Issue Number 1009 | Global Pride Warriors | Advocate.com Global Pride Warriors  |  | Advocate.com

||  PRIDE FEATURE  ||
Global Pride Warriors
In the spirit of widespread change, meet four international gay rights activists from Nepal, Russia, Nigeria, and Chile.
By Fred Kuhr and Rachel Dowd
From The Advocate  June 17, 2008
Global Pride Warriors

Sunil Pant
president of the Blue Diamond Society
When Nepal’s supreme court ruled last year that the government had no right to legally discriminate against gays and lesbians, Sunil Pant, president of the Blue Diamond Society, was there. In fact, Blue Diamond, a Nepalese LGBT rights organization, was one of the groups that filed the lawsuit that led to the court’s landmark decision. Pant said at the time that the ruling “liberated” his country’s sexual minorities and hoped it would set a precedent for conservative nations around the world.

While Americans are knee-deep in the battle for full marriage rights, we sometimes forget that in many countries, simply living as an out gay person can lead to imprisonment, physical punishment, and even death. Progress in those places requires people like Pant—not just lobbyists and activists, but courageous warriors fighting on the front lines on behalf of their communities.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission recognized the work of Pant and his compatriots by awarding the BDS its 2007 Felipa de Souza Award, named after the 16th-century Brazilian lesbian who was accused of sodomy and persecuted during the Inquisition.

To foster profound change, even in the face of peril, is precisely why IGLHRC supports the work of activists and visionaries around the globe. “We change the world one city, one country, one region at a time,” says Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC’s executive director, adding that each time homophobia is fought in places like Chile, Nepal, or Nigeria, it benefits the global community of LGBT people. “It is imperative that all of us in the United States connect with and support our partners and colleagues around the world,” she says. “That’s how we participate in changing the world.”

During his acceptance speech, Pant pointed to the many successes his organization has achieved. “BDS has mobilized sexual minorities over the past six years by creating service centers in seven cities and network associations in 15 others,” he said. “We have had direct contact with more than 60,000 individuals from the communities we serve.”

Yet obstacles still remain. “Metis -- those traditionally recognized as third genders -- and other LGBTIs are excluded and believed to have no capacity to contribute to society,” says Pant, speaking recently from his office in Nepal. Which is why it’s critical to keep pushing to end discrimination and stigma. “Small injustices must not be overlooked,” he adds. “Small, incremental progress adds up over time.” -- Fred Kuhr

Nikolai Alekseev
Founder of Moscow Pride and Project Gay Russia
Nikolai Alekseev never intended to become Russia’s leading LGBT rights activist. But suffering antigay discrimination as a university student -- including being prohibited from writing his thesis on the rights of gays around the world -- set him on this unintended path. (His case against Lomonosov Moscow State University is still before the European Court of Human Rights.)

Alekseev, now 30, is a lawyer and public administrator by trade, though he works full-time as an activist. He first gained global attention two years ago when he became the principal organizer behind the inaugural Moscow Pride. But what was intended to be a celebration like any other Pride became a battle when Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov banned the event. Alekseev and his colleagues went forward with their plans and were confronted by violent opposition and police arrests that made headlines around the world. The same fate befell the second Moscow Pride last year.

Alekseev was arrested both years. In 2006 he was acquitted; in 2007 he spent 24 hours in police custody and was fined.

“I was going to the Tomb of the Unknown Solider to lay flowers when I was arrested by the police and confronted by extremists,” recalls Alekseev. “My grandfather died in the Second World War, and I could not understand why I was being denied the right to pay my respects to people who fought fascism. After so many years, fascism is gaining strength in the country that defeated it.”

Moscow Pride has filed a complaint against the mayor and Moscow police in the European Court of Human Rights. And while Alekseev and his compatriots wait for a final decision, they have moved ahead with plans for this year’s May 31 celebration, timed to coincide with the 15-year anniversary of Russia’s decision to decriminalize homosexuality. If the European Court doesn’t help convince the Moscow mayor to lift his ban on Pride, perhaps international political pressure will do the trick. Alekseev has sent formal invitations to the mayors of Berlin, London, and Paris to speak at the Pride press conference.

“We really thought having these European mayors here could change things this year,” said Alekseev. “Since Mayor Luzhkov knows the other mayors well and meets with them regularly, they are probably the main channel we have to put pressure on Mr. Luzhkov.”

Unfortunately for Alekseev, all three have declined to attend. He’s particularly critical of Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë and Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit, both of whom are gay, for not wanting to put their support into action. But the disappointment doesn’t end there. Alekseev has learned that Mayor Luzhkov put pressure on the hotel that was to host Moscow Pride’s associated human rights conference. “We’ve had our conference at Swissôtel the past two years,” he explains. “This year, Swissôtel denied the place to us even though everything was already arranged a year ago. We are now considering further legal actions against the hotel.”

Alekseev is a fighter, but he says he’s not alone. “We have a saying in Russia meaning, ‘There is more than one warrior in the field.’ There are many other people around me who are not very visible, but who are making a significant difference in the fight for gay rights in Russia,” he says. “I don’t think I would be able to change things here alone.” -- Fred Kuhr

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