... homosexual
behaviour amongst members of a tribe in the north of Namibia,
a tribe that has not been influenced by Christianity. In the
same vein, the American psychologist Marc Carlson unearthed
powerful evidence pointing towards similar practices amongst
no less than 48 tribes in Zimbabwe. Not to mention the ubiquitous
mineworker’s marriages, or the liberated sexual behaviour
prevalent amongst followers of gang leader Nongoloza at the
beginning of this century, or the traditionally sanctioned
Venda system of female marriages, or the caresses that the
young shepherds of the Botswana bushveld heap on each other….You
see!
There is something
bizarre about vying mlungus displaying this urge to prove
unequivocally that homosexuality is an all-African activity.
Carlson is the first to admit this. At the end of the pre-conference
on religion and sexuality last week, preceding the yearly
Jamboree of the International Lesbian and Gay Association
(ILGA.) in Johannesburg, the question arises whether homophobic
African leaders will be persuaded by a growing number of Antrohomo-Apologists
and their research to have a change of heart. Carlson: "It
would be so much more effective if Africans would discover
their own history. My research is useful if it contributes
to that."
The pre-conference
raised even more questions. Those present were enthralled
by the account of his experiences presented by Pieter Oberholzer,
who is attempting to convert NG church members in the Western
Cape to a gay-friendly world view, and by the talk given by
the lesbian pastor Nokukuthla, who preaches at the Hope and
Unity Metropolitan Christian Church (HUMCC) in Hillbrow. But
why ever do people join an institution – the church - that
promotes gay bashing and homophobia? One of the leaders of
the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality and member
of the S.A.C.P. Mazibuko Jara impressed the audience with
his explicit rejection of the persecution of gays in previously
socialist countries, but was unable to convince those East
European representatives present of his brand new addition
to communist ideology. "You are very lucky you haven’t
lived through it", one of them countered.
Similarly, the
following main conference raised more questions than it was
able to answer. The significance of this pink meeting seems
more related to the fact that it actually happened than to
what it achieved. It was held in Africa for the first time,
and was attended by representatives from at least ten African
countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Cameroon,
Morocco, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Zambia, and Uganda. Also, representatives
made mention of the existence of gay/lesbian organisations
in Ghana and Nigeria. Apart from this, it soon became clear
that the circumstances in which the gay and lesbian freedom
fighters have to operate are diverse in the extreme. In Lusaka,
the recently constituted gay organisation has been threatened
by a group of vigilantes, who have announced they will identify
gays, report them to the police and subsequently force them
to name at least five other homosexuals. In Uganda, homosexuals
face life imprisonment for their behaviour – anyone over 18
who is not married is a potential suspect. In many other countries,
gays and lesbians face little or no persecution as long as
they don’t attempt to organise themselves or develop a gay
identity. This raises the question whether western ideas on
organisational structures and development (and the inevitable
formation of ghettos implicit in them )are suited to the African
climate. The relatively advanced movements in Namibia and
Zimbabwe are following, more or less successfully, the example
set by South Africa in joining broad-based democratic movements
to achieve their goals. The Namibian Rainbow Project, for
example, reports that the manifest of the "Congress of
Democrats", founded recently by S.W.A.P.O. dissident
Ben Ulenga, now pleads for a "freedom of sexual orientation"
clause in the constitution. And the prominent "Movement
for Democratic Change" member and trade union leader
Morgan Tsvangirai has recently called for the ending of discrimination
of gays and lesbians in the workplace. Representatives of
Public Services International, an organisation representing
public service unions and NEHAWU, recently presented a brochure
detailing rights of gays and lesbians in the work place, and
announced that they would use their influence to gain support
amongst the unions. Incredibly, even the new Zimbabwean draft
constitution has a "freedom of sexual orientation"
clause. Unfortunately, chances of this being adopted by the
ZANU-pf dominated parliament are slim, to say the least.
And then there
is South Africa, the (constitutionally) liberated. But while
representatives from other African countries eye the example
set by South Africa with admiration mixed with envy, the local
movement is burdened with a multitude of dilemmas. The movement
is extremely successful in political and judicial lobbying.
Unfortunately, it has as yet little or no organised following
at grass roots level. Black lesbians are feeling marginalised.
Attempts to promote racial diversity within the ranks are
being undermined by an influential commercial lobby, striving
for a strengthening of the pink rand. Van Niekerk, writing
the foreword to his phonebook listing gay companies called
"the Gay Pages", tries to justify his publication
by announcing that "the" gay and lesbian community
is one of the highest income-groups around. The glossy magazine
"Outright", targeting well-heeled white moffies,
warned the organisers of the Gay and Lesbian Pride March this
year not to let the "politico’s" dominate the proceedings.
To which Tim Trengove-Jones, writing in the latest edition
of the monthly gay and lesbian magazine Exit, countered that
without these "politico’s" there would never have
been a gay pride parade at all.
The significant
election of the South African Pumi Mtetwa and the Turkish
Kursad Kahramanoglu as joint secretaries-general of the traditionally
western dominated ILGA, will in future undoubtedly lead to
a strong focus on the South. Hopefully, the organisation will
be able to steer clear of any attempt to create the stricture
of an artificial "Pan-African" single ideology.
Circumstances, opportunities and cultures are far too diverse
to permit this. "The fact that we are one single continent
does not mean that we have one single identity", contends
Keith Goddard, co-ordinator of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe
(GALZ).
How relaxed and
open modes of co-operation can enhance existing diversity
was demonstrated amply during the tenth Gay and Lesbian Pride
March last Saturday. Twenty thousand participants created
a parade that was more colourful than ever before. And fortunately,
the politico’s had succeeded in turning the march into a tribute
to Simon Nkoli, who died last year of the effects of Aids.
The unveiling of a memorial to Nkoli was a fitting tribute
to his contribution to the struggle for equal rights for gays
and lesbians. He was the one able to recruit hundreds of members
from the townships, and in so doing successfully created a
following for those within the ANC who came out in support
of gay-friendly policies within the movement.