Guest fountainhall Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Indian gay rights activists are outraged by public comments made by the Health Minister when he described homosexuality as a “disease”. The comments were made at a meeting of district and mayoral leaders on Monday on the issue of HIV/AIDS prevention. Ghulam Nabi Aziz blatantly stated that gay sex was “unnatural”. Mr Azad told the meeting in Delhi on Monday that homosexuality "is a disease which has come from other countries. Even though it is unnatural, it exists in our country and is now fast-spreading, making it tough to detect," he said. He said men having sex with other men "should not happen, but does". Coming almost two years to the day after a landmark Delhi High Court ruling that decriminalised homosexuality, the comments prompted a storm of protest and calls for an immediate retraction. Anand Grover, the United Nations special rapporteur on health, criticised Mr Azad's comments. "It's unfortunate, regrettable and totally unacceptable that a minister of his stature... is still insensitive to a vulnerable groups such as MSM [men who have sex with men]," the Hindustan Times newspaper quoted him as saying. Anjali Gopalan, who heads leading HIV/Aids campaign group the Naz Foundation, told the BBC's Jill McGivering she was "horrified" by the minister's remarks. "He's living on another planet - either he's very ill-informed or he's speaking to a very narrow constituency of his own," she said. "He was addressing officials from across the country and this was a golden opportunity to deal with discrimination. Instead he let it slip through his fingers. I'm hoping it will not put us back another 10 years.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14024774 Naturally Aziz claims he was misquoted and his comments were taken out of context! Funny how idiots who put their feet in their mouths always say that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TotallyOz Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Naturally Aziz claims he was misquoted and his comments were taken out of context! Funny how idiots who put their feet in their mouths always say that! Yes it is! I have many friends from India and communicate with people from India every day. There is still a great deal of homophobia in India. As China, India and Brazil are the 3 countries being constantly said to be making headwaves to being the next superpowers I would wonder how China and India will move forward being so backward? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fountainhall Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I am not sure about Brazil and India, whose economies may be roaring ahead but which don't seem to have the basic infrastructure required of a superpower. China does, and so is way ahead of the other two. The country may be backward if you compare it to most western countries. But, as I have written before, the gay scene is developing far faster than most Chinese would have guessed 20 years ago. It still has a vast distance to cover and that will only happen slowly as the boundaries are extended over time. It's the same with democracy. I hear a lot of people talking about communism and the lack of democracy. But democracy is taking root throughout much of the countryside. And we always have to remember that there has never been democracy or any form of democratic institutions in China's 5,000 year history. How do you introduce democratic concepts in a country of almost 1.4 billion people whose history has been entirely one of a centralised, all-powerful autocracy? Let's face it, the UK has had a parliament for about eight centuries; yet, the majority of the population only got the right to vote less than 100 years ago! Go to a gay disco in Beijing or Shanghai on a Saturday night and you will be amazed that they are packed to overflowing with a array of gorgeous guys, many with muscle-toned bodies, dancing, hugging, kissing and doing what their western counterparts do. I can't see that happening in India yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TotallyOz Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Brazil is a country that has vast resources: oil, gas, ethanol, bio diesel and uranium. They have one of the largest economies in the world and the land mass is also one of the largest. They have made great strides in the last 15 years and they seem to keep going. They were not as affected by the world economic crisis as most countries (but they are going to start doing home loans with low collateral which will create issues). The thing they lack the most is a good military which seems to be required to be a "superpower". I don't see this happening anytime soon. They have alliances with many powerful nations and they have not had the need for a large military. However, I would not rule them out. If they keep going forward for the next 20 years, they will overtake most countries above them in many ways. Beyond that, the guys there at HOT. So, IMHO, that makes them a superpower like no other! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhorTose Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Indian gay rights activists are outraged by public comments made by the Health Minister when he described homosexuality as a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
