> out of respect for the local population.

You're a guest, there are some cultural do's and dont's and holding hands in public is one of the latter, even for heterosexual couples. I don't hold hands with my girlfriend in public even though it'd be totally safe to do so, it's disrespectful because it's not the local custom to do so.

In contrast, many of my LBGT friends in European capitals fear to show affection with their partner in public, with most having faced harassment and some even assault. According to our European values it should be normal and safe to express affection to our partner in public regardless of our genders, but the reality is sadly different.

And what of trans folks? Are they supposed to not go to the toilet for 3 days so they don't offend your culture? Or when there is small talk, should I change "my husband" into "my wife" just so I don't upset the locals?

I hope you see how ridiculous this "just don't show it" is, especially coming from folks who think LGBTQ+ is all about kissing and holing hands.

A global event should not be hosted in a country, state or a city where even the organisers are unable to make adequate arrangements for the safety of all attendees and speakers.

As said, Zanzibaris are very tolerant, they will let you exist in peace regardless of how you look, your gender, sexual orientation, religious believes or nationality, they just don't care. I know of trans people spending their holiday here without any incident, at most it was just their taxi driver being curious but at no point they felt unsafe.

Don't abuse their tolerance and respect their customs. The same way you'd expect someone to respect you and your house rules if you invite them home. You just have to accept that people live differently in different parts of the world, maybe it's not them that are intolerant.

I'm convinced a global tech event can be hosted in Zanzibar where everyone is welcome and safe.

'Feels' are NOT the law.

Your country's law punishes being gay up to life in prison.

According to the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project, 95% (+-4%) of Tanzanian residents believed that homosexuality is a way of life that society should not accept, which was the seventh-highest rate of non-acceptance in the 45 countries surveyed.

And this is recent news in LGBTQ health. Tldr: state sanctioned murder of LGBTQ people https://www.hrw.org/report/2020/02/03/if-we-dont-get-service...

Maybe YOUR experiences are fine. But it's not worth taking any chances on feels when the law says 'up to life in prison'.

Shithole country is not worth coming to if you're: LGBTQ, pagan, and/or an apostate. You're basically a walking death penalty for the crime of 'existing'.

And you don't think there will be any problems if someone who outwardly has male features (e.g. a beard) walks into a female bathroom? Everyone will just be fine and say "Oh, they are probably transsexual, no worries"?

Many women have hirsutism, most often due to hormonal conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome. They continue to use the female bathrooms without issue.

No, they are not "without issue". Since the trans discourse has picked up, there have been many cases of these people being targeted and attacked due to "using the wrong bathroom".

Nope, this is a myth perpetuated by activists. Even if there was an isolated case of this, it's not a general rule. There is more chance of being struck by lightning, but that doesn't stop people walking outside.

Really, you're resorting to that excuse? I could show you examples of such cases, but there's no value in doing so, since you've already declared me wrong and them to be isolated cases.

Exactly, the vast majority of people aren't so stupid as to believe that a woman who has grown some facial hair has somehow become a man by doing so.