Is Kenya about to follow Uganda wh strict anti-gay legislatn?

Contents:

• UGANDA GAY ON MOVE
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• IS KENYA ABOUT TO FOLLOW UGANDA WH STRICT ANTI-GAY LEGISLATN?
• THE NEW ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSED GHANA WILL DTROY LIV
• PROGRS FOR GAY RIGHTS AI STILL ISN’T EVABLE
• WHERE IS IT ILLEGAL TO BE GAY AI?
• GAY SOUTH AI
• GAY AI
• AIN GAYS AND LBIANS BAT BIAS

UGANDA GAY ON MOVE

Passg the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu bill would further rce eedoms a untry where gay sex is already punishable wh up to three years jail, crics and activists Odoi, an amic rearcher, filed a lawsu on July 7 challengg the bill's nstutnaly, sayg would impact donor aid and other forms of fancial support. Ghana's Supreme Court on Wednday led her arguments were not sufficiently nvcg to grant an lg cleared the way for the bill, one of the harsht towards the LGBTQ muny Ai, to go through a fal stage of parliamentary approval before beg signed to May, Uganda's Print Yoweri Meveni signed one of the world's tought anti-LGBTQ laws, which spelled out the ath penalty for "aggravated homosexualy"'s bill, backed by relig and tradnal lears, clus jail sentenc of up to 10 years for advotg for LGBTQ rights.

While the former practice is often rid by many as “humane” and the latter is often referred to as “homosexual” behavur, the Sambia’s unrstandg and purpose behd the two procs differs om our nventnal unrstandg. For example, while many of might brand the young men and boys “homosexuals” the sense that they have a lastg sire for men whout the need or sire for a woman, once they have passed their re of passage to manhood, they marry women and bee fathers. Our knowledge of homosexualy prehistoric Ain cultur is limed by the late-Middle Age European views of Ains, of homosexualy, and of urse, the European reason for beg sub-Saharan Ai the first place – the slave tra.

LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?

While European proprieti ma such graphic scriptn of Ain homosexuali unmon their scriptns of Ai, there are enough referenc to to know that was ed prent, and even ed as a jtifitn for nsirg Ain cultur primive enough to jtify slavery. Among the last Ain cultur to be subjugated by Europeans, the Hsa peopl of northern Nigeria and the surroundg untri offer tertg exampl of homosexualy among Islmaized peopl of Ai.

In Zimbabwe, a natn racked by recent homophobic pogroms stuted by s vicly homophobic dictator, Robert Mugabe, there has historilly been ltle known about homosexual behavr among peopl prent prr to European ntact. Some ethnographers have dishontly attempted to show that homosexual behavr is a recent novatn enuraged by Europeans to serve their pal terts, hog large numbers of male Ains together barracks to serve as labor the m.

IS KENYA ABOUT TO FOLLOW UGANDA WH STRICT ANTI-GAY LEGISLATN?

The Bantu-speakg peopl of the plate untry were more circumspect, but have admted to ethnographers that homosexual ntact did occur, and was expected of pre-marriage adolcent mal. 5 percent reprented unwillg participants the crimal procs, the actual extent of homosexual behavr was certaly much greater, sce only those ught  flagrante licto, those prosecuted wh amic, or those acced by jilted lovers or others wh an axe to grd, reprent the crimal numbers we see the rerds. Contrary to Mugabe’s and other Aocentrists’ assertns, analysis of the lonial urt s show that the rat of prosecutn for homosexual behavrs was hight among the more digeno peopl (Shona, 17% and Nbele, 16%), and least among the “dtrialized migrants” om elsewhere (about 3% each for Xhosa, Basotho and Zulu).

Image source, Getty ImagIn the latt sign of risg homophobia different Ain untri, a Kenyan opposn MP is leadg a mpaign for parliament to further crimalise the untry's small LGBTQ muny.

Gee Peter Kaluma's move after neighbourg Uganda adopted a tough new anti-gay law, rejectg threats by US Print Joe Bin to impose sanctns and travel rtrictns on "anyone volved ser human rights ab". "We want to prohib everythg to do wh homosexualy, " Mr Kaluma tells me, addg that his bill will be much broar than the legislatn passed by Uganda's parliament and approved by Print Yoweri Meveni May.

THE NEW ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSED GHANA WILL DTROY LIV

The Ugandan law is regard as one of the harsht anti-LGBTQ laws the propos life imprisonment for anyone nvicted of homosexualy, and the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated s, which clu havg gay sex wh someone below the age of 18 or where someone be fected wh a life-long illns such as the other si of the ntent, MPs Ghana earlier this month unanimoly voted favour of amendments to the untry's anti-gay legislatn, phg closer to beg enacted to law.

Though ls harsh than Uganda's new law, the Promotn of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu Bill propos a three-year prison sentence for anyone who intifi as LGBTQ and a 10-year sentence for anyone who promot homosexualy. Gay sex is already illegal Kenya, but the ernment n also be tolerant of gay people - for example, has given asylum to people om other Ain untri, cludg Uganda, who faced persecutn their home untri bee of their sexual orientatn. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Many Kenyans believe that gay rights are agast their relign - whether Christian or MlimAlthough the meetg Uganda was billed as an attempt to protect the "sovereignty" of Ain stat, was actually -sponsored by an Amerin Christian right-wg anisatn, Fay Watch Internatnal (FWI) Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian prit the Anglin Church and an amic at Boston Universy the US, says Ain untri are beg targeted by FWI and siar US-based anisatns, and that the impact of s lobbyg has been "horrible and humane" parts of Ai, fuellg what he lls "ant homophobia".

"It is one thg to say: 'I don't agree wh you beg gay', but we didn't have the ant one, where policians now are sayg: 'You go to jail for life, you go to jail for talkg about beg gay, you go to jail bee you're livg wh your fellow woman', " Dr Kaoma says. "It sensis children to sex, " she Slater also quot om the manual, cludg l which say that facilators of lsons should have "a ntral, acceptg attu towards homosexualy". A spokwoman for Ghana Police Service (GPS), told CNN on Saturday that the openg of the center was at variance wh the untry’s gay laws and prevalent opns on homosexual activi Ghana.

PROGRS FOR GAY RIGHTS AI STILL ISN’T EVABLE

The gatherg was meant to be a celebratn, but the anisers had also been reful to take attendg the gay pri party the Kenyan port of Mombasa last week arrived on and twos, most drs, whout flags or regalia.

Mombasa has many nservative Christians and Mlims and pollg suggts the vast majory of Kenyans nsir homosexualy to be taboo, even if tolerance is creepg gay muny also liv fear of appallg vlence. Many fear such attacks may crease after neighbourg Uganda recently passed one of the world’s strictt anti-gay laws, and some policians Kenya now want to do the the party, therefore, atten only changed to lourful stum once they joed the baret si, but some guts and dignari clearly still wanted to distance themselv om the proceedgs. “Let me make clear to you that I am not a gay person and that is why you see me seated, separate om those people, ” an awkward-lookg Catholic clergyman told of the journalists themselv also looked unfortable.

” the 24-year-old were ed moured to be armed police and telligence officers the crowd: tough-lookg men civilian cloth, perhaps gatherg rmatn, but also ready to protect the crowd if while gay sex remas illegal the East Ain natn unr laws datg back to the lonial era, the gatherg had the tac acceptance of the ernment and police. Mombasa held the event last week as Kenya’s gay muny has recently won judicial victori, yet is also still persecuted and unr threat om new anti-gay legislatn.

WHERE IS IT ILLEGAL TO BE GAY AI?

Followg Uganda’s adoptn of strict anti-gay legislatn, there are siar mov afoot Kenya, Tanzania and South Sudan, as part of a broad anti-LGBT legislative drive across East Ai. It will be an act of gross cency to take part a gay para or public same-sex displays of amoro backg such legislatn across the regn ame as cultural battle to save Ain valu and sovereignty, which they say are unr asslt by Wtern prsure to pulate on gay rights. ‘A hateful piece of legislatn’Peter Kaluma, a parliamentarian the natnal assembly behd the bill, told the Telegraph the LGBT muny was engrossed a “filthy perversn” fuelled by Wtern Kaluma, a legal scholar, said his proposal aimed to “prohib homosexualy and same sex marriage and related activi” and proscribe “activi that seek to advance, promote or fund homosexualy and unnatural sexual acts” bill was part of a “global ph back agast the LGBTQ movement even the USA and most Wtern European untri, ” he bill has provoked ep unease among the untry’s gay and lbian muny.

“It is a hateful piece of legislatn that will tly make the liv of queer Kenyans unbearable if passed, ” Ante Atieno of the Natnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn mpaign group said last is also at odds wh a supreme urt lg earlier this year that the ernment was wrong to block a gay rights anisatn om registerg as an NGO.

Ismail Bahati, the executive director of Pema Kenya, a lol gay and lbian lobby group, said the climate was an uneasy mixture of vlent hostily and risg tolerance.

GAY SOUTH AI

“We are memoratg people who have died the stggle…” he said, addg that gays and lbians “have been attacked markets, b and public plac for exprsg themselv.

”Some relig lears were creasgly willg to listen to the gay and lbian muny, as shown by the attendance of the Catholic cleric, he said, even though the prit appeared unfortable. Partly the engagement was pragmatic, as the ernment reached out as part of efforts to tackle at the party, cludg Mike, were ls said the Ugandan legislatn had st a cloud over gay life Kenya, as had the high-profile murr January of Edw Chiloba, a gay rights activist who was killed by a former boyiend.

The trend of the discsn of homosexualy Ai sce the 1980s suggts that this view is not uniquely Ghanaian, and that homosexualy nags at the nscience of Ains. In Ain societi, an important factor anti-gay agatn is the moral weight assigned to havg children, and emphasis on heterosexual terurse as a way to achievg this.

GAY AI

Several studi, cludg one on 50 societi every regn of the ntent, cisively support the ncln that homosexual relatnships nstute “a nsistent and logil feature of Ain societi and belief systems. If what you are is not a matter of choice, and sexualy is part of who you are, then is morally unjtifiable to nsir a homosexual person as pable of ntributg to the mon good jt bee of their sexualy.

In a 2020 report released by the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Associatn, nearly half of the 69 untri where homosexualy is still crimalized are Ain untri. In ls than six months, the muny has e unr tense and repeated attacks om policians, the police, relig groups, and anti-gay anizatns, cludg a heavily biased media mted to pilloryg and misreprentg an already margalized group. A report released 2016 by Human Rights Watch highlighted a particularly chillg cint outsi Abuja, Nigeria’s pal, where a vlent armed mob of more than 50 people went om home to home, draggg out and beatg dividuals spected of beg gay.

AIN GAYS AND LBIANS BAT BIAS

Nearly 10 years ago, I sat down wh a young newspaper edor lled Gil Muhame, who had jt published a tabloid wh the headle “100 pictur of Uganda’s top homos leak. Brought forward by a member of Parliament, ially lled for the ath penalty for certa homosexual acts and perpetuated the myth that the LGBTQ muny was recg young people to bee gay. “They feel is a good time to brg up anti-gay legislatn Uganda now, bee they feel they have got more support om global nservativ than they had a few years ago, ” he said.