Matthea Little Smith - Smith is an African American and a lesbian and the daughter of Minnesota civil rights pioneer Matthew Little.
Now's the time to make justice a reality to all of God's children.' Now that's what Martin Luther King said. He didn't say 'All of God's children who are not gay.
 
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homosexuality is all-african

Last Updated: September 1, 2000

Page: 1


September 1999: Thanks to the efforts of a group of Norwegian researchers homosexual behaviour amongst members of a tribe in the north of Namibia, a tribe that has not been influenced by Christianity, has been recorded. 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.

 



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