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Africa: Mixed Response As
Gays Come Out
23 Feb 2007- The issue of
lesbian and gay Africans' human rights again came to the fore this week
as Anglican Church leaders met in Tanzania amid the continuing row over
the consecration of a gay US bishop in 2003.
An ultimatum was sent from the
conference in Dar es Salaam to US bishops to make a commitment that
same-sex unions would not be blessed. African Anglicans have opposed the
American Gene Robinson's consecration as bishop on the basis of his
sexuality.
The meeting follows the World
Social Forum held in Nairobi, Kenya, in January 2007 where hundreds of
people flocked to the so-called Q-Tent in a country where homosexuality
has been criminalised.
In the tent, lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender (LGBT) people from all over the continent and the globe
shared their experiences of discrimination. They also spoke about the
progress being made towards realising human rights for LGBT minorities.
The Anglican Church's discussions
in Tanzania this week took place in a country which criminalises
homosexuality. Zanzibar has recently passed a law punishing people who
engage in homosexual acts with prison sentences of up to 15 years.
Lesbians found guilty of "improper conduct" can be sent to prison for
seven years.
Tanzania is one of several African
countries where lesbians and gays are being denied their human rights.
These measures seem to be in reaction to advances in lesbian and gay
rights made in southern Africa.
In Nigeria the parliament is
considering a bill to prohibit gay and lesbian people from marrying or
even politically organising themselves. Rwanda and Zimbabwe are another
two countries which have strengthened their anti-homosexual legislation.
In Uganda and Kenya a "homosexual act" can land someone in jail for 15
years.
After police harassment of lesbian
and gay activists in Uganda, a campaign was run to "out" lesbian and gay
individuals by publicising their names. Numerous activists, including
the leader of Sexual Minorities of Uganda Juliet Victor Mukasa, have
fled Uganda fearing for their lives.
In southern Africa the lesbian and
gay movement has made great strides. In South Africa, the rights of
lesbians and gays to marry were recently entrenched in a new law.
A pilot project to sensitize
children in secondary school about homosexuality is being considered in
South Africa's Gauteng province. Administrators in the province of
KwaZulu Natal have indicated that they too are looking at the possible
introduction of this programme.
In neighbouring Namibia an active
gay and lesbian community has through persistent campaigns managed to
start a conversation with the religious sector.
The nongovernmental organisation
The Rainbow Project, which fights for lesbian and gay human rights in
Namibia, has organised meetings between religious leaders and the LGBT
community.
While many lesbian and gays become
alienated from organised religion because of homophobic statements made
by clergy, there are religious leaders who promote the rights of sexual
minorities, said Ian Swartz, chairperson of The Rainbow Project. As
example, he stressed that the Anglican church is divided on the issue of
Robinson.
He told IPS that many lesbian and
gay Africans remain religious, making it necessary to talk to religious
leaders about the acceptance of sexual diversity.
"They want to go to church because
they still identify with the religious values that they grew up with.
For many the church is the place where they find answers to life's
questions," said Swartz.
Liz Frank, a former chairperson of
the Coalition for African Lesbians (CAL) and editor of the magazine
"Sister Namibia", told IPS that the advances in South Africa and Namibia
had a lot to do with the spirit of democratization that swept through
these countries from the late 1980s onwards.
"South Africa, where the rights of
all people are protected in the constitution, undoubtedly sparked change
which is influencing the rest of Africa," Frank said. This is especially
visible in the proliferation of civil society groups which are
organising around lesbian and gay issues.
One example is the Coalition for
African Lesbians (CAL) led by the South African Fikile Vilakazi. It
represents 13 organisations in 11 African countries. CAL does feminist
research, analysis and documentation. It also lobbies for women's rights
at local and national level.
According to Frank, "South Africa
is more than an example to the rest of the continent. The many activists
and organisations who have struggled so hard for sexual minority rights
have been a resource to us. People have been assisting us in Namibia
with strategic planning, organisational development, lobbying and
advocacy.
"They have helped us to break the
silence and respond to hate speech. Through this we have begun to build
the African LGBT movement," Frank pointed out.
While civil society is organising
to claim human rights for LGBT people, politicians still enjoy playing
the homophobic card when it suits them. "It usually happens when the
government faces some kind of crisis that they want to cover up," Swartz
told IPS.
"After homophobic statements have
been made in public by church or political leaders, one can feel that a
few steps backwards are being taken. We then usually see an increase in
verbal and physical attacks against the LGBT population," Swartz
continued.
"Some political and church leaders
are fond of denouncing gays and lesbians as 'causing' moral decay. But
the fact is that some of these leaders are the very people who promote
aggression and discrimination."
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