committed to promoting the rights of women within the framework of Islam, are being threatened with investigation from Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) to have SIS banned and its members 'rehabilitated' should its activities be determined to be contrary to the Islamic Shariah.

SIS have previously supported many Muslim women's and human rights organisations with expertise and literature. There is an online petition SIS is promoting to retract the call for action against it and reaching a resolution through constructive engagement.

To find out more about the petition supporting SIS go to:
http://gopetition.com/petitions/joint-statement-by-civil-society-against-banning-sis.html

-SENEGAL: Relief as gay activists are released
23/4/09
http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=84064
International rights groups have welcomed the release of nine AIDS activists in Senegal, who were sentenced in January for their sexual orientation.

On 20 April, an appeals court in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, overturned the convictions of the men, each sentenced to eight years in prison, on charges of "membership of a criminal organization and engaging in acts against the order of nature".

Most of the defendants were involved in HIV programmes targeting men who have sex with men; they were arrested at the home of a prominent AIDS activist in December 2008.

"We welcome the release of the men, who may return to their families and continue their invaluable work in the fight against HIV," said Dr Julio Montaner, president of the International AIDS Society, which promotes HIV research and best practice and is the custodian of the International AIDS Conference.

"However, we continue to be dismayed at the upholding of laws which allow the criminalization of homosexuality, and we call on the government of Senegal, and other countries with similar regulations, to overturn these immediately in the interests of public health and human rights," he said.

Homosexuality is punishable by up to five years in prison in Senegal.

-Safra Project Editorial
6/2/09
“ She looks just like both her mums.”
Ever since studying ‘A’ level biology I’ve been convinced that theoretically children can be born of two women or two men.

Then in 2004 a little female mouse was born called Kaguya1. Born from the genetic material of two mouse eggs, each from different female mice. As an adult Kaguya grew up healthy and even had her own brood when she mated (the conventional way) with a male mouse. Kaguya’s mouse pups were born fine and went on to have their own offspring.

Essentially, a single chromosome is not female or male it’s the combination of an XX or XY chromosome that ‘generally’2 makes offspring. So combine the X chromosome of two women and that equals a female offspring.

The special thing about Kaguya is that one of the eggs used to create her had to be immature which isn’t possible in adult humans, but scientists at Tokyo University where Kaguya was born are working to get round this.

Meanwhile in Gottingen- Germany, 3Newcastle and Sheffield- England, Atlanta-USA and Melbourne- Australia, research using stem cells to create sperm has been achieved.

Newcastle in particular has created stem cells from adult bone marrow and both Sheffield and Atlanta are saying they are 5-10 years from creating sperm from women’s bone marrow.

So in these exciting times, in a not too distant future, same sex couples could be having children that are genetically of each partner.

1) http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/2004/04/23/fatherless.php
2) I use the term general, since there are some genetic women who have XXY chromosomes.
3) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6547675.stm

-Safra Project Director awarded MBE
1/1/09
The Director of the Safra Project has been recognised in the New Years Honours list for services to the Muslim communities. With others, she set up the Safra Project in 2001 to support Muslim lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and was a co-director of the first social support group for lesbian, gay, and transgendered Muslims, Al-Fatiha UK.