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see: 2 First National Seminar On Gay Rights 10/06 3 Movement for Gay Rights to Be Announced Soon in Mozambique 10/06 4 Mozambique discovers its gay minority 11/06 5 Archbishop claims condoms are infected with HIV 9/07 6 African lesbian conference demands equal rights 2/08 7 Two Lesbian Rwandan Human Rights Activists Released on Bail--on their way to Mozambique to attend conference
07 July 2006 1 There is promising news from the nation of Mozambique in Southern Africa. For the first time ever, a prominent newpaper has published an article that argues for gay rights. Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique reports some gay men in the capitol city of Maputo will petition parliament to approve same-sex marriage. Last Thursday, Emilio Manhique, the well-known Rádio Moçambique journalist, took up the issue on his popular talk show "Diario de Mozambique." Apparently, many of the listeners were shocked that subject was even broached. "For them, homosexuality was so taboo," the report says. "That it should not even be discussed in Mozambican society." Manhique has resumed the topic in his weekly newspaper column, strongly arguing that real issue is not gay marriage but "are we or are we not capable of accepting that homosexuals have a right to be different." The journalist says that "nobody asked to be born homosexual" and compared the struggle for gay rights to Mozambique's horrific colonial rule under the Portuguese: "Less than 40 years ago in this country we were humiliated and despised because of the colour of our skins", recalls Manhique. "We were considered second class citizens." Timely that these words are being spoken a half a world away in Mozambique, after this week's marriage equality setbacks in Albany and Georgia. Gay Rights Raised in Mozambican Paper (All Africa)
12 October 2006 2 Maputo - The chairperson of the Mozambican Human Rights League (LDH), Alice Mabota, on Thursday urged the country's gay and lesbian citizen to organise and fight for their rights. She was speaking at the first ever seminar on gay rights in the country, organised by the LDH, with the sponsorship of the Dutch NGO Hivos. "Citizens win their rights, they're not a gift from the state", said Mabota. "If gays and lesbians struggle for their rights, the LDH will support them". She added that the LDH is not campaigning on such specific issues as the legalisation of gay marriage: it would be gay people themselves who should raise such a demand, if they wanted to marry. Gay activist Danilo de Sousa noted that few Mozambican gays are open about their sexuality - but that the number is growing. "Many lead a semi-open (or semi-closed) life, while the majority keep their sexual orientation completely clandestine, or even deny it", he said. "One often finds homosexuals married to members of the opposite sex, merely to please their family and society", he added. "But they're unhappy and often lead a double life". Sousa was optimistic - for there are signs that young Mozambicans are more tolerant towards gays than the older generations, "and younger homosexuals are now posing openly the possibility of living their sexual orientation regardless of the wishes of their families". "Amongst those who come into regular contacts with homosexuals, at home, or at work, or socially, there is a great level of acceptance, which shows that mutual knowledge is the main factor for overcoming intolerance, stigmatisation and discrimination", he said. Mozambique, Sousa declared, has gay people "in all parts of the country, of all social strata, of all religions, of all ethnic groups, of all academic levels, and of both sexes". Homosexuality was not something exclusive to any particular part of the world, said Sousa. He found it ironic that stigmatisation of gays had been introduced into Africa "by a culture that did come from outside the continent - Christianity. Those who argue today that homosexuality is anti-African do so on the basis of a culture that was forced on Africans by colonialism and by force of arms". In the Mozambican case, it was the Portuguese "who came to teach us that homosexuality was a sin and an abomination". Yet to date, gay rights have not been on the agenda of any Mozambican political party - or indeed, prior to this seminar, on the agenda of human rights groups. "The homosexual community itself must bear part of the blame for this situation", said Silva. Rather than risk provoking "a conservative backlash", many gays preferred to go on living "in an undefined, clandestine situation". In some quarters, Silva added, gay rights were dismissed as irrelevant, because Mozambican society had more pressing issues to deal with, such as the fight against hunger. "Strangely such questions are not raised when it comes to the rights of other minorities, such as the disabled, HIV-positive people, or religious groups, who are given huge attention on the various national political agendas", he said. Today, stressed Silva, the development of democracy is increasingly measured "by the extension of freedoms and legal protection for all minorities. The progress in gay rights in various countries does not reflect cultural factors - it reflects democratic advances. Only thus can one explain the cultural diversity of the countries that are in the vanguard of gay rights". Silva suggested that Mozambican gays should concentrate on removing any clause from the country's laws that might be used to criminalise gays, and to introduce measures that ban discrimination on the base of sexual orientation, just as discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, religion or ethnic group is already outlawed. He did not call for gay marriage, but suggested "gradual recognition of the rights of gay partners living in de facto unions". "Mozambique is a nation of many colours, a people of many rhythms, a country of many riches", Silva concluded. "We are part of this diversity and these riches. As citizens we ask only that you respect our rights, and give us the freedom that feeds the joy we feel in our hearts when we declare that we are, above all, Mozambican citizens". It is sometimes claimed that homosexuality is banned under Mozambican law. Custodio Duma pointed out that this is inaccurate. Homosexuality, as such, is not mentioned in the country's penal code, although the vague phrase "practices against nature" does appear. Article in the code which some have interpreted as criminalising gays are in fact aimed at "vadios", a Portuguese word best translated as "vagrants". Duma also cited a recent survey on attitudes towards gays, in which 700 people, aged between 18 and 56, were interviewed in four Mozambican cities (Maputo, Beira, Nampula and Quelimane). Only 16 per cent of this sample considered homosexuality a disease. Virtually everybody (96 per cent) said they knew gay people, and no less than 80 per cent said they had gay friends. A leader of the Brazilian gay movement, Luiz Mott, Professor of Anthropology at the Federal University of Bahia, argued that, while many African countries regard homosexuality as a crime and three (Nigeria, Mauritania and Sudan) even execute gays, the history of homosexuality on the continent long predates colonialism. Works of art displaying gay sexual practices, ranging from San rock paintings in the Kalahari, to Ashanti metal sculptures from Ghana, show that there were pre-colonial African societies that accepted homosexuality. Mott attacked the intolerance of religious leaders, particularly the declaration by the head of the Roman Catholic Church Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) that homosexuality is "intrinsically disordered". "This Pope is going to hell", Mott predicted.
October 13, 2006 3 There is a dispute between those who want to affirm their gay identity (which would lead to a name such as "Mozambican Gay and Lesbian Movement"), and those who prefer to advance more cautiously, with a name such as "Organisation against Sexual Discrimination". Recommendations coming out of the two day seminar include a call to include information on sexuality in the school syllabus, and to have books on the subject available in bookshops and libraries (though, from some quarters, there were calls that the images in such books should not be too "shocking"). The seminar also criticised "censorship" of gay issues in the media - although it was generally recognised that television coverage of the first day of the seminar had been positive. However, an attempt to debate gay rights on a phone-in programme on Radio Mozambique, while accepted by the programme presenter was overruled higher up the editorial chain of command. The seminar
participants called for dialogue on gay rights issues with media
editors and with the journalists' union (SNJ). Closing the meeting, the chairperson of the LDH, Alice Mabota, admitted that it had been difficult for her to take up the issue. As late as 2004 she had been refusing to involve the league in the demand for gay rights. Now, however, she was committed. "The role of the League is to promote human rights, and the so the doors of the LDH are open to promote your rights when they are denied", she said. She urged Mozambican gays to advance in forming their association. Like any othe civil society association, if a group of gays and lesbians wants to have legal recognition, it must register with the Ministry of Justice. Mabota promised to assist in registration. "If the Ministry of Justice says it's unconstitutional, then we'll ask them to show us where such associations are banned in the constitution", she said. The standard attack on gay rights is the claim that homosexuality is "against African culture". Mabota noted that the League had been obliged to deal with supposed "cultural" issues before. "When we raised the question of domestic violence, we were told to drop the issue because it was part of African culture", she recalled. "We were told that men display their love for their wives by beating them". The defenders of battered women paid no attention to such arguments, "and now everybody rejects domestic violence", Mabota said. "So in some years we will overcome discrimination against homosexuals too"
afrol.com/ 4 The mere
fact that gay people exist in Mozambique has turned out to be a surprise
for the country's people and politicans. In contrast to other African
nations, the
country is proving to be pro-gay. Gay and lesbian organisations
seeking equal rights are being established, and politicians do
not rule out future legal pro-gay reforms. Like most capital cities,
Maputo, Mozambique's capital, is the place where the largest
number of gay people live. This, according to the homosexual group's leaders,
is because here, people are generally most open towards the issue. But Mr Silva also holds that Mozambican society is not rejecting so much the sexual orientation of a person as such, but rather the expression of this sexuality, such as sexual act or affection and the establishment of homosexual relationships. Due to pressure from society, he says, most gays live a semi-open or semi-closeted life, keeping their sexual orientation secret. "We have a different sexual orientation - not due to choice, but due to nature," he explains. "Some of us choose to reveal this sexual orientation by leading a life that differs nothing from other members of society, meaning to love, living one's love out freely, be happy and, in many cases, establish a stable, loving and healthy family." Yet,
discrimination is widespread. A 25 year-old member of the new group, recently graduated in law and wanting to stay anonymous, told 'Savana' he had experienced discrimination based on his sexual orientation. He holds that Mozambican
society still does not act peacefully towards homosexuality, leading to discrimination in the family, at school and at work. Nevertheless, the source says he is happy and grateful for the support he had been given by his parents, friends and colleagues, which, he however says, had not been easy to achieve. "I was even taken to a psychologist, which did not have any meaning as I cannot escape realities. The Mozambican Human Rights League (LDH) recently arranged an open debate on homosexuality in Maputo, with the principal aim of creating a national dialogue around the sexual minority and about the civil rights of homosexual citizens. According to LDH law expert Custódio Duma, homosexuality is not mentioned in Mozambican law books - which only penalise "practices against nature". To prove this, LDH was planning to present three test cases before the courts, where gays had lost their employment due to their sexual orientation. Mr Duma points out that LDH is not into promoting homosexuality, but to "defend the rights of homosexuals."
28th September 2007 5 by Joe Roberts Refusing to name the countries, he added: "They want to finish with the African people. This is the programme. They want to colonise until up to now. If we are not careful we will finish in one century's time." Instead, he suggested traditional Catholic values of marriage, fidelity and sexual abstinence would halt the spread of the disease. An estimated 19.2 percent of Mozambique's 19 million inhabitants are HIV positive and around 500 people are infected every day. AIDS campaigners called the Archbishops comments 'nonsense' and defended the use of contraception. "We've been using condoms for years now, and we still find them safe," well-known activist Marcella Mahanjane told the BBC. "People must use condoms as it's a safe way of having sex without catching AIDS," added Gabe Judas, who runs Tchivirika (Hard Work), a theatre group that promotes HIV/Aids awareness. The Catholic Church is well-respected in Mozambique for its prominent role in sponsoring the 1992 peace treaty which ended 16 years of civil war. 17.5 percent of Mozambicans are Roman Catholic.
27th February 2008 6 by PinkNews.co.uk staff writer Women from 14 African countries gathered in Namibia's capital Windhoek in August 2004 to develop the Coalition of African Lesbians. Lesbian organisations and a number of individual women from Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia are members of the organisation. "Our main goal is that lesbian and homosexuality can no longer be seen as a criminal offence," the group's director and conference spokeswoman Fikile Vilakazi told Reuters. "You should not be arrested and charged for how you use your own body." The coalition lobbies for political, legal social, sexual, cultural and economic rights of African lesbians by engaging strategically with African and international structures and allies and to eradicate stigma and discrimination against lesbians. South Africa, one of the few countries on the continent where gay men and lesbians are allowed to marry and legally protected from discrimination, has been rocked by several murders of prominent lesbian activists. Sizakele Sigasa, 34, an activist for HIV/AIDS and LGBT rights, and Salome Masooa, 24, were discovered dead at field in Soweto, Johannesburg, on July 8th. They had both been shot and, it is suspected, raped. On 22nd July Thokozane Qwabe, 23, was found in a field in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal with multiple head wounds. She was naked and it is thought she was also raped.
7 By Abeli
Zahabu (BTM French Reporter) |
