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undeterred

(34,658 posts)
Wed Apr 30, 2014, 12:28 PM Apr 2014

Africa: homophobia is a legacy of colonialism

Anti-gay laws were introduced to Africa by Western colonialists. Now, as former colonizers recognize LGBT rights Africa is still stuck in the past, writes Val Kalende

At a time when more countries are moving towards inclusive human rights, Africa is taking steps backwards. Backwards, that is, specifically on the issue of gay rights, though sadly not to before colonialism, the era in which anti-gay legislation has its roots. Most Africans don’t recognize homophobia as a colonial legacy even though before colonialism, many traditional cultures were tolerant of different sexualities and gender relations. For instance, in my tribe, the Ganda or Baganda, (Uganda’s largest ethnic group) women from the royal clan are addressed with male titles and may or may not be required to perform duties expected of women. More broadly, from the Azande of the Congo to the Beti of Cameroon, and from the Pangwe of Gabon to the Nama of Namibia, there is ethnographic evidence of same-sex relationships in pre-colonial Africa.

By preying on African values of inclusive difference, however, Africa’s colonizers rewrote its history, the effects of which haunt Africa to this day. Tribal chiefs and village courts of law which were traditionally the hallmark of conflict resolution were traded for a European Penal Code system which included the criminalization of homosexuality. It is also important to stress that so-called sodomy laws would not have impacted African sexual politics without the influence of Christianity. Christianity was used to whitewash African culture as primitive and to demons traditional interpretations of African intimacies. The bible became the credo of African morality, disordering African sexuality to missionary positions of heteronormativity (ie. the idea that heterosexuality is the only 'natural' sexual orientation).

But sexuality is not all that the colonizers rewrote about Africa. European colonies were established through military conquest, perpetuated through the politics of divide and rule, and religion. The colonizers understood that to conquer Africa they had to turn Africans against Africans such that Africans would blame themselves for their divisions, most of which culminated in ethnic hostility. Amongst other things, colonial policies of divide and rule spurred ethnic tensions. For example, by dividing Rwanda along race and class, German imperialists turned the Tutsis against the Hutus. In Sudan meanwhile, British imperialists divided the Northern Muslim region from the Southern Christian region creating divisions that perpetuate ethnic tensions to this day.

In today's postcolonial world, the influence of US conservative evangelicals on Africa’s sexual politics cannot be understated. They have picked up where their colonial predecessors left off and are providing the propaganda, by way of religious brainwashing, for Africa’s anti-gay campaigners to make the case for harsher laws against LGBT communities. This is why holding American missionaries like Scott Lively and Lou Engle to account is crucial to the protection of LGBT people in countries where they evangelize. When Africans accuse Western countries of importing homosexuality, LGBT Africans become demised as social deviants and criminals, and politicians turn to the law as the solution. What needs to happen in Africa is an honest discussion on human sexuality in the African context before, during and after the colonial period. This is a conversation local activists, civil society, academics, and the media should begin to shape.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/30/africa-homophobia-legacy-colonialism?CMP=twt_gu
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Africa: homophobia is a legacy of colonialism (Original Post) undeterred Apr 2014 OP
never ending beneifts of the white man's religion nt msongs Apr 2014 #1
American evangelicals: Jefferson23 Apr 2014 #2
You betcha! blkmusclmachine Apr 2014 #5
Dumb and dangerous make up too many of the religious fanatics. Jefferson23 Apr 2014 #6
Huge kick and recommend! love_katz Apr 2014 #3
With Uganda and Nigeria and Gay GENOCIDE, the Evangelicals' missionary work is paying its dividends! blkmusclmachine Apr 2014 #4
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