“Why Are You Gay?” -- From Viral Clip to State-Sanctioned Violence
Rights & Wrongs14 Jul 2025

“Why Are You Gay?” -- From Viral Clip to State-Sanctioned Violence

In 2012, a Ugandan TV host asked trans activist Pepe Julian Onziema a now-infamous question: “Why are you gay?” The clip went viral, spawning internet fodder around the world – but behind the memes lies a chilling reality. In this episode of Rights & Wrongs, host Ngofeen Mputubwele looks at Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, a 2023 law that punishes same-sex intimacy with life in prison or even death. He speaks with “Emmanuel,” a young man in Kampala whose Grindr date turned into a violent police sting. Human Rights Watch researcher Oryem Nyeko explains how the law has fueled mob violence, extortion, and fear. But amid the repression, mothers of queer children are speaking up, leading the resistance in one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBT climates.

Oryem Nyeko: Senior researcher in the Africa Division at Human Rights Watch

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Episoder(39)

Recap: Sportswashing Explained

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In late 2024, the international football association (FIFA) announced that Saudi Arabia would host the 2034 World Cup. This means the world’s largest sporting event will be taking place in a country...

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What's Social Media Got To Do With It?

What's Social Media Got To Do With It?

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The Shadow City: Earth’s Largest Refugee Camp

The Shadow City: Earth’s Largest Refugee Camp

When Maung and his family, his neighbors, strangers, cross the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh, they are officially refugees. But there’s no rest for the weary, and the hundreds of thousands of Ro...

13 Apr 33min

Getting From Here To There

Getting From Here To There

When anti-Rohingya sentiment turned into gunshots in Myanmar in 2017, 16-year-old Maung Sawyeddollah was forced to flee. But what do you do when you’re forced to leave your home? Where do you go? This...

30 Mar 22min

The Unrooting

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Maung Sawyeddollah grew up in a small town in Myanmar where, for years, life felt ordinary. That was before the rumors began. Social media fueled sectarian division, communities turned against each ot...

16 Mar 27min

PROLOGUE: The Night the Sky Cracked Open with Fire

PROLOGUE: The Night the Sky Cracked Open with Fire

Welcome to The Great Unrooting, a five-episode narrative podcast special season of Rights & Wrongs that explores what it means to lose home — and what it takes to start again. Anchored in the story of...

16 Mar 4min

The Texture of LGBT Progress

The Texture of LGBT Progress

The rights of LGBT people are on the chopping block across the world, with new countries criminalizing same-sex practices and banning representation of queer relationships in 2025. However, the landsc...

1 Des 202543min

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