Posted 9th June, 2013
Blame it on passionate politicians screaming as loud as they can that
being gay is un African, but somehow Africa has managed to be known as
the continent that hates gays. My country, Uganda, has been dubbed the worst place to be gay, following the anti-homosexuality ‘Kill the gays’ bill. Nigeria
just passed a law that provides the death penalty for homosexuality,
Kenya has a fantastic constitution that guarantees equal rights but not
equal rights for homosexual people; while in countries like Tanzania,
North Africa, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and West Africa, the discourse has not
even begun. The most ‘tolerant’ African countries stay silent and look
the other way while others actively oppose homosexuality as an import
from the west here to destroy the continent.
Africa has however managed to inspire the homosexuality debate world
over. In the recent House of Commons debate on the UK Marriage (Same Sex
Couples) Bill, a member called upon the house to vote for the bill
because of Africa rather than vote against it for the same reason. While
in all other international discourses Africa has been ignored or
referred to only as a place that needs ‘help’ other than a continent
that brings something to the world table, the debate on homosexuality
cannot be complete without Africa. In this debate, unlike those on
hunger, disease and other afflictions that have cowered Africans into
complacent people who cannot stand up to their rogue governments,
Africa’s resilience shines.
In spite brutal crack downs on gay rights
on the continent, this minority group continues to give African leaders
sleepless nights. On the face of it, it is hard to imagine why anyone’s
sexual life should cause unease to leaders who live in cushioned
mansions, travel in private jets and, when they happen to use the
pot-hole infested roads, drive in military-size cars with dark tinted
windows. But the truth is that these leaders know that a triumph for gay
rights – the most controversial human right on the continent – is a
triumph for every other human right; civil, political, economic, and
social.
Gay rights activists in Uganda are not just content to sit
and mourn about the tribulations of being gay in Africa. They are very
interested in the entire political situation in the country, using
social media to start discourses on a various topics from the fleeing
Ugandan general, the recent oil discoveries to the Christian martyr’s
celebrations. Maybe because they know what it feels like to be
alienated, the Ugandan gay community is quite welcoming and warm and
they have a real concern not just for their future but for the future of
the continent. Unlike heterosexuals who enjoy a semblance of human
rights and dignity, homosexuals have already had a feel of what it is
like to be under a government that hates you. They know that inevitably,
the long serving African dictatorships will turn against their people
and they too will have to closet their ideas, their demands for fairness
and equality, for another day.
The writings are already on the wall; one day a British playwright is
stopped from staging a play perceived to promote homosexuality; the
next media houses are closed down for publishing stories deemed
prejudicial to national security.
The debate on homosexuality has
managed to reveal African leaders for who they really are. In Uganda,
the Ethics Minister Simon Lokodo, one of the most vocal proponents of
the anti-homosexuality bill, also said that it is natural to rape women.
Member of Parliament Odonga Otto, another vocal anti-gay campaigner who
said he would kill his child if the child was gay, was involved in a
scandal where he forged documents to try and steal his own children out
of his wife’s custody. Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, shortly after promising
Ugandans the anti-homosexuality bill as a Christmas present threw out
journalists for covering parliament affairs in a way that displeased
her. Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe cracked down homosexuals and his country.
When
it comes to homosexuality, these are the same people who stand on the
roof and preach the gospel of morality and doing what is right and
proper in society. The same people who applauded their
anti-homosexuality stop to question some of these decisions. The people
may not understand the principle of indivisibility of human rights, but
it is plain to see that intolerance to one group leads to intolerance of
another- Similarly, recognising the rights of one group means
recognising the rights of others. African leaders thus know that if they
are to survive, they need to crack down on anything that challenges the
status quo and nothing does so more than homosexuality.
But the
gay rights movement in Africa is not just standing back and letting the
government have its way. In seven years, the gay community in Uganda has
taken three cases in defence of their rights to court. Two of them were
decided in their favour- With the courts holding that like any other
Ugandan; they have the right to privacy, equality and human dignity.
With these pro-gay rights precedents, the gay community is almost
certain that the increasingly progressive Ugandan judiciary will uphold
their right to freedom of expression and assembly as gay people. In
South Africa, Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie decision made the
country the fifth in the world to legalise gay marriage. With these baby
steps, Africa is defying the stereotype of being altogether homophobic.
Undoubtedly,
the terrain is still rough for homosexuals in Africa. The terrain is
rough for Africa in general. Curtailing of human rights by African
leaders has been a song for decades, but the gay rights movement in
Africa is determined to play another tune.
Patience Akumu is a
Features writer with the Observer newspaper in Uganda. She is the
winner of the David Astor Journalism Award 2013 and is on a fellowship
programme with The Independent