Editorial: Africa must declare human rights days

By Mashilo Mnisi

February 21, 2008: I sturdily denounce the way homosexuals are still being tormented in Africa – and I rather not give a toss about other continents because of their progressiveness in this regard, but I’m concerned about Africa as it seems to be rooted in total ignorance of human rights generally.

There had been horrible and sinister instances happened in the continent that reflect this ignorance. I can vividly remember, if not mistaken, a woman in Nigeria sentenced to stoning because she got pregnant outside her marriage.

I recall the incident when ‘Oom’ Robert Mugabe literally punished his opposition Morgan Tsvangirai by ordering police to beat him. Do you reminisce about the Darfur genocide and massacre, and the recent crisis in Kenya? The list of such human rights ignorance or violation is in fact endless.

It is rather worse when coming to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people. There have been murders of homosexuals in South Africa – the country extolled for its progressive human rights movement and constitution – just because of their different sexual orientation.

We reeled on illegal arrests of gay men in Nigeria and Cameroon not long ago. Gays and lesbians were recently outed in newspapers so that to sabotage their lives. Lately we saw a number of Senegalese gays being arrested for merely attending a gay wedding.

But, in fact, what I revere most about the LGBTI people is that they’re aware of their rights, and they encourage also the ones at the periphery to mainstream gay rights and fight the injustice in the continent. Despite governments clamping on homosexuals in the continent, there is a strong LGBTI movement or individuals abounding out there.

I think what could expedite freedoms of everyone in the continent is for the countries to start realising human rights by declaring separate human rights days to address different issues in those countries that would include sexual orientation apart from the International Human Rights Day on 10 December.

South Africa is the only country in Africa to declare its own human rights day, which is 21 March. I doubt if these other countries celebrate the International Human Rights Day or the African Human Rights Day, phew!!!