A nonbinary influencer from Saudi Arabia was denied asylum in the United Kingdom, a council in the UK faced pushback for not displaying the Pride flag, and Australia's government abandoned an anti-discrimination bill.
Nonbinary Influencer Denied Asylum in UK
Ali Saad Muthyib, a nonbinary influencer from Saudi Arabia, has been denied asylum in the United Kingdom.
They left Saudi Arabia and came to the U.K. in January 2023. There are no LGBTQ rights in Saudi Arabia, and same-sex activity is criminalized. Last month, they found out their asylum claim was denied.
According to Pink News, a migrants’ rights charity told Muthyib the denial stems from Home Office officials not believing that Muthyib is a member of the LGBTQ community.
“I can’t go back to my country. They will kill me, they will hurt me, they will put me in prison, I will never have work,” Muthyib told The Independent.
Muthyib is appealing the decision and currently looking for an attorney.
Council Faces Pushback For Not Displaying Pride Flag
OutSFL file photo.
The Stafford Borough Council in the United Kingdom is facing pushback from Stafford Pride after deciding to not fly the Pride flag over its headquarters.
According to the BBC, the Council also refused to fly the flag outside the railway station but did offer to display the flag during the town’s inaugural Pride festival in August.
Will Conaghan, a spokesman for the Council, told the BBC that officers had given up a significant amount of time to help Stafford Pride chairman Jack Taylor “make Stafford Pride a great success.”
“We are very disappointed that Mr. Taylor has chosen to ignore and misrepresent the considerable amount of support the borough council has given him to stage the Pride event,” he said.
Govt Abandons Anti-Discrimination Bill
Scott McDougall, the Queensland human rights commissioner via qhrc.qld.gov.au.
The Queensland government is being accused of “recklessly” abandoning an anti-discrimination bill three years in the making.
Scott McDougall, the Queensland human rights commissioner, told The Guardian he is “deeply disappointed” and “at a loss to understand why” the state Labor government reneged on its promise to overhaul the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act.
Portions of the proposed bill have been eliminated from the changes and includes only some of the promised updates.
“I expect the community will be justifiably confused and frustrated that the end result of this work is piecemeal amendments which do not go far enough to address many of the practical concerns they raised, both with us and with the government.”
The parts of the bill that remain will extend protections to people experiencing homelessness, domestic and family violence, and certain aspects of workplace discrimination.
“[This] is the equivalent of giving one room in the house a coat of paint and some new curtains when the building’s foundations are in need of attention,” McDougall said.
Commentators say this abrupt decision is due to pressure from the church and Christian lobbyists, who vowed to campaign against the overhaul. There is also pressure from within federal Labor.
