Like in the diagram showing man’s ascent from ape to Homo sapiens, human rights can usually be traced chronologically, from primitive to modern. Whether a particular area of the world is at the thick-browed Neanderthal stage or the slightly prettier Homo erectus one, progress would seem to be inevitable. In many places, women, for example, have risen from sad, caged monkeys to proud rulers. But what happens when the progress narrative is shucked?
All over the planet, something unnatural is happening. In Russia, India and, most recently, Uganda, gay rights are moving backwards. While Russia and India have criminalised homosexuality (or its “propaganda”), Uganda, where it was already illegal, has made same-sex love a bigger crime, punishable by life imprisonment. And in a gesture strikingly similar to the anti-communist hysteria of McCarthy-era America, a Ugandan tabloid recently ran a garish front-page article on the country’s “200 top homosexuals”.
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