Religion, politics and Africa's homophobia [ i.e. legitimate revulsion at
psychopathological sexuality ]
Pumza Fihlani ("BBC," February 23, 2010)
Kampala, Uganda - Since a Ugandan MP proposed the death penalty for some
gay people, homophobia has been on the rise in other parts of Africa.
Earlier this month, US President Barack Obama's criticism of the Ugandan
proposals led to huge anti-gay rallies in neighbouring Kenya.
Soon after, rumours of a gay wedding near the Kenyan coastal city of
Mombasa resulted in several arrests - although no evidence was produced and
no-one was charged.
For the past few weeks, police in Malawi have been openly pursuing gay
activists and anyone suspected of being homosexual.
The Malawian authorities say gay activists should be more open - but say if
they do come out into the open they will be arrested because homosexuality
is illegal.
Monica Mbaru, from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission, describes these crackdowns as a ripple effect from the Uganda
situation.
She says many African leaders and communities remain hostile to gay people
because of pressure from religious leaders.
"Our politicians have great respect for religious leaders and are careful
not to disagree with them, especially not on homosexuality," she says.
"So they pretend that homosexuals do not exist or that they can be 'cured'
and communicate this message to the community."
'Flush out gays'
Both Christian and Muslim clerics have publicly condemned homosexuality for
many years - describing it as a sin, abnormal or immoral.
One of the most extreme examples of religious leaders advocating repression
of gay people is Ugandan Pastor Martin Ssempa.
He openly endorses Uganda's anti-gay bill, and last week screened gay
pornography at a church in Kampala to drum up support for the proposed
legislation.
In Kenya, too, religious leaders have been at the heart of anti-gay
campaigns.
In a statement last week, US-based Human Rights Watch quoted witnesses as
saying Christian and Muslim leaders had joined together to call for
communities to "flush out gays".
The group wrote to the Kenyan government calling on it to end the attacks
on gay people, which it described as planned rather than spontaneous.
"The police need to arrest the attackers and put a halt to what appears to
be a co-ordinated nationwide attack on people perceived to be homosexual,"
said HRW's Dipika Nath.
No understanding
While HRW describes a climate of fear in Kenya's gay community, other
rights groups say the upsurge in homophobia is encouraging gay-rights
campaigners to be more forceful.
Ms Mbaru says activists are rising up against homophobia.
"Many see this as unjust and have begun to co-ordinate with each other and
put pressure on retrogressive societies," she says.
"When you deny people the right to be who they are, you are forcing them
underground and ultimately they rebel."
Gay-rights group Behind the Mask believes there is a lack of understanding
of gay issues, fuelled by misrepresentations in the press and fiery
speeches by religious leaders.
"When many hear the word homosexual they immediately think of sodomy,
paedophilia," says the organisation's Noma Pakade.
"They don't understand that a homosexual relationship can be a commitment
between two consenting adults based on love, just as it is with
heterosexuals."
Homosexuality is illegal in many African countries - particularly Arab
North Africa and those with a British colonial past such as Kenya, Uganda and
Malawi.
British colonial legislators outlawed "carnal intercourse against the order
of nature with any man, woman or animal".
It is that law which Uganda is now proposing to strengthen, from a 14-year
sentence to prison to life.
The bill also proposes the death penalty for a new offence of "aggravated
homosexuality" - defined as when one of the participants is a minor,
HIV-positive, disabled or a "serial offender".
'Love, not hate'
There are small pockets of resistance within the religious community - but
theirs is a hard fight.
Reverend Michael Kimundu served the Anglican Church in Mtwapa, Kenya, for
30 years.
But recently the Church expelled him because leaders found out that he
headed a religious organisation called The Other Sheep, which preaches
tolerance towards gay people.
"I am a preacher I should be spreading love, not hate - that is why I don't
believe in treating the homosexual community with disdain," he says.
"My Church didn't want to be associated with such beliefs........
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