Being able to control every aspect of your life and having the right to intimacy and freedom of choice is still an alien concept for many countries, as strange as it may seem. Yes, we are long pass the time when we were burning witches on a stake, but it seems like we still have a long way to go. Being gay is a matter of strong public interest in many countries and while some already accepted the phenomenon, and others are about to, many more are still prohibiting homosexuality, sometimes even under the penalty of death. Currently, there are about 80 countries where same-sex activities are punishable in various legal ways and 10 where the penalty is death. These 10 that you should know about are: Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Qatar.
Furthermore, three other names could be added on this list and these are Brunei Darussalam, which has its death sentence penalty awaiting legal acceptance starting with 2016, Iraq, where there are no such legal specifications, but executions are, however, conducted under military and civil unrecognized laws and the infamous ISIS, which is not really a state, but its impact is rather obvious. The rest of the countries punish homosexual activities with prison time and prohibit same-sex marriages.
However, there is not all but bad news. In the recent years more states have begun adopting more tolerant laws towards the LGBT community and these virtually became a refuge for people from around the world looking for a society that will accept them for who they are.
It may be a long way to go still, but the change is in the air. Starting with 2001, when Netherlands was the first country to legally accept gay marriages, the charts have kept going up. In the USA, the public view over the gay marriages went from 43% to 57% in favor, over the past 14 years. Across the world, other countries strongly support the need for a change also. Spain and Germany are almost 90% in favor of same-sex relationships, Czech Republic 80%, Hong Kong 79%, Britain 76%, Italy 74% and Argentina 74% and these are just a few.
Changes have taken place in every aspect of human life and ideas usually go through long processes before being widely accepted. However, it seems like the LGBT community grows stronger every year and it keeps proving that mentalities can be educated.
