The Rainbow Project: Equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Namibia
Logo of The Rainbow Project
In most African countries, homosexuality of any variety is a criminal offense. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people (LGBTs) are frequently thrown from their homes, professionally discriminated against, verbally and physically abused, incarcerated, or worse. Many Africans refuse to acknowledge the existence of homosexuality amongst their people, claiming that it is a "Western problem." Traditional leaders, religious figures, politicians, and passersby are frequently united in their contempt for and hostility towards LGBTs. Accordingly, there are very few associations or organizations in Africa that support or care for the LGBT individual.
Mr. Ian Swartz, Director of The Rainbow project (TRP)
When Namibia gained its independence from South Africa in 1990, its leaders took great pride in constructing a uniquely progressive constitution. The early legislation did not specifically discuss homosexuality, though it did include a virtually unenforceable prohibition against consensual sodomy between males. As Ian Swartz, Director of The Rainbow Project (TRP), explained, "The first five years after independence was a great time to be gay in this country. You would see people wearing 'Proud to be Gay' shirts on the street, gays and lesbians holding hands." The two pre-independence organizations for gays and lesbians gradually ceased to exist since they no longer had any battles to fight.
But, Mr. Swartz continued, "The vibe in the street changed overnight." This was December of 1996. At the ruling party's conference on Women's issues, Sam Nujuma, then president of Namibia, declared on national television that "Gays and lesbians are not wanted in this country." There was an immediate spike in verbal and physical violence, discrimination, and hostility towards LGBTs. A chorus of people joined with the president, the situation degenerated, and the LGBT community felt the need to act.
Come and arrest me, I am a lesbian of Namibia
Within three months of Mr. Nujuma's statement, a group of concerned individuals, most of whom were gay, lesbian, or bisexual, founded The Rainbow Project—a voluntary, self-funded association for the advancement and advocacy of LGBT rights. From the outset, The Rainbow Project maintained a high profile, challenging official homophobia with public marches, television and radio broadcasts, and printed material. Tensions came to a boiling point in late 1999 and early 2000. At this point, the Minister of Home Affairs, Jerry Ekanjo, earned international notoriety and the nickname "the Minister of Homophobic Affairs" when he used his televised speech to hundreds of new police trainees to call for "the elimination of gay and lesbian people."
Mr. Swartz says, "Things went truly mad. Every cabinet member was saying something ridiculous about gay people, about how we could be cured or have our brains washed with chemicals." The toxicity of this abuse generated questions in the German and Swedish Parliaments, brought pressure to bear on the government of Namibia, and motivated The Rainbow Project to ally with seventeen other organizations for the advancement of human rights and democracy. Together, they convinced Mr. Ekanjo to appear on the National Broadcasting Channel for a panel discussion with Mr. Swartz and the chairman of the television company. According to Mr. Swartz, the discussion did not go smoothly; Mr. Ekanjo was uninterested in answering direct questions and ended by "screaming abuse" at Mr. Swartz, who was happy to report that the minister "more than made a fool of himself."
Namibian activist for LGBT rights
The result of this widely viewed program was an outpouring of sympathy, solidarity, curiosity, and support from the community at large. Namibians of all stripes flooded TRP with telephone calls and other communications to indicate that they did not share the Minister's attitude or point of view. The government then banned LGBT organizations from appearing on government media. Fortunately, Namibia has a thriving and democratic private media sector. The Namibian and its Afrikaans counterpart both began to publish LGBT articles in their daily papers. Private radio and television, even explicitly Christian stations, willingly collaborated with The Rainbow Project and enabled the debate about LGBTs to remain public and peaceful.
In 1999, a Dutch group called the Schorer Foundation began funding The Rainbow Project, and after a difficult search for people willing to risk their well-being by working for the high-profile organization, TRP opened an office in 2000. The organization is now chairing the All Africa Rights Initiative and exercising leadership for the Coalition of African Lesbians. TRP has managed to stay completely gender-balanced since its inception and it is partnering with an ever-growing list of reputable and powerful governments and organizations. As Mr. Swartz declared, "This means after-hours work—but once you embark on this, you can’t go back." Mr. Swartz is also busy traveling to other African countries where LGBT issues are still dangerous to raise. He hopes to share the experience and expertise of his own organization with LGBTs who are struggling to legitimize themselves all over the continent.
The Rainbow Project continues to experience exponential growth. It has five stated focus points: dialogue with religious communities; incorporating messages of sexual tolerance and identity into school curriculums; looking after the health of the LGBT community; developing leadership for the LGBT community; and outreach to the general public. All of these initiatives are moving with such efficiency and speed that TRP may soon divide into five smaller organizations with separate direction and staff.
Dialogue with Namibian Christians
Official polls suggest that 97% of the Namibian population is Christian. In recognition of this overwhelming majority, TRP Director Ian Swartz declared, "If you are not going to move religious communities, you are not going to go anywhere." In South Africa, where the LGBT community has had the longest time to develop, there are two very different methods for reconciling homosexuality with Christian belief. Firstly, there is the Metropolitan Community Church, founded in Cape Town, which caters explicitly to a congregation of LGBTs, avoiding the friction of different opinions by creating their own community. Secondly, there is a movement to integrate LGBTs into existing religious communities with the assistance of Inclusive and Affirmative Ministries (also from Cape Town). Mr. Swartz is strongly in favor of the second approach, as he regards the former to be more divisive and, for a population as small as Namibia's, less workable.
He is working against a rapidly spreading form of Christianity that targets the poorest communities and emphasizes reactionary gender roles, homophobia, exclusivity, large cash donations to the minister, and a promising afterlife. This form of Christianity is thriving all across Africa. TRP has had far greater success amongst the mainstream churches, who, Mr. Swartz says, "are changing their stance." He or a select number of TRP's trained delegates approach church leaders and ask for permission to discuss sexuality with the leadership and the larger congregation. Inclusive and Affirmative Ministries conducts the training of these staff members and operates as consultant for TRP during these important interchanges.
The dialogues that TRP has opened with these church communities have enabled LGBTs in the vicinity of Windhoek, Namibia's capital, to communicate amicably with their fellow congregants. Now, rather than facing derision or exclusion, LGBTs are increasingly able to find comfort and meaning in their churches and, on the other side, open-minded churches are learning how to value and care for the LGBTs in their midst. Outside of Namibia, South Africa, and, to a lesser extent, Zimbabwe, there is really nothing of this scale and kind happening on the continent.
Many cultures, many styles: Namibian Pride
Researchers from the Danish organization IBIS gave impetus to the health initiative by conducting thorough surveys of the LGBT population. Currently TRP, IBIS, and the Dutch funders are debating what to do with this wealth of information. Until they finalize their strategy, the findings will remain confidential; when they become public, excerpts will appear in an updated version of this article. However, Mr. Swartz did confide that "the infection rate amongst LGBT people was shocking, much closer to those scary 40% rates." As a demographic, they are also rendered more vulnerable by their increased tendency to drop out of school (lesbians especially) and to suffer from unemployment (in a nation where the true unemployment rate is purportedly around 50%).
Currently, the TRP health program focuses on four-day "camps" that are conducted throughout Namibia. TRP visits population centers in advance and advertises the upcoming workshops, providing a sign-up sheet for LGBTs who want to discuss sexuality and learn about holistic sexual health. Mr. Swartz said, "We never have trouble filling the register. We have to turn people away. It’s a shame because we get people excited and then we cannot accept them all. We limit the number to forty for effectiveness." The Rainbow Project is aware that most Namibians are not simply in need of facts about sexual health, nor do they need to be barraged with slogans and prohibitions. TRP staff have seen evidence that behavior change is more likely when the participants of their camps have ample time to discuss their identities, their communities, and sexuality in general. When good behavior is linked to these fundamental things, it is more likely to come about. The feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive and TRP will struggle to keep up with the demand.
Out in the open with TRP's fashionable car
Next year, TRP will employ a full-time HIV/AIDS and health project coordinator, which should enable the camps to reach a larger section of the population. Also, as the LGBT community develops and it becomes easier to communicate with them en masse, TRP will be able to incorporate more broadly distributed but specifically targeted messages into its strategy.
There is every reason to believe that these initiatives will bear fruit; TRP has already won some major battles. Through its award-winning weekly radio show (popular with a mixed audience across the country) and the TRP-led discussion prompting town hall movie nights, it has changed the way that Namibians respond to homosexuality. There has been a significant decrease in verbal and physical abuse of LGBTs and a notable downturn in the "corrective rape" of lesbians (despite an otherwise stable national rape frequency). This headway is enabling the LGBT community to discover its strength and care more appropriately for its most vulnerable members.
If you are interested in learning more about The Rainbow Project or helping it to fund its growing number of initiatives, feel free to communicate directly with Mr. Ian Swartz at trp@iafrica.com.na.
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