Although spokespersons for the Malawi government have stated the couple’s arrest was as much for their own protection as it was for them breaking the law, it would appear that the Draconian views against the LGBT community in the small country haven’t gone unnoticed in other nations.

According to Nyasa Times:

More than 20 members of the Scottish parliament have condemned the arrest of two gay men in Malawi who held a wedding ceremony.

The motion was signed by members of all main parties and called for parliament to condemn the “illegal and homophobic arrests” of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga.

The couple are currently on trial and may face up to 14 years in prison if convicted.

The motion was introduced by Dundee West MSP, Joe FitzPatric.

“Malawi is one of several African countries adopting increasingly homophobic attitudes, with Uganda having recently introducing anti-homosexual legislation including the death penalty and other repressive practices being introduced in Gambia,” he said.

“Apart from the human rights violations, and the discriminatory nature of the contraventions, it is likely that these retrograde and illegal moves will considerably set back efforts to combat the massive problem of HIV AIDS in the African sub-continent.”

Hopefully this trend of denouncing homophobia from nations outside of Africa, much like what’s happened in Uganda, will be a trend to set the standard for human rights which provides equal protections for and urges the decriminalization of being a member of the LGBT community.

Steven Monjeza (L) and Tiwonge Chimbalanga sit in a pick-up truck before appearing at a magistrate court in Blantyre January 4, 2010.

Source Text:

www.gayagenda.com

EU Slams Uganda’s Anti-Gay Law

From News24.com:

The European parliament called on Ugandan authorities to scrap a controversial proposed law that would punish homosexuality with life in prison.

The parliament called on the authorities “not to approve the bill and to review their laws so as to decriminalize homosexuality”.

Observing that homosexuality is legal in only 13 African countries and a punishable offence in 38 others, the MEPs said the proposed Ugandan laws could have a domino effect on other nations “where persons are or could be persecuted because of their sexual orientation”.

Source Text:

www.gayagenda.com

Gay Couple in Uganda

It was reported that the “death penalty” for being gay in Uganda had been removed from the current legislation facing their lawmakers, but upon further investigation, that may not be the case.

The Ugandan bill still seeks to extend existing laws making it illegal to “promote homosexuality” by talking or writing about it, and by scaring Ugandan citizens into telling the authorities about anyone they know who is gay, through the threat of imprisonment if they do not.

According to Bahati, an MP from the ruling party, the bill is directed at protecting “the cherished culture of the people of Uganda against the attempts of sexual rights activists seeking to impose their values of sex promiscuity on the people of Uganda.”

It also looks as though Uganda isn’t alone in their anti-gay crusade in Africa. Nigeria now has a similar bill expecte to be placed into law, and the Nigerian government currently allows the death penalty for homosexuality in northern states. Sudan has the same law. Burundi joined 37 other African nations earlier this year in criminalizing homosexuality. Egypt and Mali are also seeking to pass morality laws against same-sex couples.

Source Text:

www.gayagenda.com