Contents:
One must look on Namibia as a traumatized place, perhaps a schizophrenic place. There is an unresolved history in this country, a history of authoritarian personality structures. The country has been through trauma, a terrible period of repression and a war. This produces a typical phenomenon of very dependent individual personalities, the result of a long history of colonialism and brutality and fear. Such personalities can easily be mobilized against a minority. And sexuality is very much bound up with fear. Then, though, there is a split in public awareness and political awareness. Repression co-exists with liberalism.
One part of the government will say it wants to eradicate the enemy. Another part hurries in to say that it wants to give everyone rights.
And the fear of the internal enemy is tied to fears of external enemies. Homophobic sentiments are mixed with xenophobic sentiments. It is terrible. And it is depressing. As Gwen Lister had predicted, another "wave" of violent rhetoric may have begun. In August President Nujoma again mixed homophobia with fear of the outside.
Speaking to the Namibia Public Workers Union Congress, he denounced what he called "British imperialism" and its anti-Mugabe stance: "Today it is Zimbabwe, tomorrow it is Namibia or any other country. We must unite and support Zimbabwe.
We cannot allow imperialism to take over our continent again. In Namibia we will not allow these lesbians and gays. We fought the liberation struggle without that. We do not need it in our country. We have whites who are Namibian, but they must remember they have no right to force their culture on anyone. If they are lesbian, they can do it at home, but not show it in public… I warn you as workers not to allow homosexuality.
Africa will be destroyed. Zambia, in a few months in experienced something akin to the hysterical rhetoric about homosexuality which Mugabe and Nujoma had inflicted on their countries over several years. A newspaper article describing a single, isolated gay man's experiences provoked a vast national controversy. Church leaders, NGO officials, students and professors, and professional politicians all stepped forward to voice their horror of homosexuality.
The vice-president and ultimately the president of the country joined the condemnations. By the time the furor died down, homosexuals had been driven even more deeply underground, or beyond the country's borders altogether.
And human rights organizations, and civil society agents in general, had been stigmatized as being agents of a foreign agenda. In July , a young man named Francis Yabe Chisambisha went to the offices of Zambia's largest independent newspaper, told them he was homosexual, and asked if they would like an interview. Reporters leapt at the chance. Chisambisha's self-revelation, his "coming out," was, as he explained to our researcher later, born of wanting not to continue in concealment.
The Post published Chisambisha's interview, and photograph, on its first page. The story, which used his full name, spread over three pages; it concentrated on his sexual experiences. Chisambisha explained why he went public:. Firstly, what I want is to tell society that this gay thing has been there even before our generation. I want society to be aware that it is happening in Zambia and there are people who want to be respected for their choice. It's just that in our African culture, it's believed to be taboo and hence people do it in hiding," he said. Our friends in South Africa and Zimbabwe and elsewhere have spoken out that they want their feelings to be respected and be allowed to enjoy their sexual preferences.
That is what I want to do here in Zambia. It makes me feel bad to be criticized that what you are doing is wrong when I am not causing harm to the person I am doing it with.
Published online Aug 8. Pediatr Infect Dis J. More was inaugurated than the fair itself. Weller S, Davis K. There was not tolerance as such; but a spirit that if they only kept to themselves we would not interfere. Isr Med Assoc J.
Secondly, Francis said he wants to form an association so that Zambian gays can fight for their rights. Chisambisha told us later, "I was alone and I wanted not to be, and I wanted to help others not to be. I found out that being alone was legal.
Wanting not to be alone was criminal. Wanting to help others was the worst crime of all. Chisambisha's confession sparked a mammoth scandal. The response was instant. The day after Chisambisha's confession, the Post was already receiving hand-delivered indignant letters. Virtually all condemned it. The independent Post was willing at least occasionally to convey Chisambisha's and other sympathetic perspectives; the state-sponsored press was uniformly negative. A women's columnist headlined an account of the controversy, "Homosexuality not new but can be stopped here," and pictured advocacy for sexual rights as deleterious to development:.
In advanced societies, where people have attained so much that they have nothing much to do in life, they tend to turn to such unnatural practices as a pastime. In the first world, people have achieved so much in life. They have three meals a day, all the fruits and drinks of any imaginable luxury at their disposal.
Since some of them may not have much work to do any more, they search for hobbies and some, unfortunately, end up in homosexuality. But in third world countries, particularly in Sub Saharan Africa, we have so much work to do, we cannot even afford to think of homosexuality…. The energies being channeled toward unproductive ventures like forming gay associations could be used for more meaningful projects like poverty alleviation … The relevant authorities should be prompted to act against people purporting to enhance their human rights by engaging in unacceptable practices.
Reporters conducted "man-in-the-street" interviews, gauging the indignation they helped to foster. One writer asked Lusakans about the proposal to let gays form an NGO:.
A cross-section of the public interviewed during a random survey seem to be in unison that such a move is unacceptable and should not be encouraged in any way as it would merely be perpetuating a vice. The outraged people noted that although homosexual and lesbian organizations might be in existence elsewhere, it was totally alien in Zambian society and everything should be done to ensure it did not take off.
President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe who not long ago put up a strong fight against gays in his country drew a similar analogue and said homosexuals are worse than animals. When the bad news fouled my ears to the effect that homosexuals, lesbians, I mean the gays, have started walking the streets with their heads upright, my soul was shaken to its very foundation…. These homosexuals, and these lesbians, wonders will never end!
Are you telling me they have the courage to waste the taxpayer's stationery, I mean my stationery, by registering an association with the Registrar of Societies? Registrar of Societies, I don't expect it to happen, but if a lesbian gathers enough courage and exhibits her ugly face in the confines of your beautiful office for the sinful, shameful purpose of registering what will sinfully and shamefully be known as the Lesbians Union of Zambia, give her the boot, particularly on her rump steak, you know what I mean by her rump steak, don't you?
What I mean is, give her marching orders thus: By the left, quick match!
Western Cape and Orange Farm in Gauteng for their active participation and involvement in gender violence prevention initiatives South Africa and the world in general recognise gender- is also celebrated as World AIDS Day, another significant date within lesbian, gay, bisexual or asexual (Nduna & Nene ). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) travel to South Africa South African attitudes towards LGBT locals and travellers The UK Foreign Office (FCO) offers up-to-date advice for countries worldwide on their local laws and Visit the cosmopolitan Cape Town, tranquil coastal retreats, stylish wine farms and.
Left, right, left, right, On the double! Homosexuals, lesbians, gays, you homosexuals, go home, who needs you?
Did I say go home? It was a slip of the tongue. I meant go to Hell. Look, homosexuals, lesbians, gays and the likes of you, no home is fit for you. All of you need to be sent to a special institution to undergo special and thorough examination. Something is certainly the matter with you. Few dared raise dissenting voices. Former president Kenneth Kaunda initially urged Zambians to "cool down and think about" the question of "how to handle these brothers and sisters. Francis Chisambisha found one lone defender.
Zulu's organization had previously worked principally on election monitoring and on the rights of traditional chiefs. He quickly, however, became the country's main spokesperson on the issue of sexual orientation. In part because of provocative assertions by Zulu about homosexuals' prevalence in Zambia, he was mocked as well as vilified.