Botswana appeals urt upholds lg that crimalised gay sex | Rters

Contents:

• A W FOR GAY RIGHTS BOTSWANA IS A ‘STEP AGAST THE CURRENT’ AI
• BOTSWANA PRINT VOWS TO HONOUR GAY RIGHTS JUDGMENT
• BEG GAY IN BOTSWANA IS LEGAL NOW
• BOTSWANA APPEALS URT UPHOLDS LG THAT CRIMALISED GAY SEX
• IT'S NO LONGER A CRIME TO BE GAY BOTSWANA
• BOTSWANA LOS URT BID TO REVOKE GAY RIGHTS
• BOTSWANA ERNMENT TO APPEAL AGAST LAW LEGALISG GAY SEX

A W FOR GAY RIGHTS BOTSWANA IS A ‘STEP AGAST THE CURRENT’ AI

The sectn prohibs oral and anal sex for both homosexual and heterosexual upl. India is the latt a strg of former Brish loni that have removed their anti-gay laws.

The suatn Botswana is most parable to the suatn Kenya where the high urt is expected to le on the untry’s anti-gay law May. The prohibn of same sex relatns also ntribut to creased HIV fectn rat as fear of mistreatment disurag gays and lbians om gettg tted and accsg health re. Three years ago, the Court of Appeal led that the ernment’s failure to officially regnise LeGaBiBo (Lbians and Gays of Botswana) was unnstutnal.

In 2016, Mmegi, one of Botswana’s ma daily newspapers, reported that 43% of Batswana are not opposed to havg homosexual neighbours, makg among the more tolerant untri Ai. But as is the se elsewhere the world, acceptance of homosexualy vari by age and tn level.

BOTSWANA PRINT VOWS TO HONOUR GAY RIGHTS JUDGMENT

Gay rights mpaigners exprsed joy at the Botswana urt of appeal’s cisn to uphold a lg that crimalised same-sex relatnships, sayg the untry’s judiciary had set an example for other Ain ernment had appealed a 2019 lg that crimalisg homosexualy was unnstutnal. The lg had been hailed as a major victory for gay rights mpaigners on the ntent, followg an unsuccsful attempt Kenya to repeal lonial-era laws crimalisg gay sex. ”Before the 2019 lg, gay sex was punishable by up to seven years jail.

I have all sorts of emotns, but the bottom le is I am really happy, ” said Cae Youngman, head of policy and legal advocy for the anisatn Lbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana. Homosexualy is illegal many Ain untri, wh nvictns rryg a ath sentence some stat. Tshekiso Tebalo/Agence France-Prse — Getty ImagJune 11, 2019In a momento se that prompted celebratn among gay people and civil rights activists around the ntent of Ai, Botswana’s High Court overturned laws on Tuday that crimalized the lg was livered only weeks after the High Court of Kenya upheld laws that crimalize gay sex, unrsrg the wi differenc how L.

Said, “We are not lookg for people to agree wh homosexualy but to be tolerant. Deliverg the lg, Judge Michael Lebu said the laws were “discrimatory” toward gay people and vlated Botswana’s Constutn, argug that overturng them was a matter of protectg human do the rt of Ai pare? ]South Ai beme the first natn on the ntent to crimalize homosexualy 1998, when the Johannburg High Court led that the natn’s sodomy laws vlated the untry’s newly adopted, post-apartheid 2010, several more untri Southern Ai have crimalized same-sex relatns, cludg Mozambique, Angola and Lotho.

BEG GAY IN BOTSWANA IS LEGAL NOW

In 2006, South Ai legalized gay marriage, beg the fifth untry the world to do chang often followed general efforts to reform the penal and mpaigns by public health officials to unter the spread of H. V., said Neela Ghoshal, a senr rearcher wh Human Rights said that broad societal movements, such as the end of apartheid South Ai the 1990s or the Arab Sprg uprisg that began Tunisia 2010, had also created space for gay rights movements to spe South Ai’s tolerant laws, gay and transgenr people rema the target of vlence there, exemplifyg the wi dispari some Ain untri between what the legal says and how the thori choose to enforce some untri, Ms.

Ghoshal said, longstandg laws crimalizg homosexualy are not enforced at all, while untri that have never had anti-gay laws, there remas social stigma, vlence and noted that Kenya — where the High Court upheld laws that crimalize gay sex last month — people the pal were largely tolerant while those parts of the untrysi tend to be more ernments have taken an active role crackg down on gay people.

Ghoshal said, movements for gay rights were stifled after the Arab Sprg by the rise of Print Abl Fattah el-Sisi, and the police began to target activists. Siarly, Uganda’s legislature has adopted hostile posns toward gay people, part fluenced by nservative evangelil Christian misters, said Adotei Akwei, the puty director for advocy and ernment relatns for Amnty Internatnal.

BOTSWANA APPEALS URT UPHOLDS LG THAT CRIMALISED GAY SEX

A Ugandan urt stck down a punive anti-gay law 2014, but left open the possibily that the measure uld be Akwei said that the Botswana cisn was “a wonrful step agast the current” a ntent that largely “has had a very nservative and hostile view of L. Many of the anti-gay laws have been place sce the 19th century, when Ai was rved up to loni by European powers.

Homosexualy had been illegal Botswana sce the late 1800s, for stance, when the terrory was led by Bra and lled Bechuanaland. Bra had crimalized male homosexualy sce 1553, and extend siar polici to the loni veloped around the the time Bra began to crimalize homosexualy, 1967, anti-gay stigmas and laws had bee well entrenched former loni, often cludg piec of the Victorian language that the Brish left behd.

Around the world, more than half of the natns that crimalize homosexualy were once Brish Ain ernments have found the laws eful, Mr. Conservative relig nstuenci, both Christian and Mlim, have also fluenced some ernments: While evangelil Christiany is fluential Uganda, nservative Islam has helped shape attus toward gay people Sudan and Somalia, where homosexualy is punishable by there prospects for further change?

IT'S NO LONGER A CRIME TO BE GAY BOTSWANA

Many Kenyans hold strong anti-gay views — 90 percent of Kenyans said society should not accept homosexualy, acrdg to a 2013 Pew survey — and the judg last month’s cisn Kenya argued that homosexualy clashed wh tradnal attempt to strike down Botswana’s anti-sodomy laws failed 2003, but activists ma “cremental” progrs later, said Anna Mmolai-Chalmers of Lbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana.

Botswana, which is regard as one of Ai’s most stable mocraci, changed s employment act to prevent discrimatn agast LGBT people 2010, and the High Court led favor of a transgenr man who sought legal regnn as a male last September, Print Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana exprsed tentative support for gay people, sayg, “Jt like other cizens, they serve to have their rights protected. Gay Marriage⚭✖ UnregnizedCensorship✔ No censorshipChangg Genr✔ Legal, surgery not requiredNon-bary genr regnn✖ Not legally regnizedEmployment Discrimatn✖ Sexual orientatn onlyHog Discrimatn✔ Sexual orientatn and genr intyMilary✖ Lbians, gays, bisexuals permted, transgenr people bannedConversn Therapy✖ Not banned. Botswana Surveys would tolerate havg a homosexual neighborHistoryHomosexual activy Botswana?

BOTSWANA LOS URT BID TO REVOKE GAY RIGHTS

Homosexual activy Botswana is legal. Current statSce Jun 11, 2019Legal Botswana's High Court has led favour of crimalisg homosexualy a landmark cisn for mpaigners.

Servg openly ary Botswana is lbians, gays, bisexuals permted, transgenr people banned. Current statSce Aug 10, 2010Lbians, gays, bisexuals permted, transgenr people banned All discrimatn is illegal all areas. Botswana's print vowed Monday to fully implement a urt lg crimalizg homosexualy the landlocked southern Ain untry, two months after losg an appeal to overturn the lg.

"We ask and expect everyone to rpect the cisns of our urt, " he said durg his meetg wh members of the Lbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (Legabibo). The lg, hailed as "historic" ternatnally, was eagerly awaed across Ai, where homosexualy remas illegal more than half of sub-Saharan untri. Botswana's gay cizens have long lived "nstant fear of beg disvered or arrted, " Jtice Ian Kirby said November.

BOTSWANA ERNMENT TO APPEAL AGAST LAW LEGALISG GAY SEX

Botswana is one of the few Ain untri to have crimalized homosexualy. South Ai is the only Ain untry that allows gay marriage, legalized 2006.

Though the recent oute on same-sex nduct has bee legal as nfirmed by the hight urt the land wh the State subsequently succumbg to the feat, the progrsive law do not mean that now the LGBTQI muny is ee to marry as their unterparts do as part of their crimalisatn of same-sex nduct should not be nfed wh the legalisatn of gay marriag. As outled the judgement, this victory was for same-sex nduct, not gay marriage, as that is an entirely different ballgame.