Worse than dogs and pigs: life as a gay man in Zimbabwe
Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - President Robert Mugabe says people
like Takunda Amina are worse than dogs and pigs - so daily life as a gay
man in Zimbabwe was never going to be easy.
At 24, Amina has already been chased from his family home, forced to marry -
twice - and fathered three children who ask him tough questions about sex
and sexuality.
He has been vilified in the national press - snapped at a gay party - and
rejected as a disgrace by his parents. Not even the best spiritual healers
could cure Amina of being gay.
Im a single father of three and a male sex worker, Amina told the Thomson
Reuters Foundation.
He also chairs Male Sex Workers in Zimbabwe, a lobby group with 300 members
that helps economically disadvantaged gay men.
Amina has no such need as he boasts a huge customer base and says he does
not need to visit nightclubs or roam the streets for work; his clients
simply phone him when they want sex.
On a good day, Amina said he makes $150, with most of his clients employed
as business and legal executives.
Amina said he was forced to take up sex work as Zimbabwes fractured economy
had rendered so many young men jobless.
But prostitution is not without risks.
At times, I get violent clients who refuse to pay me after giving them
services, and others insist on unprotected sex, but I have learnt to let
such clients go because I have to live on.
ALWAYS KNEW
Amina was born in Kadoma, a mining town in Zimbabwes Mashonaland west
province, and knew as a young boy that he was attracted to other boys.
I have always known that I was different, but I didnt really know that I
was gay; at the age of 11, thats when I knew that I was attracted to other
boys. At first I thought I was alone, but my other friends gave me a clear
picture of who really I was - gay, Amina said.
It was in 2011 when his secret came out, after Aminas father caught his son
and then-lover together at a party.
Spiritual healers were engaged in a desperate bid to change him and his
sexuality.
The more my family took me to prophets and traditional healers, the more
gay I became. They (my family) thought I had a spiritual challenge, said
Amina.
When photographs of Amina at a gay party appeared in the local press a year
later, his father could take it no more.
Amina was thrown out of the family home in disgrace - a fate typical for
many gays and lesbians in conservative Zimbabwe.
Most families are not yet accepting siblings or children or other family
members who are attracted to the same sex due to strong cultural and
religious beliefs, Sylvester Nyamatendedza, of the Gays and Lesbians of
Zimbabwe, an organisation that advocates for equal rights.
The group launched 27 years ago with some 70 members. Now it has about
7,120, according to its director, Chesterfield Samba.
MEDIA SPOTLIGHT
Researchers say Zimbabwes media fuels homophobia, echoing Mugabes belief
that homosexuality degrades human dignity. Its unnatural, and there is no
question ever of allowing these people to behave worse than dogs and pigs.
Mugabe has characterised homosexuality as un-African and many journalists
duly report gay stories with hostility.
The state media in particular, which publishes stories of the anti-gay
ruling party politicians often attacking and castigating gays, has made life
miserable for gays and lesbians, who then consequently suffer at the hands
of politicians anti-gay rhetoric, said Mlondolozi Ndlovu, a researcher in
media and society studies at Zimbabwes Midlands State University.
Zimbabwes 2013 constitution prohibits same-sex marriage but is silent on
gay relations.
Laws criminalising homosexuality in Zimbabwe carry penalties of up to three
years in jail, and police often arrest gays, then set them free without
bringing charges.
THIRD WIFE?
Amina said his parents have backed off now he has had children, although
they still ask when he will next wed.
I tell them, my parents, that my children are still young and I will think
of remarrying after they are grown up, said Amina, who rents an apartment
with his boyfriend.
Fearing victimisation, they hide their sexuality, though he says it is
harder to keep it secret from his young children, who watch cartoon gays and
lesbians depicted on television.
I have a good relationship with my children; I dont want my sexuality to
affect them in any way. They do see some similarities of me on television
and ask me questions, but I just give any excuse to brush them aside, Amina
said.
As for the future, experts say much lies in the hands of Zimbabwes powerful
religious leaders.
Inclusive and affirming faith leaders in Zimbabwe can open their
congregants minds to new and contextualised interpretations of the bible.
This widespread belief that scripture is inherently homophobic doesnt hold
up when you look at the text in its entirety and with an open mind, said
Brian Pellot of Religion News and Religion News Foundation in South Africa,
which tracks spiritual and ethical news worldwide.
For now, discrimination is the norm for men like Amina, in a nation where
gays are compared unfavourably to farm animals.
Every day is sad for me, but at the end of the day, I want to be treated
like a citizen of this country - regardless of my sexuality, said Amina.
Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation,
the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news,
women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience.
Visit news.trust.org to see more stories.
EM
On the 49th Parallel
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in
anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni
katika machafuko"
_______________________________________________
Ugandanet mailing list
Ugandanet@kym.net
http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet
UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/
All Archives can be found at http://www.mail-archive.com/ugandanet@kym.net/
The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including
attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way.
---------------------------------------
