People rallied in South America for women’s rights, and Uganda introduced a bill that would send gays to prison for 10 years.

Women’s Day Protesters Rally For Iran, Afghanistan In South America

Rallies in observance of International Women’s Day were held all over the world with an emphasis on Afghanistan, where girls are denied the right to an education, and Iran, the scene of recent large-scale demonstrations for women’s rights.

Silvia Vargas, 67, of Mexico City stated that following the 2014 murder of her lesbian daughter Maria Fernanda, she has been to protests.

“Not everyone gets human rights, governments and institutions determine them,” she said, according to Shore News Network, saying authorities had made her feel her daughter’s sexuality and murder were shameful. “I’m going home to an absence that has marked me for life.”

Many people, including indigenous people, students, and laborers, went to the streets all around South America, from Montevideo on the Atlantic coast to Quito in the Andes.

Women called for the legalization of abortion and action against femicide in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, while demonstrators, dancers, artists, and even dogs crowded the streets of Santiago, Chile.

Proposed Bill in Uganda Would Send Gays to Prison for 10 Years

Uganda Parliment. Photo via Twitter.

In defiance of condemnation from human rights organizations, Ugandan legislators submitted legislation to the parliament that calls for severe additional punishments for same-sex relationships in a nation where homosexuality is already prohibited.

An accelerated process to pass the bill was initiated by Speaker of the House Anita Among, who forwarded it to a parliamentary committee for review.

According to Africa News, in a speech before parliament that was laden with homophobic language, she stated that there would be “a public hearing” in which sexual minorities would be permitted to participate.

“Let the public come express their views — including the homos — allow them to come,” she said.

The bill is being introduced at a time when in conservative Uganda, rumors on social media are spreading that shadowy international forces are encouraging homosexuality.

Anyone who partakes in same-sex conduct or “holds out” as LGBT might be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison under the new law.

The length of the parliamentary procedure is unknown.