Gay community in bale robe, ethiopia

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. In a bleak little apartment on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, nearly a dozen men in their 20s take turns trying on a pair of black skinny jeans and watching Project Runway episodes downloaded off YouTube.

CLICK to receive an email notice of each new Erasing 76 Crimes article. Rights activists have branded it a diversionary tactic in the wake of renewed violence across the country. This is an edited and abridged version of an article published by DW. com :.

The Bale Mountains are the ancestral home of the Oromo, the largest, single ethnic group in Africa. Living as pastoralists and farmers, the population grew quickly and expanded to different corners of the country in the beginning of the 16th century. Little is known about the Oromo people of the area and how they settled here. Some 3, years ago, they passed on practices — such as the initiation ceremony of circumcision and the habit of not eating fish — to the Nilotic peoples in the West.

This provision carries a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment for consensual activity. Both men and women are criminalised under this law. Unlike almost all other African states, Ethiopia was not colonised by a European country so its criminalising law is of local origin. There is some evidence of the law being enforced in recent years, however information is extremely scarce due to societal stigmatisation and the lack of accessibility of court documents.