Recent months have seen the issue of homosexuality being widely debated in various African member states of the Commonwealth. Uganda’s proposed ‘Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009’, calling for the execution of ‘repeat homosexual offenders’, has been internationally condemned. Late last year, Rwanda came close to criminalising homosexuality for the first time when its penal code was being revised. Meanwhile, an engaged gay couple in Malawi were recently arrested and charged with ‘unnatural offences’. Is homophobia a real problem in the African Commonwealth, thus contradicting the high human-rights standards the association is supposed to uphold?
Below is a moving testimony from John, a Ugandan gay man:
Uganda is one of the African countries which treats its gay people worse than it treats even animals. Your family can disown you and they call you all sorts of names and sometimes the family can see you as curse. The police cannot protect you; even when you try to explain no- one listens. The only thing that can help here is money, which can make the police listen, but for how long? That’s the question. The public is also against gay people and this makes it hard as you have no-one to talk to and this makes the situation worse as you feel the whole world is against you. The government does not take any notice if you are alive or not, and they think you are worse than a pig, as they phrase it. When you are in prison you are beaten up by the prison officers and inmates. They can do all sorts of things and if you are a lesbian, they can let men rape you and if you are a gay man they push things inside you saying that this is what you want.
Gay people in Uganda are not allowed medical treatment and no one wants to help you as they think you can pass it on. Young gay people find it hard as they may not be allowed to go to school, their families disown them and there is no one to help; even if there is someone to help, they are scared because they will put their own life in danger. It’s hard to get a job in Uganda when you are gay, because no- one wants to employ you and, even if you have the money to start your own business, still no- one will come to get anything from you. To sum up, gay life in Uganda is so hard and as time goes on it becomes harder. I wish the Ugandan people could really understand that this is not something you copy from someone. I have never had any problems with anyone, and I have helped many people in need, but no- one can see that side of me because, when they know I’m gay, no one wants to know me any more. I wish I could change but I cannot, so I have to live in fear, with no family, just an isolated life. Hopefully one day the Ugandan people will open their eyes if they find a gay person in their families.
The Royal Commonwealth Society, the largest and oldest civil society organisation dedicated to the Commonwealth of Nations, is currently conducting the ‘Commonwealth Conversation’, the most extensive global public consultation ever held on the Commonwealth. Through a series of online discussions, opinion polls, expert meetings and public events, the aim is to stimulate debate on the role of the Commonwealth, its strengths and weaknesses, and its future direction. Two billion people, 54 countries, one conversation- join in!
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Beside providing more opportunities for gays in these countries to study or work abroad, NGOs could also take into consideration each country's human rights records when allocating their financial aids to them. Those governments that have poorer records should be punished by being allocated less resources, and this should be communicated to their voters as a punishment for bad governance. Governments and political parties running them should be rewarded with more aids.
It is equally important to promote democracy in these countries so that their voters have me viable options should the most powerful political party in each country be incompetent. The smaller, weaker opposition parties should be assisted to form a shadow cabinet and offer the voters viable alternatives to the main political party in each African nation. If we punish the incompetent African governments but offer their voters no viable alternative, their voters have no choice but to submit to bad governments.
Grandpa held in raid at gay joint
By ANN TAN and WINNIE YEOH
north@thestar.com.my
GEORGE TOWN: Police have busted two gay joints at a massage parlour and a fitness centre here with the arrest of 19 men, including a 65-year-old grandfather.
They also seized posters, towels and tubes of lubricant during the raid at the premises at a shopping complex here at 10pm.
It is said that their customers included doctors and lecturers.
Among the 19, two were caretakers aged 30 and 38 while seven were local customers. The remaining 10 were said to be sex workers from Thailand, Vietnam, China, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The “company” is said to be hiring foreign employees, who entered the country with visit permits, in batches.
It is learnt the two shops, which have been closed down for two to three months, started its operations again recently.
Using massage parlour and fitness centre as a front for their operation, regular customers are given a password to enter the place. There are two closed circuit television cameras installed in front of the door for tight security.
Police earlier laid an ambush nearby and arrested a customer before forcing him to reveal the password. Some were said to be caught with their pants down when police stormed into the premises.
George Town acting OCPD Supt Gan Kong Meng, who confirmed the case, said police would be investigating the case under Section 377(B) of the Penal Code for committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature, Section 6(3)(c) and Section 39 (b) of the Immigration Act.
In another case, the police nabbed seven women from China in a raid at an unlicensed entertainment outlet in Gurney Tower.
Supt Gan said equipment like television sets, a microphone, DVD players and sound systems were also confiscated.
“The women will be investigated under Section 39 (b) and Section 51(3) of the Immigration Act,” he said.
Equally important is to dig out those external, Western forces behind this African wave of homophobia. Which fundamentalists are the influencers and sponsors?
“THE WEALTH OF THE COUNTRY IS NOT IN STONES AND MINERALS BUT IN ITS PEOPLE”
President Yoweri Kagata Museveni
Background
“The Government of Uganda recognises that its population is the single most important resource that can propel development. Government also recognises the intricate and fundamental interrelations between population and development. Furthermore, it recognises that the process of development has an important effect on population trends and factors which, in turn, have a major impact on the attainment of development objectives and targets.
It is against this background that Government established the Population Secretariat in 1988 as a semi-autonomous government institution under the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, to coordinate the formulation and implementation of a comprehensive Population Policy and to ensure the incorporation of population variables in Uganda's development planning at all levels. The National Population Policy is in harmony with the National Vision and Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP).
Mandate
• Formulate and review the National Population Policy, ensuring policy and programme coherence, including alignment with appropriate international instruments and agreements.
• Promote the integration of population variables in development planning at all levels in the country.
• Co-ordinate, monitor and evaluate the implementation of the National Population Policy and programme.
• Mobilize resources for implementation of the country population policy and programme
Strategic Objectives
• To promote the integration of population variables in development planning at national, sector, district and lower levels.
• To promote collaboration and partnerships among government ministries, agencies, institutions and civil society organizations that address population issues.
• To develop capacity for efficient and effective implementation of population policies and programmes.
• To mobilize resources for programs that address population issues at national and lower levels.
• To monitor and evaluate the implementation of the National Population Policy and programmes.”
This is good governance population management. It does not need to be voted for because it is already Government Policy.
Ndorwa West MP David Bahati is probably very sincere in his population control proposals but in my view it is possible to be sincerely wrong as well as sincerely correct.
Rev Fr Lawrence Kanyike is also sincere in his dependence on translated socio historical biblical story telling, in reaching the view that being same sex attracted is disordered, but at least he notes the present law to him is likely to impact in a most brutal way on the population of Uganda. Since fundamentalist religion has contributed most to the thinking of the Member for Ndorwa West and many of his followers, Fr Lawrence, who has lost many priests already to overseas countries, his letter is too little too late. The Member for Ndorwa West has in fact in his speeches told Ugandans that this is now not a law for Uganda but a Commandment from God.
Ugandans need not have a long look into history to see where brutality was the order of the day in this wonderful Country and I am sure no self respecting Ugandan, even the parents, grandparents, Aunties and Uncles don’t want to see their same sex attracted siblings subjected to any more of the torment than they already endure without the passage of the draft legislation.
Unlike smoking and drinking which are addictive behaviours, homosexuality is not learned behaviour. That doesn’t mean that offences don’t exist of a sexual nature between men, women and children. I am sure that laws are already available to manage those offences.
Uganda is an amazing country with an already declining population.
In 2007 there were 32.4 million.
The above population report suggests it is now 30.6 million, slightly more women than men. but what makes it very different from many other countries of the world is that the median age of the population is 15 years of age.
I am not sure how much older than 15 the Member for Ndorwa West is, but he should most definitely be consulting with a much higher percentage of the youth population than it appears is happening.
Migration is an observed significant percentage of the reasons why the population is declining.
Insecurity 26% and education 9% are some of the reasons for population migration.
The Member for Ndorwa West also needs to be aware that, if it were safe to do so, 3.6 million Ugandans would identify as same sex attracted but about 1.8 million have learned bi sexual ways of surviving which in itself is a high risk factor for public health, given the high fertility rates of 6.7% and the overt discrimination in the health care settings for patients that present with a heterosexual STI in a homosexual location in their bodies.
There is ample global evidence that same sex attraction is not a learned behaviour nor is it an addiction per se. This is well documented in medicine and sociology as a biological variation. Of interest is that it rarely exceeds 10% of any given population apart from single sex living arrangements such as exist in Jails, Boarding Schools and Theological training establishments. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares Gender Orientation to require protection. More and more countries are legitimating gender orientation and validating committed partnerships. It is a requirement for membership of the European Union.
It strikes me that the Member for Ndorwa West is unlikely to be interested in this resource material because the political horse he is riding seems far enough ahead in the race.
What should be of interest to the electorate is the fact that 2.7 million Ugandans live below the poverty line, in Kampala paid work is available for the lucky few on average up to 11.8 hrs per week.
79% of rural dwelling Ugandans still use the tadooba for lighting; only 41% of urban dwellers have access to electricity. 213,000 Ugandan children will die before reaching 5 years of age. 435 mothers will also die for every 1000 live births. All of these come about from birth defects, preventable diseases, malnutrition, and lack of affordable access to immunisation.
Passing this law which will legitimate the murder or imprisonment of 3.6 million more Ugandans is not good Population Management and the Population Council under the auspice of the President of Uganda should weigh in on this legislative proposal. Don’t wait till the blood starts flowing.
I must confess however that the draft legislation itself is a powerful tool in the Argument for Protection Visas for those lucky enough to escape from their own country.
Geoffrey
Melbourne
Australia and one of Uganda’s visiting Honorary Viral Disease Health Educators
February 2010
Before WWII, Jews leave Europe and depart to America to escape from Holocaust. So be smart. Leave and go somewhere (I am not refering to America). Flee and do not look back.
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