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Sunday 12 February RNW - NEWS AND ANALYSIS FROM THE NETHERLANDS IN 10 LANGUAGES, WORLDWIDE 24/7 ON RADIO, TV AND ONLINE

The State We're In - Gay pride in Moscow and the right to divorce

On air: 13 May 2009 22:00 (Photo: RNW)

In this edition of The State We're In: Gay Pride in Moscow. The right to divorce. Plus, breakdown of a marriage, and... the meaning of marriage.  
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Rundown of this edition:

Gay Pride in Moscow
The mayor of Moscow has banned the Gay Pride march for the 4th year in a row. But its organizer Nikolai Alekseev (photo below), says he'll march anyway. He believes Russia's constitution entitles him to the same rights as everyone else.
 
No place for gays in Russia
Yevgeny Nasonov of the right-wing organisation "Young Russia" believes that gay people have no place in Russian society and that marches, such as the one Nikolai organized, should be stopped.
 
Theme: The right to divorce
Forced into marriage, refused a divorce

Sameer is Indian, gay and married because of overwhelming pressure from his family. He knew within weeks that he had to get a divorce, but convincing his wife was another story.
 
Divorce: the old-fashioned way
Khul is an ancient Islamic form of divorce controversially re-introduced into Egypt in 2000. Professor Mulki al Sharmani and Nariman (a woman who went through khul but didn't want her full name used) tell Jonathan Groubert how it works, and the consequences of divorce in a conservative society.

Collaborative divorce
Maury White (see photos) used to be ashamed of admitting he was a divorce attorney, but now that he's changed to Collaborative Law, he feels passionate and proud of his job - he tells Jonathan Groubert why.
   
More... 
The breakdown of a marriage

Cathryn and Peter Merten (photos below) were brought together by destiny and a couple of errant cases of chicken pox. They married, had two kids and a life that seemed to be going according to plan....except that it didn't. A portrait of a love story where boy gets girl, boy marries girl, boy splits up with girl and then they become friends. 
 
The meaning of marriage
Despite the high rates of heterosexual divorce and the tacky excesses of the wedding industry, broadcaster Todd Mundt (picture below) in Louisville, Kentucky no longer rejects the institution as a gay man. With gay marriage gaining ground in the US, he now believes in what it can offer. 

  • Nikolai Alekseev<br>&copy; Photo: RNW - http://www.rnw.nl/english
  • Maury White<br>&copy; Photo: RNW - http://www.rnw.nl/english
  • Women of Egypt<br>&copy; Photo: RNW - http://www.rnw.nl/english
  • Hands - Indian wedding<br>&copy; Photo: RNW - http://www.rnw.nl/english
  • Peter Merten<br>&copy; Photo: RNW - http://www.rnw.nl/english
  • Cathryn Merten - a survivor of divorce<br>&copy; Photo: RNW - http://www.rnw.nl/english
  • Todd Mundt<br>&copy; Photo: RNW - http://www.rnw.nl/english

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