Nine countries where LGBTQ rights are pushed back

The Swedish gay movement has been fighting for its rights for a long time, but in many places in the world the same rights are completely lacking.

Same-sex relationships are banned in at least 68 countries around the world, according to the international LGBT group ILGA. The news agency Reuters has compiled a list of countries where LGBTQ rights are currently being pushed back - some of which you can read about below.

The East African country Uganda earlier in October came out with plans for a new law to stop "unnatural sex". The country's Minister of Ethics and Integrity Simon Lodoko tells Reuters that "homosexuality is not natural among Ugandans" but that there has been "mass recruitment" among young people.

According to him, the prevailing laws where homosexuality is prohibited are not enough. The new bill means that all "interference or advocacy" of homosexuality becomes criminal and that it can be punished with death, according to the minister.

Brunei this year tightened the penalty for homosexuality, which was already illegal in the country with up to ten years in prison as a punishment. In the spring, new laws were introduced in which sex between men, as well as infidelity and several other crimes, can be punished with death in accordance with the country's interpretation of Islamic law, Sharia.

However, the Sultan of Brunei was forced to back down somewhat due to international pressure and went out in May to announce that the death penalty should not be enforced in violation of the new laws, according to the BBC.

This year, the United States has begun the introduction of the ban on transgender military personnel, a shift announced by President Donald Trump in 2017.

Trump referred to health care costs when he announced his decision. That means a scrapping of rules instituted by Trump's predecessor Barack Obama in 2016, which meant that trans people were allowed to work openly in the military for the first time.

Last year, for the first time, Russian authorities fined a minor for violating the country's so-called "gay propaganda law".

The law prohibits what authorities call the promotion or encouragement of homosexuality towards minors, but has, according to Reuters, been increasingly used to depress LGBT groups.

The leader of Poland's ruling party, Conservative Law and Justice (PiS), has this year condemned pride parades and emphasized that by means of laws one should regulate what he calls a "circular theater".

Before the country's impending parliamentary elections, PiS has made the LGBTQ issue a campaign issue, which according to critics has fueled violence or threats against the minority groups.

Indonesia has written a bill that would ban sex between people of the same sex, but a vote in Parliament that would have been held in September has been postponed following protests.

The bill also bans sex outside marriage, a four-year prison sentence for abortion in cases where there is no medical emergency or rape, and prison for black magic.

In 2014, Nigeria aroused international criticism for a law that made same-sex marriage criminal. Violations of the new law can lead to up to 14 years in prison.

In 2017, 43 people were prosecuted for homosexual acts in a court case, most of whom were sentenced to surveillance and "sexual rehabilitation".

LGBTQ groups in Malaysia have testified about growing persecution, with impunity against two women last year as a clear deterrent. The two women were sentenced to public whipping for "trying to have lesbian sex" in the state of Terengganu.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who heads the government elected last year, has said that Malaysia as a country cannot accept LGBTQ rights or same-sex marriage.

Chad introduced new laws in prison in 2017 and fines for same-sex sex. Same-sex sexual relations were not explicitly prohibited until then, although there were laws against "acts that go against nature", according to the ILGA.

An earlier draft of the laws introduced in 2017 had meant that same-sex sex could lead to up to 20 years in prison.