The second annual LGBTI Pride is due to take place on
22 June 2019 in Swaziland /eSwatini. It comes as a newly-formed group the Eswatini
Sexual and Gender Minorities (ESGM) attempts to become the first LGBTI
group to be officially registered in the kingdom.
LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) people face discrimination
in all walks of life in the conservative kingdom ruled by King Mswati III as
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. King Mswati reportedly
described homosexuality as being ‘satanic.’ Homosexual acts are illegal.
ESGM is seeking to become registered under the Companies Act as a
specifically LGBTI rights group. At present The Rock of Hope campaigns
for LGBTI rights but it is also a group offering sexual health and HIV / AIDS
advice.
Melusi Simelane, one of the founders of ESGM, and one of the organisers
of Swaziland’s first LGBTI Pride in 2018, told
MambaOnline the move was designed to bring a stronger focus on
decriminalising LGBTI identities in eSwatini.
Separately, on
his blog, Simelane wrote about the reality of being a gay man in Swaziland.
He said, ‘I would like to believe that as a citizen of this country I am
rightfully equal before the law, but I am forced by reality to believe
otherwise.
‘Should I be found guilty of the sodomy offence, or even found to have
had the intention to commit “sodomy”, I can be arrested without a warrant. This
in accordance with the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act of 1938.
‘Furthermore, the National Register for Sex Offenders would enlist me,
under clause 56 of the recently passed SODV [Sexual Offences and Domestic
Violence] Act of 2018.
‘It cannot be justice to have my name branded as a sex offender for
being in love, and being in a consensual loving relationship. Alas, that is
what our government is saying to me.’
Swaziland is a tiny landlocked kingdom with a
population of about 1.3 million people, mostly living in rural communities.
In May 2016 four
organisations jointly reported to the United Nations about LGBTI
discrimination in Swaziland. Part of their report stated, ‘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.’
In June 2018 Swaziland held its first
LGBTI Pride event. It passed without incident and received positive
international attention, but it also provoked a number of virulent attacks on
gay people
in newspapers and churches within Swaziland.
See also
LGBT
Pride film shows what it’s like to live with prejudice and ignorance in
Swaziland
LGBTI
Pride gets global attention
Kingdom’s
first LGBTI Pride takes place
‘Observer’
steps up LGBTI hate campaign
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2018/06/observer-steps-up-lgbti-hate-campaign.html
No comments:
Post a Comment