Mozambique's endurg discrimatn leav gay men untreated for HIV | Global velopment | The Guardian

Contents:

• MOZAMBIQUE CRIMALIS GAY AND LBIAN RELATNSHIPS
• GAY MOZAMBIQUE
• TOP GAY DTATNS: MOZAMBIQUE
• GAY MOZAMBIQUE NEWS & REPORTS
• MOZAMBIQUE LGBT ACTIVISTS MOVE ON TO NEXT BATTLE AFTER ANTI-GAY LAW SCRAPPED
• GAY TRAVEL TO MOZAMBIQUE
• MOZAMBIQUE GAY TRAVEL - LGBT RMATN JULY 2023
• MOZAMBIQUE SCRAPS ANTI-GAY LAW
• MOZAMBIQUE'S ENDURG DISCRIMATN LEAV GAY MEN UNTREATED FOR HIV
• MOZAMBIQUE GAY RIGHTS GROUP FIGHTS TO BE REGISTERED
• GLOBALGAYZ: THE BOOK
• GAY IENDLY HOTELS MOZAMBIQUE

MOZAMBIQUE CRIMALIS GAY AND LBIAN RELATNSHIPS

Image source, AFPImage ptn, Rights activists have mpaigned across Ai for greater regnn for same-sex relatnshipsMozambique has crimalised homosexualy s new penal , makg one of a few Ain untri where same-sex relatnships are revised , force om Wednday, drops a lonial-era clse outlawg "vic agast nature" were no prosecutns unr that clse but rights activists have said this change is a symbolic as other Ain untri have moved to tighten anti-gay Nigeria, a law that me to force last year banned same-sex public displays of affectn and troduced a possible 14-year prison sentence for gay sex. A study released on Tuday found that 87% of Nigerians supported a ban on same-sex Uganda, the ernment has pledged to troduce a new rtrictive law after the last law which crimalised homosexualy was succsfully challenged the nstutnal source, AFPImage ptn, Activists hope that the change Mozambique uld have an impact on other untriAnalysis: Milton Nkosi, BBC NewsMozambique's move to crimalise homosexualy looks step wh recent chang elsewhere, such as Ireland and the Mozambique is also followg the lik of neighbourg South Ai, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast and others, where is not a crime to be gay. The change then is a small step forward for Ai's lbian and gay many plac, whether homosexualy is legal or not, the real qutn is about ordary people's attus to gay people, which n still be hostile.

"I am sure that Ain untri will look at their old laws and see that this is an important step to guarantee that society is ee and equal, " Danilo Da Silva, head of the Mozambin gay rights group Lambda, told the BBC.

Historilly Mozambique has seen ltle vlence towards gay and lbian people, BBC Mozambique analyst Zenaida Machado, she adds, same-sex relatnships are still a divisive subject a untry where most people are eher relig Christians or people may be relaxed about homosexualy, many see promotg gay rights as an attack on cultural and relig practic, she on this storyRelated Inter LksThe BBC is not rponsible for the ntent of external s. Although there is still some discrimatn agast same-sex upl, when you travel wh Out2Ai, we ensure that we place you the most gay-iendly acmodatn and even plan your activi acrdgly.

GAY MOZAMBIQUE

As your very own queer Travel Experts, we know all the s and outs of where to go as a gay traveller Ai and have first-hand experience of everythg we plan for you. When Mozambique’s human rights rerd was reviewed before the Uned Natns Human Rights Council Geneva this week, the ernment’s nsistency on homosexualy was full view.

TOP GAY DTATNS: MOZAMBIQUE

Gay Marriage⚭✖ UnregnizedCensorship✔ No censorshipNon-bary genr regnn✖ Not legally regnizedDiscrimatn✖ Illegal some ntextsEmployment Discrimatn✖ Sexual orientatn onlyHog Discrimatn✖ No protectnsConversn TherapyAmbiguo. It is an odd irony of history that Mozambique was led for centuri by harsh and reprsive Portugue regim durg which slavery thrived and btaly was wrought upon the native people—but homosexualy was handled lightly. The specific reasons are embedd plex psycho-relig-polil history but the bottom le is that homosexualy was not as highly stigmatized, nmned or ma sful by the Catholic Portugue here as other Euro-imperialist loni elsewhere Ai.

” Instead of namg homosexual acts as illegal (‘rnal behavr agast the laws of nature’ claimed the Brish), the laws here scribed ‘vic’ agast nature, which was terpreted as referrg to btialy rather than human sodomy.

GAY MOZAMBIQUE NEWS & REPORTS

The rultg effect for morn-day gays Mozambique is that homosexualy is still handled somewhat ‘lightly’—certaly not openly accepted but also not celly or vengefully persecuted as currently done Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Congo and across most of this ntent of 54 untri where gay people face harassment, jail and vlence.

“Sharia law is not accepted here pl the Anglins are most morate here—unlike central Ai where they are jt bonkers agast homosexualy, ” explaed Carmen, a pretty lbian member of LAMBDA who joed for dner one eveng at the Jaranda rtrant central Maputo. “Bishop Akola (Anglin bishop of Uganda) has ma himself famo and notor over his rabid anti-gay statements that have tapped to the ignorance people have about homosexualy.

MOZAMBIQUE LGBT ACTIVISTS MOVE ON TO NEXT BATTLE AFTER ANTI-GAY LAW SCRAPPED

Perhaps bee of the relative ‘lightns’ of beg gay and due to the general absence of vigoro persecutn of gays, no signifint LGBT anizatn was formed until 2006 (although there is certaly gay stigma om the current homophobic ernment). Their missn wh LAMBDA is: “to foc on lobbyg for the repeal of homophobic legislatn whilst the public awarens mpaign will raise the profile on the rights of the LGBTI muny Mozambique.

GAY TRAVEL TO MOZAMBIQUE

The Brazil-led 2007 UN effort urgg member natns to crimalized homosexualy was signed by many natns, mostly European but not signed by Mozambique who abstaed. Danilo add, “ such an ‘elementary’ morn social fabric (mostly Maputo) there are no gay-only bars or clubs, no publitns, no big social events other than iendship works. As well, they went on, there are some mixed nightclubs like Conuts, Lounge, 4U, Mafalala Libre (offerg gays night every Thursday) and also Sheik and Havana clubs.

From private rooms and apartments to LGBTQ-iendly hotels, you have the optn to stay the heart of gay districts as well as other neighborhoods the plac you vis. Manhique has rumed the topic his weekly newspaper lumn, strongly argug that real issue is not gay marriage but "are we or are we not pable of acceptg that homosexuals have a right to be different.

MOZAMBIQUE GAY TRAVEL - LGBT RMATN JULY 2023

" The journalist says that "nobody asked to be born homosexual" and pared the stggle for gay rights to Mozambique’s horrific lonial le unr the Portugue: "Ls than 40 years ago this untry we were huiated and spised bee of the lour of our sks", rells Manhique. Maputo – The chairperson of the Mozambin Human Rights League (LDH), Alice Mabota, on Thursday urged the untry’s gay and lbian cizen to anise and fight for their rights.

She add that the LDH is not mpaigng on such specific issu as the legalisatn of gay marriage: would be gay people themselv who should raise such a mand, if they wanted to marry. Soa was optimistic – for there are signs that young Mozambins are more tolerant towards gays than the olr generatns, "and younger homosexuals are now posg openly the possibily of livg their sexual orientatn regardls of the wish of their fai".

"Amongst those who e to regular ntacts wh homosexuals, at home, or at work, or socially, there is a great level of acceptance, which shows that mutual knowledge is the ma factor for overg tolerance, stigmatisatn and discrimatn", he said. Mozambique, Soa clared, has gay people " all parts of the untry, of all social strata, of all religns, of all ethnic groups, of all amic levels, and of both sex".

MOZAMBIQUE SCRAPS ANTI-GAY LAW

Silva suggted that Mozambin gays should ncentrate on removg any clse om the untry’s laws that might be ed to crimalise gays, and to troduce measur that ban discrimatn on the base of sexual orientatn, jt as discrimatn on the grounds of race, sex, relign or ethnic group is already outlawed.

Duma also ced a recent survey on attus towards gays, which 700 people, aged between 18 and 56, were terviewed four Mozambin ci (Maputo, Beira, Nampula and Quelimane).

MOZAMBIQUE'S ENDURG DISCRIMATN LEAV GAY MEN UNTREATED FOR HIV

A lear of the Brazilian gay movement, Luiz Mott, Profsor of Anthropology at the Feral Universy of Bahia, argued that, while many Ain untri regard homosexualy as a crime and three (Nigeria, Mrania and Sudan) even execute gays, the history of homosexualy on the ntent long predat lonialism.

Works of art displayg gay sexual practic, rangg om San rock patgs the Kalahari, to Ashanti metal sculptur om Ghana, show that there were pre-lonial Ain societi that accepted homosexualy. Mott attacked the tolerance of relig lears, particularly the claratn by the head of the Roman Catholic Church Joseph Ratzger (Pope Benedict XVI) that homosexualy is "trsilly disorred". Maputo – At the end, on Friday night, of the first ever Mozambin semar on gay rights, anised by the Human Rights League (LDH), gay activist Danilo Soa told AIM that the movement will probably be lnched wh the next uple of weeks.

There is a dispute between those who want to affirm their gay inty (which would lead to a name such as "Mozambin Gay and Lbian Movement"), and those who prefer to advance more utly, wh a name such as "Organisatn agast Sexual Discrimatn".

MOZAMBIQUE GAY RIGHTS GROUP FIGHTS TO BE REGISTERED

The semar also cricised "censorship" of gay issu the media – although was generally regnised that televisn verage of the first day of the semar had been posive. However, an attempt to bate gay rights on a phone- programme on Rad Mozambique, while accepted by the programme prenter was overled higher up the edorial cha of mand.

GLOBALGAYZ: THE BOOK

But Mr Silva also holds that Mozambin society is not rejectg so much the sexual orientatn of a person as such, but rather the exprsn of this sexualy, such as sexual act or affectn and the tablishment of homosexual relatnships.

" A recent and still unpublished study on homosexualy nducted several provc by the Mozambin Human Rights League (LDH) is documentg to what gree cizens have knowledge of homosexuals Mozambique. The Mozambin Human Rights League (LDH) recently arranged an open bate on homosexualy Maputo, wh the prcipal aim of creatg a natnal dialogue around the sexual mory and about the civil rights of homosexual cizens. "Mozambin society is posed by different layers – farmers, relig ngregatns, the urban young – and for that reason is necsary that the dialogue over the issue go on, as long as homosexualy still is not intified as part of Mozambin tradns and culture, " said Mr Muchanga.

"Our ma goal is that lbian and homosexualy n no longer be seen as a crimal offence, " the group’s director and nference spokwoman Fikile Vilakazi told Rters. South Ai, one of the few untri on the ntent where gay men and lbians are allowed to marry and legally protected om discrimatn, has been rocked by several murrs of proment lbian activists. “ The origal vatn letters that were sent om Maputo helped a lot to speed up the se, and we are really grateful for the support we got om LAMBDA, the Internatnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn, as well as om the lbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and tersex muny”, said a joyful Ruzdana, Project Coordator at Horizon Communy Associatn (HOCA).

GAY IENDLY HOTELS MOZAMBIQUE

An LGBT associatn Mozambique has weled clarifitn of the law by the untry’s jtice mister at the UN, but has exprsed ncern that the nstutn and penal are still ambiguo on gay rights. LAMBDA, an anisatn which is not currently regnised by the state, weled a statement by Benvda Levi at the UN which she said that homosexualy was not illegal Mozambique. The term “vic agast nature”, which was a 1954 cln, is not fed, and the mpaign group is ncerned that whout explic protectn of homosexualy, a urt uld rely on this clse.