International media extensively reported Swaziland’s first
ever LGBTI Pride on Saturday. The tone of coverage about the pride parade and its
organiser Rock of Hope was overwhelmingly positive, but King Mswati III, who
rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, and the
traditionalists who support him came under criticism.
CNN
reported, ‘In Swaziland, same-sex relationships are illegal
and the country maintains a colonial-era law against sodomy. The US State
Department’s report on global human rights practices in 2017 stated that Swazi
people open about their sexual orientation “faced censure and exclusion from
the chiefdom-based patronage system.”
‘The pride celebration was not endorsed by King Mswati III.’
It added, ‘The small southern African country, recently renamed the Kingdom of eSwatini
by its king, is Africa's last absolute monarchy and has a bleak record on LGBT
rights. The country of 1.4 million also has the world’s highest HIV/AIDS rates
and suffers from severe poverty.’
The BBC
reported, ‘King Mswati III is widely reported to have
called homosexuality “satanic”, while the country’s chief police communications
officer, Khulani Mamba, who doubles up as a preacher, told his congregation
last weekend that “this
country will not tolerate the LGBTI community”, according to the Swazi Times.’
The Huffington Post reported, ‘Sodomy is
illegal in eSwatini, which is also Africa’s last absolute monarchy. King
Mswati III, who has ruled the country since 1986,
has reportedly described homosexuality as being “satanic.”
It quoted Pride organiser Melusi Simelane who said threats and
discrimination were a constant for Swaziland’s LGBTI community.
It said, ‘There is persecution each and every day,” he told BBC last
week. “We are harassed, we are violently abused, we are emotionally abused.”’
The Huffington Post added, ‘Matt
Beard, All Out’s executive director, praised activists like Simelane for their
courage and their ambition to hold the pride parade despite the risks and
threats they’ve faced.
‘“The community and their allies painted the streets of this country
rainbow, with a beautiful, colorful parade that was literally exploding with
joy,” Beard wrote of the historic event in a Medium blog post.
“At certain moments... the infectious joy of this community was so intense, it
was difficult to hold back the tears. We were loud, proud and dignified. Nobody
came to hurl hate, abuse (or worse) at us, as had been feared. Instead, this
was a moment of community and personal empowerment.”’
By contrast, in the run up to the event on Saturday (30 June 2018), the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect
owned by King Mswati, ran
three articles calling LGBTI people ‘a curse’ and ‘evil’ and
likening them to child sex molesters and people who have sex with animals.
The international
news agency AFP quoted Swaziland Government spokesperson Percy
Simelane denying the kingdom had an anti-homosexual stance and said ‘it would
be unfair to view the state as homophobic.’
Buzzfeed
reported, ‘As far as Pride parades go, eSwatini’s [Swaziland’s] is less
about flashy floats and flag-waving, and more about showing the public that
LGBT people value family and community just as much as anyone else.’
See also
KINGDOM’S
FIRST LGBTI PRIDE TAKES PLACE
OBSERVER
STEPS UP LGBTI HATE CAMPAIGN
LESBIAN
AND GAY MURDERS IN SWAZILAND
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