Homosexual acts are illegal in the kingdom and LGBTIQ
(lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer) people face daily
discrimination.
The branch of the Ark of Joy International Ministry was relaunched in
Coates Valley. The Sunday edition of the Swazi Observer reported the
church in Swaziland had closed some years ago after ‘membership tapered off’.
The news of the relaunch was welcomed by the Rock of
Hope which campaigns for LGBTI equality in Swaziland. Spokesperson Melusi
Simelane said, ‘It is worth noting that many in the religious
circles, continue to spew hate speech and show utter disregard for the deeds of
the Lord, by being judgmental and expelling some of the LGBTI community from
their places of worship. It is for that reason, we welcome the opening of such
churches as those that show the love of God, and preach the spirit of oneness
and togetherness.’
Meanwhile, Gender Links, an advocacy group based in
Johannesburg, South Africa, reported LGBTI people in Swaziland expressed
concern about the lack of respect shown to them because of their sexual
orientation.
Sifiso
Nhlabatsi, writing on the Gender Links website, said LGBTI people had
tried to engage churches to sensitize them about their rights
but had little success.
Nhlabatsi wrote about a meeting held
between pastors and members of the LGBTI community in August 2018. ‘During the
meeting which was attended by over 20 pastors and I was also part of, pastors
made it clear that they cannot allow gay people to “flaunt” their behaviour in
front of congregants. Pastors said what is being done by LGBTI community
is “demonic” and through prayer maybe can be healed.’
Nhlabatsi added, ‘The
meeting which started off on a good note ended on a sour note as the two
parties had a clash of opinions. Senior Pastors in the country did not even
bother to attend the dialogue.’
Swaziland held its
first LGBTI Pride parade on 30 June 2018. Swaziland police
went on record to state it
did not support the march. Separately, Superintendent Khulani Mamba,
the official spokesperson for the police and a self-proclaimed prophet, preached
from the pulpit, ‘We say no to homosexuality, this country will not
tolerate the LGBTI community.’
One of the kingdom’s best-known NGO rights activist
groups the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) snubbed
the Pride festival saying it was against Biblical teaching.
Swaziland is a tiny landlocked kingdom with a
population of about 1.1 million people, mostly living in rural communities. It
is ruled by King Mswati III who is one of the world’s last absolute monarchs
who reportedly described homosexuality as being ‘satanic’.
In the run up to the event, the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, ran three articles calling LGBTI people ‘a curse’ and ‘evil’ and likening them to child sex molesters and people who had sex with animals.
In the run up to the event, the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, ran three articles calling LGBTI people ‘a curse’ and ‘evil’ and likening them to child sex molesters and people who had sex with animals.
There is a great deal of prejudice against LGBTI
people in Swaziland. In May 2016, Rock of Hope, which organised the Pride
event, reported
to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review on Swaziland that
laws, social stigma and prejudice prevented LGBTI organisations from operating
freely.
The report, presented jointly with three South
African-based organisations, stated, ‘In Swaziland sexual health rights of LGBT[I]
are not protected. There is inequality in the access to general health care,
gender affirming health care as opposed to sex affirming health care and sexual
reproductive health care and rights of these persons. HIV prevention, testing,
treatment and care services continue to be hetero-normative in nature only
providing for specific care for men born as male and women born as female,
thereby leaving out trans men and women as an unprotected population which
continues to render the state’s efforts at addressing the spread and incidence
of HIV within general society futile.’
The report added, ‘LGBT[I]s are discriminated and
condemned openly by society. This is manifest in negative statements uttered by
influential people in society e.g., religious, traditional and political
leaders. Traditionalists and conservative Christians view LGBT[I]s as against
Swazi tradition and religion. There have been several incidents where
traditionalists and religious leaders have issued negative statements about
lesbians.
‘Human rights abuses and violations against members of
the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex population continue to go
undocumented, unreported, unprosecuted and not addressed.’
It added, ‘There is no legislation recognizing LGBT[I]s or protecting the right to a non-heterosexual orientation and gender identity and as a result LGBT[I] cannot be open about their orientation or gender identity for fear of rejection and discrimination. For example, the Marriage Act, only recognizes a marriage or a union between a man and a woman. Because of the absence of a law allowing homosexuals to conclude neither marriage nor civil unions, same-sex partners cannot adopt children in Swaziland.’
It added, ‘There is no legislation recognizing LGBT[I]s or protecting the right to a non-heterosexual orientation and gender identity and as a result LGBT[I] cannot be open about their orientation or gender identity for fear of rejection and discrimination. For example, the Marriage Act, only recognizes a marriage or a union between a man and a woman. Because of the absence of a law allowing homosexuals to conclude neither marriage nor civil unions, same-sex partners cannot adopt children in Swaziland.’
See also
LGBT Pride film shows what it’s like to live with
prejudice and ignorance in Swaziland
LGBTI
Pride gets global attention
‘Observer’
steps up LGBTI hate campaign
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/observer-steps-up-lgbti-hate-campaign.html
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