Ain't I Human?

Have been reading the Human Rights Watch report on the effects of the Nigerian 2014 Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act. 

It is very unconfortable reading. Again, context matters. A huge, populous country. Very religious. Highly corrupt, with a growing, horrifying insurgency. Security by police is tenuous to say the least.

I am pretty sure gay Nigerians were too occupied with the issues of day to day living to even start agitating for gay marriage. Survival comes first, always. And, when you are just hair breadth from that…! But, the politicians thought it was important. And, they were unanimous in their desire for ‘protection’ of ‘Nigerian African Culture’.

Now, the report above is not about the Sharia Law states to the north of the country. That is something else. And, from the writers, not a single prosecution has been carried out. Yet, the effects on the community of Queer Nigerians has been equivalent to the declaration of an official state of terror. Mob violence, suspected on the streets, raised alarm, beaten, stripped, shamed. Deaths. Rape punishment for men, and, for suspected lesbians, ‘corrective’ rape.  Homes broken into to catch them in the act. Suspicion, broken homes, broken families, lost jobs, school…. Vigilante groups, which are common instead of police, are the enforcement arms of the neighborhoods. Indeed, Where can one be Safe?! The police are happy for the extra chance for bribes. And, of course gay Nigerians do all they can to pay. Better to pay than risk 14 years in a Nigerian Jail…, as a confirmed homosexual. Horror of horrors.
You can read of one guy's account here, caught between the police and blackmailers.
What of anti-gay vigilante groups? One account. Notice the official approval!

The group, who often cites the country’s anti-gay law as their authority, has not only gained grounds but seems to be working closely with the youth chairman of the community.
The group also seems to be well mobilized, as they wear T-shirts showing the inscription ‘Anti-Gay Squad’.

The real results of that law is that Queer Nigerians seem to have had all the rights and protection of their humanity removed. Yet, in actual fact, that law doesn’t do that. It’s the people’s perception which matters. Blackmailers...., allegedly working with police? All that happens. 
To the community out there, nothing, nothing is wrong against doing the worst that you can to a person that is gay. Just because you are gay, or suspected to be gay, you can be blackmailed, forced to confess, beaten in public, stripped of your clothes and paraded around the local town as the homosexual. Nothing is too low to visit on a homosexual. And, the Nigerian public is doing it. There is a group that is of such pariah status, so low, so culpable that the church, the mosque, the state has given the populace carte blache to visit all their pain on fellow Nigerians. Because they are gay, or suspected to be....

 My apologies to anyone objecting to my putting the persons face there, and linking to an article with the name. Yeah, it is tough. But, it is the reality of the situation. Sugar coating it doesnt make it any much more palatable. Gay Nigerians are Nigerians stripped of rights because the state deemed it so, and the populace translated latent hate into an ongoing terror campaign. Real, with real human beings hurting. Outed. Beaten. Broadcasted.

The original Bahati Bill in Uganda actually specifically did exactly that, removing our rights as human beings, enacting the death penalty. Yeah, we managed to have those merciful Christians to reduce ‘death’ to 'life in prison' by the time the bill became law….

Aren’t I Human?

Yes, I borrow from  Sojourner Truth, that former slave turned abolitionist and women's rights activist . Ain't I a Woman? Its eerie how this kind of stigmatization has worked down the ages. Fellow human beings need to first REDUCE us below the level of humanity. We are ‘othered’. So different that we are no longer counted like the ‘norms’. That is what can justify treating us less than human. Because, indeed, we are seen as less than human.

The indignities visited on Gay Africans need us to ask other Africans that simple question. Aren’t I a Human Being? Just because I am gay, aren’t I HUMAN? For brother, sister, you seem to think so!

I am human. And, long as I have breath in this body, I will hold you up to ridicule, dear hater/homophobe. With the courage and strength of that slave who dared ask that question, and the unrelenting conviction of our worthiness and humanity, we shall answer the question. 

Yes, we Gay Africans, We are Human. Again and again, we shall affirm it.

We are gay Humans.

We are human. We happen to be gay. We are gay.

We dont want anything different than any other human being. We dont want extras. We dont want an easier path than anyone else.

What we want. Why we fight. Why we yell and scream and will not stop is simple.

We are human. And, we honour ourselves. We shall not buy into the dehumanisation that you visit on us. We shall not buy into the thinking that we are less than you, that we are on the level of animals, because we are different from you.

No. We shall affirm, we gay Africans, we queer Africans, that yes. We. Are. Human.

And, Gay rights are simply Human Rights.

gug

Queer Africans and the Law 2

Late afternoon.

And, am hungry...., lol. Will not bore you with the details of why cant eat at the moment. Nor take my innumerable cups of tea, or coffee...., and that is usually a worse problem!

Is Friday afternoon. Time for people to head off to wherever they are going to spend the weekend. Me too. But, first, I have to put this post out there....., meaning it will auto post as and when it is necessary.

The countries that jail us?

Some countries have the law on their books, and, its usually too much trouble to basically go look for people that are having sex as and when they want to, in the privacy of their homes. But, Egypt thinks otherwise. And, in this country, there has been a silent but deadly crusade, or jihad against Gay Egyptians.

Assimilate this little factoid quoted here as you read what follows.

Homosexuality is not explicitly criminalised by Egyptian law, though prosecutors have often tried gay men under laws against “debauchery”, “immorality” or “contempt of religion.”

As reported by Solidarity LGBTQ+

There has been a deadly silent crackdown since the demise of the Arab Spring. And, worst of all, their is silence from inside the country. They report

The crackdown, the group states, has “nothing to do with law nor justice. It is all political and judicial whims which aim to oppress one’s sexual freedom and deny people autonomy over their own bodies, which has to stay as one of the state’s businesses to be controlled and used for the sake of the power dynamics and state’s interest. This oppression comes as part of a totalitarian system that seeks to control all aspects of individual lives, to fully oppress peoples’ dreams and wills, to oppress women and LGBTI+ and to affirm state monopoly over everyone.”

The bare stats actually dwarf what is reported on the rest of the continent.

274 LGBTQ people in Egypt have been the targets of police action,  prosecution and hate crimes, ....

....210 homosexuals and 64 trans people ...., caught up in 114 criminal cases and 21 hate crimes ...starting in late 2013,

But

The ... tally is incomplete; it records only the cases that have been covered in local newspapers and other news media. 

Our beloved, liberating social media is a deadly trap.

Social media, dating applications and the Internet were used to track and arrest LGBTQ people in more than half of the criminal cases (66 out of 114 cases, or 58 percent) 

 And the sentences meted out are no joke.

In trial of 11 gay men in Giza in April 2016, the group said. Three of the defendants were sentenced to up to 12 years in prison; the other eight were sentenced to between three and nine years, the group said. The sentences were later reduced on appeal.

Worst might be, in this Muslim country, the outing that occurs with the arrests and accusation. These are our faces when we are arrested and stand charged in court in Egypt in those infamous cages

 Photo; DT News via 76Crimes.com

I feel for them, Gay Egyptians.

Under attack, for whatever reasons, a victimless 'crime' of love that lies in the perceptions of others, but which is a terrible burden to who and what we can be in this life of ours. 

Our continent is no joke, for most of us. Takes real courage to live. And, sometimes this courage can fail us.

gug

Queer Africans and the Law (1)

Woken to a very beautiful morning.

There’s been wind, and clouds, and more wind that shakes the world in the last few days. So, waking to little wind and a cloudless sky except over the mountain is special. Belly of sun inching up from horizon…., had to take a pic. No, sorry, wont share…., except with copyright etc….!!! Hey, allow me a small vanity!

Later in morning (oh, that was very early morning..), someone sent me a text…., where is the blog post of today?

Okay.., takes time to weave words onto the page…, but here.

Was thinking of the law and LGBT peoples of Africa. You know, in Africa, context is everything. So, what matters the law when pretty men in suits sit and meditate on morality that is hypocritical as they write it? Who polices the law?

But, it matters. A lot.

Was brought home to me when my country mates woke to design a law that demanded death of me. Yikes, that fight, I documented it on this blog. It reminded me that, though African countries are generally ‘lawless’, though I had been living a fairly confortable, closeted life, with odd multiple compartments that were mutually incompatible, the law still matters. Because, as a criminal, being found out and falling into the spiders net of the law courts in Africa is torture, designed by the worst torture masters. The law matters.

Baseline. Many of my African brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers and elders admit, without remorse, that they hate Gay Africans like me. To them it is a visceral, 'natural' hate. They don’t need to justify it. Indeed, they wonder at the depravity of the international community that can justify that ‘Gay Rights are Human Rights’. To them, we barely rate humanity.

We are human. I am human. And, that I will throw in their faces…..

But, I digress.

So, in Ivory Coast, there is apparently no law that criminalises consensual same sex intercourse. And, that would be one of the few countries on the continent that don’t. Apparently, former French colonies. The British were more errr, ‘Victorian’ about sex!!!

But, case came to light, where two guys fell into the arms of the law  in the town of Ssassandra in Southern Ivory Coast. The details get extremely mucky. I admit to x-ray vision, but even my super eyes bounce off… But, the facts. Two men reportedly had sex together. Consensual sex. No law criminalises private gay sex. But, said the righteous prosecutor, because there is no law doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be punished. So, the admitted, bewildered lovers found themselves with 18 months long jail term…, because the court agreed they ‘should’ be punished, even in the absence of a law stating so!

Well, in its absence, apparently they were sentenced under the 'public indecency' act...., see, the court had to have a basis for the sentencing....

I always ask the question, rhetorically, but still. Why do fellow Africans believe I am so bad because I have sex with other people that agree? To us it is a pleasure, why do you mind so much?
Okay, fact is, people do.

Of course I cant get over it. I am gay. They have to be the ones to get over it!

But...., besides those of our countries which dont criminalise same sex behaviour are the majority that do. And those are a mess...., but this post would become too long. So, till tomorrow?

gug

Michelle the 'ape in heels'?

I was with a friend when I saw this bit of news.

"Michelle Obama 'ape in heels' post causes outrage"

Pamela Ramsey Taylor, who runs a local non-profit group in Clay County, referred to the first lady as an "ape"."It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified first lady in the White House. I'm tired of seeing a Ape in heels," she said.Local mayor Beverly Whaling responded with "just made my day Pam". 

Matter of fact, my day was spoilt.

In a way, I shouldnt be suprised at all. The world we live in, the people that are our neighbours, friends; they all may harbor the worst prejudices.

Come on..., I am a Ugandan. A gay Ugandan. Just a few months ago, fellow Ugandans were up in arms about a law that they wanted on the books...., a law that would literally have me in prison for life, just because I love another man. Not hate, not rape, not force..., but love another man. And yesterday, I saw an internet post from a 'christian', a Nigerian man whose depth of 'loving' hatred for the gay human being, gay African was breath taking.

But, beautiful, lovely Michelle Obama, the 'ape in the White House'?
Why am I shocked? Because Michelle is beautiful. 

Because Michelle is lovely. Because Michelle has done her best to stay above the bitter politics that have embroiled her husband's presidency. Because Michelle has fiercely protected her beautiful children above everything else. Because lovely Michelle, a Ivy League graduate, a lawyer, saw fit to be a 'normal human being' in spite of her husband's call to leadership. She tried her best to play a role she didnt find confortable, with grace.

But, someone else, because of the difference in skin colour, saw 'a ape in the white house'.

It is cliche, there will always be haters. Always.

Some people will always see me as Black. Homosexual. African. a member of a certain tribe'. Some people will always see the darkness of my skin, the broadness of my nose, hear my thick accent, see me as different, a foreigner, only think of what I do in my bed, in my house, with the men that I love.

And, that is why it is so important that I know myself. That I love myself.

That is why it is so important that you, and I, know who we are. And we self-affirm, and stand up to be counted.

That's why we need the fire in the belly to advocate for ours.

We are minorities. Always will be.

We will always be, in the hearts and minds of 'well meaning others' who dont believe themselves racists or homophobes or xenophobes as 'others'.

Because of that, because of that, we MUST affirm our humanity. We must not stop to speak out for ourselves. We must remember that we ARE. (And guard against ourselves holding similar sentiments against others)

Because we can easily forget and buy in into the hate that, consciously or unconsciously, flows from the minds and actions of others. We can believe that we actually are the 'apes' others think we are.

Ours is the duty to like, love, and affirm ourselves.

And, yes, WE CAN.

Michelle, and Barack, thanks for being such an inspiration for us. And, thanks for teaching us those -valuable lessons that self-love and self-affirmation matter, in this time and age.

Yes, We Can. And yes, we will love and affirm ourselves, and our humanity.

Yes, We Can.

gug

Politics, NOT Betrayal

Apparently it was politics, and not open betrayal...

That is, the whole thing with South Africa and the Africa Group. Am glad it is..., because...., well, I have had so many betrayals by the people of my continent that it is a double tragedy when the single ray of hope seems to be dimming.

It is important. Very. Nascent, baby steps to get the international community to champion gay rights, and of course the rest of Africa up in arms as if us gay Africans dont exist and arent pushed to the extremes because of that.

If SA betrays its LGBT citizens and in the process kicks all of us in the ass, we lose, and lose big. But they confirmed.
As per spokesperson

South Africa’s Department of International Relations has categorically denied that it supports efforts to suspend the recently appointed UN LGBTI watchdog.

And the basis, as we had pointed out, was the constitutional provisions.

“We have a constitution that unfortunately some of them don’t have and we cannot on any multilateral forum go against what our constitution says. And we’ll stick to that because we believe in that.

“Our diplomats cannot vote in a way that is contrary to the letter and spirit of our constitution. If that means voting against the Africa group to which we belong, that is exactly what we will do,” Monyela said.

 There was reason for the activists to be disappointed, worried, and jumpy about the issue. South Africa, who had made the original proposal, had actually ABSTAINED when it came to voting in July.

South Africa shocked LGBTI activists around the world last week when it refused to support a landmark resolution on LGBTI rights at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.

Trying to justify that position, both at the UN and within the country was a convoluted, confusing effort by the Ambasaddor concerned. Indeed, Steve Letsieke 

accurately pointed out to the Ambassador, that instead of manufacturing reasons for the surprising vote to sell out South African LGBT people, for reasons of 'arrogance' of other nations, etc, the ambassador had to remember that they served South Africans, as stated in the South African Constitution. And nothing, nothing should have have trumped that.
As reported about the contentious interview on air, the Ambassador sought diversion by claiming that not all South African LGBT activists were united.

Letsike, in turn, pointed out that even if there were disagreements, “You had a mandate; the mandate is the Constitution which prohibits discrimination”.She continued: “Unfortunately you are not consistent ambassador; unfortunately at the costs of lives… The mandate of the ambassador is to represent the Constitution, even if you have to be bold…”

The discussion concluded with the ambassador shouting over Letsike’s comments.

A continuing lesson in our rights as Gay Human Beings. They will always seem to be politically easier to kick aside, to push to aside. And, there is the continuing need to make sure that the advances that are gained are not reversed. Else we can all become very complacent.

South Africa is lucky to have a good crop of fearless activists that have been grounded in the country's struggle, and the lessons of democracy and representation.

The politicians were playing a 'double game', with the rights of Gay South Africans seen as the disposable football on the field. As Graeme Reid of Human Rights Watch observed

Experts, have however, claimed that Monyela is being disingenuous and that it was not required of South Africa or any African country to actually “sign” the statement to show support for it.

“South Africa did support the tabling of the Africa Group resolution and accompanying statement – it was a consensus position presented on behalf of the Africa Group, which includes South Africa,” Graeme Reid, Director of the LGBT Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, told Mambaonline.

“In terms of UN procedure a country who disagrees with such a consensus statement would need to opt out if it did not agree. SA has not done so,” he explained,

“DIRCO is correct in that there is no ‘letter’ but there is a clear and unambiguous statement issued on behalf of all African states. Is South Africa saying that it is not part of the Africa Group?” he asked.

“It is typical of the double game South Africa has been playing at the UN,” added Reid.

That was a good call, South African Activists. And, yes, you did bring the politicians to the table and reversed a potentially catastrophic situation.

That, indeed, was activism for the LGBT citizens of South Africa, and the whole of Africa.

Congratulations!!!!

gug

Gay African's Secret

Every gay/queer African's secret nightmare.

Being outed, openly, maliciously. Your details, your very secrets laid out for the whole of your world to know.

Metro The Lagos Homosexual Story Everybody is Talking About

Earlier this week, an anonymous whistleblower shared the story of a secretly gay man in Lagos who is married. 

The story was shared after the disgruntled wife sent a message to online counselor, Joro asking for advice.

We grow up, taught early on that to be gay is to be evil. By the time we accept that we are, indeed, gay Africans, we have learnt to hide. Sometimes we hide so well, we hide it from ourselves.

But, this is a part of us that will not just 'vaporate, however we deny it.

We get married, (poor spouses). Some may argue it is selfish of us. But, we kuchus know it is almost inevitable. We wonder whether we would actually become straight if we have a child or two? Or, failing that, and under pressure by family....., get married to unknowing spouses, hoping against hope that that which we are, after having prayed for, exorcised, fasted against, will vanish in the loving arms of delighted spouses....

And then find the need to live lives of necessary deceit to survive.

When the exposure occurs in the newspapers, every member of the kuchu community rushes to the papers with the most complete story. It has happened to one of us. We want to know what details got out. We know who they have been sleeping with, who they had sex with...., sometimes they have been so closeted that few in the kuchu communities know about them, and we wonder how they kept their secret for so long and so well....., and shudder inside, hoping against hope that it will never be us, that the inevitable lies will follow us to the grave and beyond.....

It is a climate of fear. Living in enemy territory every day of one's life. Exposure as a spy almost inevitable however well imbedded you are. So, you must fear, and hope. and pray.

And, it is that fear that makes us so vulnerable to blackmail and persecution.
I will borrow the pic from a recent Human Rights Watch report about the unlegislated effects of Nigeria's anti-gay marriage law. That pic by Glenna Gordon......, somehow grabs the ethos, the hidden, tough to understand reality of a queer African at home. Take the time to read the report if you can.

Sometimes, after years of passing for heteros, we actually believe the myths of our luck and invulnerability.....

Gosh, freedom is only precious when you actually know the chains of fear that can follow you every moment of your adult life. How does one reconcile with it?

I salute all queer Africans. You live lives of courage, however much you might not recognise and know it.

gug

Betrayal, by South Africa

Betrayal.

Its a very strong word. Yet, if that is what is occuring, then there must be no compromise in stating it.

This beautiful nation, embracing the reality of all its people after the nightmare of apartheid adopted a radically progressive constitution. For the first time on the African continent, an African country's LGBT people had a constitution that specifically and pointedly protected them against discrimination. Here I borrow from that unique document.

All over the continent, LGBT Africans live under frank, open, government sponsored stigma and discrimination. The fact that South Africa adopted this constitution with these specific provisions was applauded by those of us who come from north of the Limpopo. Simply put, one of the things that is constantly thrown into our faces is that we gay Africans are 'un-African', a denial of our being, an erasure of our very identity as members of clan and tribe...., simply because we love differently.

That at least one African nation embraced, celebrated and protected her LGBT citizens so strongly and so specifically was a breath of fresh air for those of us gay Africans from other nations. It was, and remains a strong affirmation. Simply put, because South Africans are Africans, we were all proud on her behalf.

So, whence the betrayal?

South Africa is a sleeping giant on the continent. In matters of leadership, we Africans have expected a lot, I must admit. And, because the new nations leaders had to learn literally on the job, it has been a difficult thing.

We gay Africans lauded when the Mbeki government legislated gay marriage. It was amazingly heartening. Couldnt believe it had happened, myself. Had to get multiple points of proof....., as if the dream of an African country were it was simply legal to get married to my same sex partner was a mirage...., soon to disappear in days tough light. The Wikipedia article on the evolution of this is edifying. Actually, there was lots of opposition, demonstrations, and the ANC MPs had to have a party line vote.

The betrayal is fully described in Daily Maverick by V. Nepaul. In short

The first time any United Nations body approved a resolution affirming the rights of LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender) people was on June 17, 2011. The resolution sought that the United Nations launch a study into “discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity”. It meant that there would be an official United Nations reference point for what constituted rights violations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Who proposed the study? – South Africa.

Wow, that was SA boldly standing out as a leader.

A leader leads. Even when the ideals championed are unpopular. Even when the going is rough, especially on an issue as specific as the human rights of a group as stigmatised as homosexual Africans.

So, after boldly championing this, what happened?

This year, first of all, SA abstained from the vote of setting up the Special commissioner. And, it is reported, when the 'African Group' of which SA is part sent a strongly condemnatory letter, it is said that SA signed onto it. Or, didnt they?

One spokesperson says they walked out.

said Clayson Monyela, Department of International Relations and Co-operation spokesman, SA representatives walked out of a meeting when the calls were made."What Lawyers for Human Rights says is simply not true. Our ambassador walked out of the meeting because the calls are not something that we could associate ourselves with."

Did South Africa sign on, or not to the 'African Group' statement? A statement that is so against the spirit of the constitution it states

disturbed at the attempt to focus on certain persons on the grounds of their sexual interests and behaviours, while ignoring that intolerance and discrimination regrettably exist in various parts of the world, be it on the basis of colour, race, sex or religion, to mention only a few

......The group is therefore concerned that non-internationally agreed notions such as sexual orientation and gender identity are given attention, to the detriment of issues of paramount importance such as the right to development and the racism agenda. 

 In my humble opinion, no SA rep would sign onto such a group without going against the constitutions spirit of non-discrimination against a group specifically protected in the constitution.

And, if they just 'walked out', they lost the opportunity to choose leadership in this very difficult position.

Yeah, I know, South Africans are Africans, and they owe the rest of Africa a lot. But, they also owe the continent the leadership championed by the likes of Tata Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, for values that are so clearly enshrined in the constitution of the country. Literally..., we Africans look to you, SA, to lead. And lead in difficult positions like this. It is a moral responsibility which the passed crown and memory of Madiba demands from his resting place. When you don't, we feel the betrayal in our marrow, to the depths of our bones.

I feel it in the statement released by the SA LGBT activist groups- 

The open letter, written by groups including the Triangle Project, Gender Dynamix, and Sonke Gender Justice, calls on the South African government, specifically DIRCO, to condemn and dissociate itself from the position of the African Group and to vote against the proposed resolution.

Support for the 'African Group' statement, overt or covert, from representatives of the South African nation is a repudiation of the rights of their LGBT fellow citizens back in South Africa. It is an abdication of the position and responsibility of leadership that is South Africa's heritage, liking it or not.

And, yes, I feel it deeply, in my bones.

As the experience of apartheid left in the still bleeding wounds and scars of this nation, stigma and discrimination need to be fought, boldly, whether it is convenient, or not. Else you fail to understand the lessons taught by that extremely traumatic time of our lives.

Stand up and lead, South Africa.

Else, this is nothing but BETRAYAL. 

Of your ideals, the ideals of your great nation.

A betrayal of your very selves. And nothing is as tragic as that.


gug