Sickening anti-gay legislation currently being discussed in Uganda’s parliament - which could result in the death penalty for those convicted - has been attacked by human rights organisations, religious and political leaders the world over.
The bill initially proposed that all those convicted are sentenced to a minimum punishment of life imprisonment but was recently amended to include a definition of 'aggravated homosexuality' which would be punishable by death. 'Aggravated homosexuality' covers several situations, from the offender being a serial offender, to a person who is HIV positive, a person having sex with someone under the age of 18, a person 'in a position of authority' over their victim or someone having sex with a disabled person.
Homosexuality is already criminalised in Uganda, with a decades-old law meaning that anyone found guilty of 'carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature' faces up to 14 years in prison.
With it looking likely that the bill will be passed, members of the country’s gay community - already living in fear of an increasing number of hate campaigns which have extended to death threats and violence as gay people have been outed by the media - worry that they may be forced to flee the country in an attempt to save their own lives.
The new bill would also require members of the public to report the names of any gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people they know on penalty of up to three years in prison. Human rights organisations opposing the law, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have pointed out that this could trigger witch hunts, making it impossible for gay people to live safely in a country where their sexual orientation is already demonised.
Last week, the UK and Canadian governments expressed concern over the bill, with Gordon Brown meeting with the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, to protest the legislation. Sweden, currently holding the EU presidency, has said it will cut aid to Uganda if the law is passed.
President Museveni has already condemned gay relationships and a number of religious leaders support tougher legislation for Uganda, with some seeing homosexuality as an 'import' from western civilisation. One of these is Stephen Langa, a pastor who claims that gay men are targeting schoolchildren for 'recruitment' into homosexuality by giving them money. An anti-gay seminar he organised earlier in the year was attended by three conservative Christian speakers from the USA. Although they have stated publicly that they do not support the 'harsh' penalties imposed by the bill, they support action such as 'sexual reorientation', wishing to see homosexuals 'recover'.
Despite widespread support of the bill from Uganda’s Christian community, one prominent member of the church there has called it ‘state-sponsored genocide’. Canon Gideon Byamugisha has spoken out against the scapegoating of gay people in Ugandan society, worried about the levels of violence the proposed law could lead to. Byamugisha is no stranger to controversy – in 1990 he revealed that he is HIV positive, the first practicing African priest to do so - and ever since has campaigned for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.
"I realise that if I am happy to speak out against discrimination and stigma in relation to HIV, then I should also be happy to speak out against paralysing homophobia, sexism, tribalism, Puritanism, fundamentalism and against anything else that reduces and diminishes our love, care and support for each other as we travel the road of faith and belief," he said.
A protest against the bill has been organised in London for Thursday December 10th. Activists will gather outside the Ugandan High Commission in Trafalgar Square at 12pm where they will be addressed by a number of speakers. Find out more about the protest and lobbying at the Gay Activists Alliance International website or from Peter Tatchell’s website.
Image via Macleans.ca