Geza Ulole
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Homosexuality not a Western import to Africa
The marriage of Kenyan gay couple Charles Ngengi to his longtime partner Daniel Chege Gichia (right) last year in London. Homosexuality is illegal in most African countries save for South Africa, Chad and Gabon. Photo/FILE |
By JANET OTIENOPosted Wednesday, May 26 2010 at 13:44
The issue of homosexualitiy in Africa is once making screaming headlines.
Just days after a Malawian gay couple was sentenced to 14 years' jail with hard labour, two employees of the gay rights group in Zimbabwe were seized in a police swoop.
The Harare duo, now cooling their heels behind bars, are employees of the Gays and Lesbians Association of Zimbabwe (GALZ).
The Malawian ruling, not surprisingly, has attracted a round of condemnation from the international community.
In Kenya, it is a different scenario altogether as the Gays and Lesbians Coalition – Kenya (GALCK) have come out in the open to demand the protection of their rights. A fearless breed indeed, one may argue rather convincingly!
With all these new developments, many especially parents, are seething with rage since homosexuality was initially a hidden affair.
Evil and foreign
In as much as the boldness displayed by this group has won them a good number of admirers, others have tendered to differ for various reasons, not least of which is that it will be out of character for "God-fearing" Africans to legislate in favour of homosexual rights.
Lebanese author Khalil Gibran observed some years back that: "Humanity cannot change the will of God just as an astrologer cannot change the course of the stars".
Thus, those with opposing views say homosexuals are trying to "corrupt" the ordained order.
African culture virtually detests homosexuality as a vice and anyone trying to root for its legalisation in statutes books and acceptance in the society is likely to be resisted.
Homosexuality is illegal in African countries, save for South Africa, Chad and Gabon. This mirrors the widespread homophobia within the continent, documented so clearly by statements made by Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who refers to them as ‘worse than dogs and pigs', and Malawi's Bingu wa Mutharika, who terms the practice as evil and foreign.
Uganda nearly passed a legislation mandating death sentence for sodomists. Former presidents of Namibia Sam Nujoma and Kenya's Daniel arap Moi were well known for their hard stance on homosexuals.
Azande warriors
Ironically, there are records indicating that homosexuality is not a Western import after all. Ancient examples of the boy marriage tradition among Azande warriors of Central Africa region and the gay sex at the court of the Kabaka (king) of the Buganda support this concept.
History has it that different wars within the continent would encourage homosexuality in the pre-colonial Africa since it brought men together.
Further evidence for the existence of homosexuality is that pre-colonial African ethnic groups ascribed tribal classifications to gay people.
Certain tribes in pre-colonial Burkina Faso and South Africa regarded lesbians as astrologers and traditional healers, while a number of tribal groups in Cameroon and Gabon believed homosexuality had a medicinal effect.
In pre-colonial Benin, homosexuality was viewed as a boyhood phase that males passed through and eventually grew out of according to Zimbabwean Standardnewspaper.
The Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his lover Smenkhkare were also documented as male couple in history. Their homosexuality does not seem to have bothered Akhenaten's contemporaries, but his challenge to the clergy brought his downfall.
Although there is no data to substantiate a genetic or biologic basis for same-sex attraction, homosexuals prefer the biological explanations of hormonal imbalance, sexual abuse, prenatal hormone defect or lack of bonding with a same-sex parent as this helps to generate greater tolerance and building their case for minority status.
This would mean homosexuals need counselling and acceptance as opposed to the harsh penalties like imprisonment that will lead them to further isolation. Denying them the opportunity to live the way they have to, is total deprivation of their rights as human beings.
This puts the ball squarely on the parents' court who have, for a long time, failed to instil appropriate sex education in their children at home, leaving the burden to teachers and clerics. The place for sex education is the home setting. Within their own families, young people should be aptly instructed about the dignity, duty, and expression of love.
Hateful and intolerant
There is no substitute for a personal dialogue of trust and openness between parents and their children, that is, individual formation within the family circle, which respects not only their stages of development, but also the children as individuals.
Sex education is a delicate subject and parents must find time to be with their children, making the effort to understand them and to recognise the fragment of truth that may be present in some forms of rebellion.
Such individual formation within the family means that sex education is indistinguishable from religious and moral development in other virtues such as temperance, fortitude, and prudence.
Africans should therefore not afford themselves the luxury of being hateful and intolerant to this particular group.
Whether Africa will face up the reality and accept homosexuals, or uphold its traditional values, remains to be seen as the debate rages on.
Is Britain's gay condition too intrusive for Africans?[/h]
By JANET OTIENOPosted Monday, November 7 2011 at 16:05]Africa Review*- Homosexuality not a Western import to AfricaWith Britain threatening to withhold aid to the Commonwealth members who enforced laws criminalising homosexuality, Africa could see street protests hitherto not witnessed by gay, lesbian, transgender and homosexuals, to demand recognition.
British Prime Minister David Cameron's remarks at the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, Australia received round of condemnation from Uganda, Zambia and Ghana, among others, saying they would only enact laws supported by the citizens and in line with their rich culture. (Read: Zambia tells UK off over gays)
Inasmuch as many countries were finding Britain culpable for the use of aid to influence the policies of receiving countries, they were forgetting that homosexuality question would not go away any time soon.
And with Cameron's support, the gays were going to crawl out of the closets to fearlessly demand their place in the homophobic continent.
A colleague of mine likened Britain's conditions to the analogy of a wealthy man in the city sending his struggling brother in the village some money to spend on groceries and follows up on how it used, then goes an extra mile to find out how the poor fellow related with his wife in the bedroom. Perhaps, this could be why most African leaders found Cameron's remarks a bit intrusive.
Unnatural acts
Those who abhor homosexuality argue that their countries would rather miss Cameron's general budget support, but preserve their strong moral fabric.
Most African countries, save for South Africa, criminalise homosexuality and if found guilty in Malawi, for instance, one was liable to a 14-year jail with hard labour.
The famous incidence was that of the Malawian couple Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, who were sent to prison for ‘gross indecency and unnatural acts' last year, sparking homosexuality debate in Africa.
But in a dramatic twist, barely 10 days after receiving a presidential pardon, one of the gay couples, Mojenza, renounced his love for Chimbalanga and opted to marry a woman, Dorothy Gulo. Monjeza said he was no longer interested in being associated with what he called 'gay trash', accusing 'hidden hands' of engineering their marriage.
This gave those who detest homosexuality a stronger case as their point of reference. Thus, anyone trying to use aid to root for its legalisation in African statutes books was likely to be resisted for interfering with the ordained order.
But what is so new about homosexuality that was making some African governments feel like they were being arm-twisted by some bully wealthy brother?
Traditional healers
In Zimbabwe, Prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai was currently trying to root for gay rights, but his coalition partner Robert Mugabe insists that they were worse than dogs and pigs. Uganda nearly passed a legislation mandating death sentence for sodomists, not surprisingly attracting round of condemnation from the international community.
Records, however, show that homosexuality was not so ‘foreign' as it had been painted since it existed in northern Africa during the reign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his lover Smenkhkare.
From Central region of the continent, boy marriages among Azande warriors of Central Africa, did take place, not to mention other communities in Cameroon and Gabon who believed homosexuality had some therapeutic effect. (Read: Homosexuality not African, give me another line!)
So, with Cameron's new conditions, Africa should either stop being intolerant to homosexuality that has been in existence since pre-colonial times, or put their house in order to ensure that they were not at the financial mercy of a ‘culturally insensitive' donors, as they put it.
This should not downplay the argument from religious quarters that richer nations should not use dollar or sterling pounds to force down the throats of Africans what they did not deem fit.
Whether Africa would embrace homosexuals or force them to go straight, remains to be seen.
http://www.africareview.com/Blogs/Is+Britains+gay+condition+too+intrusive+for+Africans/-/979192/1268672/-/view/printVersion/-/11x273jz/-/index.html
MY TAKE
What is so special with the Nationmedia defending homosexuality in Africa? I will be glad to know what is the country's new constitution saying?
By JANET OTIENOPosted Wednesday, May 26 2010 at 13:44
The issue of homosexualitiy in Africa is once making screaming headlines.
Just days after a Malawian gay couple was sentenced to 14 years' jail with hard labour, two employees of the gay rights group in Zimbabwe were seized in a police swoop.
The Harare duo, now cooling their heels behind bars, are employees of the Gays and Lesbians Association of Zimbabwe (GALZ).
The Malawian ruling, not surprisingly, has attracted a round of condemnation from the international community.
In Kenya, it is a different scenario altogether as the Gays and Lesbians Coalition – Kenya (GALCK) have come out in the open to demand the protection of their rights. A fearless breed indeed, one may argue rather convincingly!
With all these new developments, many especially parents, are seething with rage since homosexuality was initially a hidden affair.
Evil and foreign
In as much as the boldness displayed by this group has won them a good number of admirers, others have tendered to differ for various reasons, not least of which is that it will be out of character for "God-fearing" Africans to legislate in favour of homosexual rights.
Lebanese author Khalil Gibran observed some years back that: "Humanity cannot change the will of God just as an astrologer cannot change the course of the stars".
Thus, those with opposing views say homosexuals are trying to "corrupt" the ordained order.
African culture virtually detests homosexuality as a vice and anyone trying to root for its legalisation in statutes books and acceptance in the society is likely to be resisted.
Homosexuality is illegal in African countries, save for South Africa, Chad and Gabon. This mirrors the widespread homophobia within the continent, documented so clearly by statements made by Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who refers to them as ‘worse than dogs and pigs', and Malawi's Bingu wa Mutharika, who terms the practice as evil and foreign.
Uganda nearly passed a legislation mandating death sentence for sodomists. Former presidents of Namibia Sam Nujoma and Kenya's Daniel arap Moi were well known for their hard stance on homosexuals.
Azande warriors
Ironically, there are records indicating that homosexuality is not a Western import after all. Ancient examples of the boy marriage tradition among Azande warriors of Central Africa region and the gay sex at the court of the Kabaka (king) of the Buganda support this concept.
History has it that different wars within the continent would encourage homosexuality in the pre-colonial Africa since it brought men together.
Further evidence for the existence of homosexuality is that pre-colonial African ethnic groups ascribed tribal classifications to gay people.
Certain tribes in pre-colonial Burkina Faso and South Africa regarded lesbians as astrologers and traditional healers, while a number of tribal groups in Cameroon and Gabon believed homosexuality had a medicinal effect.
In pre-colonial Benin, homosexuality was viewed as a boyhood phase that males passed through and eventually grew out of according to Zimbabwean Standardnewspaper.
The Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his lover Smenkhkare were also documented as male couple in history. Their homosexuality does not seem to have bothered Akhenaten's contemporaries, but his challenge to the clergy brought his downfall.
Although there is no data to substantiate a genetic or biologic basis for same-sex attraction, homosexuals prefer the biological explanations of hormonal imbalance, sexual abuse, prenatal hormone defect or lack of bonding with a same-sex parent as this helps to generate greater tolerance and building their case for minority status.
This would mean homosexuals need counselling and acceptance as opposed to the harsh penalties like imprisonment that will lead them to further isolation. Denying them the opportunity to live the way they have to, is total deprivation of their rights as human beings.
This puts the ball squarely on the parents' court who have, for a long time, failed to instil appropriate sex education in their children at home, leaving the burden to teachers and clerics. The place for sex education is the home setting. Within their own families, young people should be aptly instructed about the dignity, duty, and expression of love.
Hateful and intolerant
There is no substitute for a personal dialogue of trust and openness between parents and their children, that is, individual formation within the family circle, which respects not only their stages of development, but also the children as individuals.
Sex education is a delicate subject and parents must find time to be with their children, making the effort to understand them and to recognise the fragment of truth that may be present in some forms of rebellion.
Such individual formation within the family means that sex education is indistinguishable from religious and moral development in other virtues such as temperance, fortitude, and prudence.
Africans should therefore not afford themselves the luxury of being hateful and intolerant to this particular group.
Whether Africa will face up the reality and accept homosexuals, or uphold its traditional values, remains to be seen as the debate rages on.
Is Britain's gay condition too intrusive for Africans?[/h]
By JANET OTIENOPosted Monday, November 7 2011 at 16:05]Africa Review*- Homosexuality not a Western import to AfricaWith Britain threatening to withhold aid to the Commonwealth members who enforced laws criminalising homosexuality, Africa could see street protests hitherto not witnessed by gay, lesbian, transgender and homosexuals, to demand recognition.
British Prime Minister David Cameron's remarks at the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, Australia received round of condemnation from Uganda, Zambia and Ghana, among others, saying they would only enact laws supported by the citizens and in line with their rich culture. (Read: Zambia tells UK off over gays)
Inasmuch as many countries were finding Britain culpable for the use of aid to influence the policies of receiving countries, they were forgetting that homosexuality question would not go away any time soon.
And with Cameron's support, the gays were going to crawl out of the closets to fearlessly demand their place in the homophobic continent.
A colleague of mine likened Britain's conditions to the analogy of a wealthy man in the city sending his struggling brother in the village some money to spend on groceries and follows up on how it used, then goes an extra mile to find out how the poor fellow related with his wife in the bedroom. Perhaps, this could be why most African leaders found Cameron's remarks a bit intrusive.
Unnatural acts
Those who abhor homosexuality argue that their countries would rather miss Cameron's general budget support, but preserve their strong moral fabric.
Most African countries, save for South Africa, criminalise homosexuality and if found guilty in Malawi, for instance, one was liable to a 14-year jail with hard labour.
The famous incidence was that of the Malawian couple Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, who were sent to prison for ‘gross indecency and unnatural acts' last year, sparking homosexuality debate in Africa.
But in a dramatic twist, barely 10 days after receiving a presidential pardon, one of the gay couples, Mojenza, renounced his love for Chimbalanga and opted to marry a woman, Dorothy Gulo. Monjeza said he was no longer interested in being associated with what he called 'gay trash', accusing 'hidden hands' of engineering their marriage.
This gave those who detest homosexuality a stronger case as their point of reference. Thus, anyone trying to use aid to root for its legalisation in African statutes books was likely to be resisted for interfering with the ordained order.
But what is so new about homosexuality that was making some African governments feel like they were being arm-twisted by some bully wealthy brother?
Traditional healers
In Zimbabwe, Prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai was currently trying to root for gay rights, but his coalition partner Robert Mugabe insists that they were worse than dogs and pigs. Uganda nearly passed a legislation mandating death sentence for sodomists, not surprisingly attracting round of condemnation from the international community.
Records, however, show that homosexuality was not so ‘foreign' as it had been painted since it existed in northern Africa during the reign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his lover Smenkhkare.
From Central region of the continent, boy marriages among Azande warriors of Central Africa, did take place, not to mention other communities in Cameroon and Gabon who believed homosexuality had some therapeutic effect. (Read: Homosexuality not African, give me another line!)
So, with Cameron's new conditions, Africa should either stop being intolerant to homosexuality that has been in existence since pre-colonial times, or put their house in order to ensure that they were not at the financial mercy of a ‘culturally insensitive' donors, as they put it.
This should not downplay the argument from religious quarters that richer nations should not use dollar or sterling pounds to force down the throats of Africans what they did not deem fit.
Whether Africa would embrace homosexuals or force them to go straight, remains to be seen.
http://www.africareview.com/Blogs/Is+Britains+gay+condition+too+intrusive+for+Africans/-/979192/1268672/-/view/printVersion/-/11x273jz/-/index.html
MY TAKE
What is so special with the Nationmedia defending homosexuality in Africa? I will be glad to know what is the country's new constitution saying?
