Decolonising “African values”: The future of LGBTQ+ pride and rights
Posted: 31 October, 2024 Filed under: Lesego Sekhu, Namatirayi Ngwasha | Tags: ACHPR, African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights, African countries, African values, anti-rights groups, discrimination, homophobia, homosexuality, human rights violations, LGBTQ+, political persecution, Pride Month, sexual orientation, social exclusion, South Africa Leave a comment
Author: Lesego Sekhu
Research Assistant, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation
October marks Pride Month in South Africa. Historically, Pride in this country and, more broadly, the rest of the continent has been used for political advocacy, protesting against discrimination and political persecution, and reaffirming LGBTQ+ people’s rights. In the spirit of “leaving no one behind”, this year, our Pride agenda should include radical solidarity with LGBTQ+ people in other African countries who face a growing anti-rights movement specifically targeting LGBTQ+ and other sexually diverse and gender-diverse people.
It’s not just you and me, and that’s okay
Posted: 20 May, 2024 Filed under: David Ikpo, Victoria Amaechi | Tags: African continent, Beverley Ditsie, Coming out, Coming out vs Coming home, fight against discrimination, gay, gender expression, heteronormative standards, homonormative, homophobia, Justice Edwin Cameron, lgbtq, Mark Gevisser, multi-institutional relationships, political incorrectness, queer, queer inclusivity, queer persons, queer rights, queer visibility, Sassoi of Ghana, sexuality, Simon Nkoli, The Pink Line, Zachie Achmat 1 Comment |
Author: Victoria Amaechi Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria |
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Author: David Ikpo Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria |
Queer visibility, and what it accomplishes, turns the social, cultural and legal wheels towards queer inclusivity in society, and is a great complement to the advancement of queer rights on the African continent and globally.
On the African continent, South Africa sets the tone for the merits of queer visibility, through the openly politicised lives of queer icons such as Simon Nkoli, Beverley Ditsie, Justice Edwin Cameron and Zachie Achmat. Other African queer icons have also emerged through their great work, such as Caine Youngman of Botswana; David Kato, Kasha Jaqueline, Richard Lusimbo and Frank Mugisha of Uganda; Abdellah Taia of Morocco; Rev Jide Macaulay and Uyai Ikpe-Etim of Nigeria; Alex Donkor of Ghana and Eric Lembembe of Cameroon. This list does no justice to the infinite number of queer persons within and outside of civil society and government, in the full glare of public visibility, who work tirelessly for queer inclusion on the African continent. This work is no mean feat, and for the most part makes the difference between whether or not a person returns at night to their families after a day’s work, or whether or not there is a family to return to. However, this is not true for all of us.
Uganda, god does not uphold thee
Posted: 11 April, 2023 Filed under: Nimrod Muhumuza | Tags: anti-homosexuality law, colonial rule, Constituent Assembly, culture, For God and My Country, homophobia, Kulwa Katonda n’Eggwanga Lyaffe, National Symbols Committee, religion, religious ideologues, religious preferences, revenge killings, sexual minorities, state religion, Uganda Leave a comment
Author: Nimrod Muhumuza
Doctoral researcher
Politicians and religious ideologues often deploy the mantra “Uganda is a god-fearing country” and cite the motto “For God and my Country” to tip the scales on controversial or polarasing issues as if it is a substitute for reasoned, principled debate. They would have us believe that religion regulates and should dictate our conduct, going as far as suggesting that our laws should be informed or at least inspired by scripture. Contemporary religion and its ideals has been a mainstay of Ugandan politics and society, manifested in the religious wars of the 1880s, Christian-inspired colonial rule, President Idi Amin’s Sharia-inspired decrees to the raft of morality laws that have been proposed or enacted recently.
Decriminalisation of consensual same-sex acts in Angola and the progress of LGBTI human rights in Lusophone Africa
Posted: 5 March, 2021 Filed under: Rui Garrido | Tags: Angola, Angolan Penal Code, decriminalization of consensual sexual acts, Deputy President José Semedo, discrimination, domestic violence, for SOGI hate crimes, HIV/Aids, homophobia, ICPD, in Lusophone Africa, LGBTI, LGBTI human rights, Lusophone Africa, Portuguese, reproductive health, same-sex acts, sex education, sexual health, sexual rights, SOGIESC 9 Comments
Author: Rui Garrido
Ph.D Candidate, University Institute of Lisbon (Portugal)
On 11 February 2021, the new Angolan Penal Code officially entered in force. This new legislation represented a major achievement for LGBTI people not only in Angola, but across the rest of Africa. It is important to highlight that, while the Penal Code was approved in Parliament in 23 January 2019, it was only officially published on 11 November 2020. Prior to this, the criminal legislation, the Portuguese Criminal Code (1886), inherited from colonialism, criminalised the “vices against nature” (art. 71)), a very vague formulation for deemed to refer to consensual same-sex conduct. Angola was the last of the African former Portuguese colonies to repeal the colonial legislation.
Homosexuality v. homophobia, which is criminal?
Posted: 21 January, 2013 Filed under: Joelle Dountio | Tags: Africa, African traditions, civil rights, corrective rape, female genital mutilation, HIV/Aids, homophobia, homosexuality, human rights, International Bill of Rights, international human rights, political rights, privacy, religion, right to freedom of association, Rwanda, traditional cultural beliefs 7 Comments
Author: Joelle Dountio
PhD candidate, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria
Religion, traditional cultural beliefs and law are all used by humans to fuel hatred, stigma, and discrimination towards homosexuals. The rights to equality, non-discrimination and freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment as upheld by the International Bill of Rights and other human rights instruments are, for the most part, all recognised in the constitutions and other national laws of most African countries. However, 36 of the 54 African countries have punitive laws on homosexuality. Meanwhile, homosexuality is a sexual orientation and a prohibited ground for discrimination under international human rights law (Toonen v. Australia).
Historically, religion has been used to justify some of the worst atrocities committed against human beings. Some of these atrocities include: slavery, the holocaust, apartheid, racism and terrorism. Today, the Bible is used to justify homophobia based on the famous kingdoms of Sodom and Gomorrah. The question I ask is, does the Bible really mean that we should kill these people as is happening today? And even if it does mean this, what about other practices for which the Bible says people should be killed? This Bible says married women who have sexual relations outside their marriage should be killed. The Bible says we should sell all we have and give the money to the poor. The Bible says we should not make carved images of anything in heaven. Why do Christians not apply these? Apparently man chooses to follow only those sections of the Bible which suit him and enable him to meet his selfish goal irrespective of the consequences to others. Is this not hypocrisy?
AfricLaw 