Homophobia is the problem, not homosexuality

Following the hate campaign against LGBTIQ people in Uganda and Malawi, last week three men in Kenya were attacked by a group of youths.

HIV in Kenya’s post ’Homophobia is the problem, not Homosexuality’ comments on the growing homophobia in Kenya. He asks why are people in Kenya and Uganda are so obsessed with homosexuality and targeting ‘a defenceless individual or group of individuals?’ when the criminals they should be objecting too are the corrupt members of the ‘powerful and wealthy’ and questioning where this homophobia comes from:

‘What these Kenyan and Ugandan politicians should really be asking about is where the homophobia was imported from. Homosexuality exists in every country and always has, as far as anyone knows. You can't “import” it. But homophobia is actively encouraged by religious groups, especially extreme right-wing Christians. Several prominent American Christians and Christian groups are said to have been backing Bahati and people like him. No doubt they will support anyone who promotes their bigotry. Homophobia is the curse that Kenyans and Ugandans should be worried about, not homosexuality.’

Last week demonstrators marched through Kampala with placards calling for the killing of gays. This week, two Ugandan radio stations amplified the call by broadcasting the same message. Black Looks’ post ’Urgency is required in Uganda’ traces the growing homophobia and hate campaign in Uganda over the past four years and culminating in the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

‘The point of the above trajectory is not to say that the radio broadcasts were inevitable – I don’t think they were. But it is to place the calls to kill LGBTI people in a historical context, one that with hindsight could lead in that direction. But more so to state that we need to heed the warnings and put an end to the relative silence before people are murdered. Despite the considerable high profile the Bill has received in the mainstream media and blogosphere, there has been negligible response from human rights organisations or governments. African countries have been silent. Academia has been silent. So-called African feminists and women’s organisations have been deafeningly silent. Only last week I was at a workshop in Accra when women expressed fear of claiming feminism in case they would be labelled the dreaded L-word – but were satisfied when reassured that the two could be mutually exclusive. Religious institutions have not been silent. On the contrary as unbelievable as it is to imagine religious institutions leading a hate campaign and inciting violence – it is they who lead the campaign.’

Sebas’s Place’s post ’Martin Ssempa turns to pornography’ comments on ‘the two bit extremist’ Martin Ssempa’s response to being isolated by his former allies in the US and his desperate attempt to reinforce homophobia amongst Ugandans by filming gay porn in a church.

‘Totally blindsided, Martin Ssempa took his leaking anti-gay vessel to Jinja, a sleepy backwater 50 miles away. It was a humbling come-down. Ssempa is a man who has been used to being feted by evangelical groups and the Ugandan Parliament for his so-called "Aids/HIV activism" and family values. But now all his erstwhile backers have fled to the hills, shunning him like a leper. Being denied a marching permit to Parliament must have rankled. How can a man who is single-handedly holding the family morality of the country together be denied a permit to march for family values?! One could hear the gasps of consternation in the Ssempa camp all over the city.

‘By the time, Ssempa settled on the lowly alternative offered him, Jinja, he was like a cur that a glance has brought to boot, to borrow from a poem I read a long time ago. Humiliated, embarrassed, left high and dry by his erstwhile friends, reduced in circumstances, and denied top billing in the capital city, Ssempa opted for the Georgina Oundo low road; full frontal x-rated porn. Yes, Ssempa's desperation has driven him to think that it makes sense to show images of a sexual nature to a public audience, apparently to illustrate the dangers that homosexuals pose to Uganda.’

Loudrastress’s post ’Zuma Polygama Drama’ addresses some of the anti-feminist myths being bandied about around Zuma’s recent ‘paternity of a child out of wedlock’. I’ll just select one of the myths to highlight Pumla’s points:

‘Myth 2: Zuma can either have multiple partners and be subjected to criticism OR choose one partner and escape public scrutiny.
This is binary logic – which never gets us anywhere. The point of the matter is not whether in a feminist republic we’d force Zuma to choose one wife or banish him. (We’d probably banish Zuma for many more reasons, least of which his preference for multiple partners. There’d be equitable multiple partner relationships in the Feminist Republic.) The heart of the matter is that Jacob Zuma is a public, elected official and an ADULT, which means that he can do pretty much what he likes – apart from commit a crime, be caught and be convicted in a court of law (all together) – but he has to take responsibility for his choices, deal with the consequences of his actions and be grown up about it. Non-feminists could be forgiven for expressing the sentiment behind the saying ‘just be a man about it’ although not for its formulation.

‘This feminist wishes the President would stop acting like a helpless child who has no decisions, no choice and no mind of his own. We don’t have to agree on what the best choices are, or on why they are made, but addressing the issues instead of creating never ending smokescreens (culture, privacy, unavailability) would merit more respect’.

Iafrica’s post ’SMS role in Slaughter’ reports on the use of SMS messaging in the recent violence in Benue State, Nigeria. Whilst most of the attention is on SMS as a medium for mobilising against injustice, their use in Jos is a reminder that technology is not socially or politically neutral and can be manipulated in any way the user chooses. Activists identified 145 texts used to incite violence:

‘The texts were aimed at "spreading rumours and inflaming tensions," said Sani, who heads a coalition of 32 Nigerian civil and human rights groups called the Civil Rights Congress.

‘One of the messages seen by AFP read: "War, war, war. Stand up ... and defend yourselves. Kill before they kill you. Slaughter before they slaughter you. Dump them in a pit before they dump you.’

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* Sokari Ekine blogs at Black Looks.
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