Iva Roze SkochMay 30, 2012 14:03

Robert Mugabe: 25-years of gay-bashing

Zimbabwe’s president has been ranting against homosexuality since 1987. Here are some of his most vitriolic statements on the subject.

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Pretty in pink. Zimbabwe President and leader of ZANU PF Robert Mugabe arrives at the party's 12th National People's Conference in Bulawayo, on December 8, 2011. (JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images)

Robert Mugabe became the president of Zimbabwe in 1987.

Since then, one of Africa's longest-ruling dictators has been on a public crusade against homosexuals.

Here is a closer look at some of the things that have come out of his mouth on the topics of homosexuality and gay rights.

Just last week, speaking in Harare at a Women Empowerment conference of all places, Zimbabwe’s president expressed his latest views on homosexuality, The Zimbabwe Mail reports:

“When a man says he wants to get married to another man, we in Zimbabwe don't accept it. We can't talk of women's rights at all if we go in that direction. It will lead to extinction," Mugabe said. "Mothers were given the talent to bear children. That talent doesn't belong to men."

He also said that gay people are “below dogs,” as he had said many time before.

According to The Zimbabwe Mail article, he also shared his views on women‘s equality in the same venue:

"Our customs look down on women as inferior. Men pay cattle and money to get a wife and expect women to obey them. Women will surely lose. Men say that women are not as knowledgeable as us. The attitude of men still despises women."

Call me old-fashioned, but in a culture where men apparently despise women, wouldn’t homosexuality actually make a lot of sense? I guess not.

In February, Mugabe called British Prime Minister David Cameron “satanic“ and told him "to hell with you" over his calls to respect gay rights, as reported by AFP:

Moscow: 40 gay-rights, Orthodox Church activists arrested during protests

Jill LangloisMay 27, 2012 13:57

Prominent gay-rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev is said to be among those arrested near city hall.

Iva Roze SkochMay 31, 2012 10:59

United Kingdom: Free IVF for gay couples and women up to 42 years

In controversial government guidelines, gay couples and women in their 40s will be entitled to free fertility treatment for the first time.

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Louise Brown (top), from England, was the first ever child to be conceived through in-vitro fertilization. (RACHEL COBB/AFP/Getty Images)

Just as the US goes through the aftermath of President Obama’s same-sex marriage endorsement, a controversy of similar proportions is brewing on the other side of the Atlantic.

For the first time in UK history, same-sex couples will be given the same rights as heterosexual couples for fertility treatment, The Telegraph reports. But that's not all:

“The NHS will also extend the upper age limit for IVF, or in-vitro fertilisation, by three years to 42, following advice that suggests many women in their late 30s and early 40s could conceive after treatment. The move will see thousands of women a year given the chance to become mothers without having to pay up to L8,000 to private clinics.”

According to The Telegraph, the new guidelines also call on health authorities in England and Wales to fund fertility treatment known as intra-uterine insemination (IUI), using donor sperm, for people in same-sex relationships.

If they fail to conceive after six cycles of IUI, they should be considered for IVF, which is much more costly and involved.

Gay OK at Disneyland, but not so elsewhere in Japan

Justin McCurryMay 23, 2012 00:01

TOKYO, Japan — In one respect, the decision by Tokyo Disneyland to allow a gay couple to hold their "wedding" at the theme park is a sign of progress in a country that has, until recently, largely ignored the question of same-sex unions. But some have argued that leaving it to Mickey Mouse to give his blessing to Koyuki Higashi and her partner, Hiroko Masuhara shows how far Japan has to go before it affords the same rights to the LGBT community as it does to heterosexual couples.

Virginia delegate says that sodomy is not a civil right

Amy SilversteinMay 17, 2012 17:06

"He can be a prosecutor if he wants to, but we don’t want advocates as judges."

South Africa's traditional leaders want gay rights constitution clause changed

Erin Conway-SmithMay 6, 2012 13:53

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Traditional leaders in South Africa have appealed to lawmakers to remove a clause in the country's constitution that protects gays and lesbians against discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Daniel Zamudio: Neo-Nazi killing of gay man prompts UN to urge Chile to toughen laws (VIDEO)

Jill LangloisMarch 30, 2012 18:59

Daniel Zamudio, 24, was savagely beaten on March 3 by four neo-Nazi suspects. He died after 25 days of induced coma from "surgical trauma."

Karen Atala: Lesbian judge wins landmark custody case in Chile

Jill LangloisMarch 24, 2012 10:19

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, a judicial entity of the Organization of American States, ruled that Chile must pay $50,000 in damages to Atala, in addition to $12,000 in court costs. Atala herself will also receive $20,000 for her suffering as a result of the experience, and $10,000 for medical and psychological expenses. Her children will each receive $10,000 for "intangible damages."

Nobel peace prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf defends law criminalizing homosexuality (VIDEO)

Priyanka BoghaniMarch 19, 2012 16:26

Liberian president and Nobel peace prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf defended a law criminalizing homosexuality in her country, while former UK prime minister Tony Blair dodged the issue altogether.

Russia: Saint Petersburg becomes 4th city to ban 'gay propaganda'

Jessica PhelanMarch 12, 2012 14:17

The law allows authorities to fine individuals up to 5,000 rubles ($170) and companies up to 500,000 rubles ($17,000) for "the promotion of homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender practices among minors."