How the U.S. Christian Right Is Transforming Sexual Politics in Africa

Martin Ssempa, one of the architects of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill, screens gay pornography to boost support for antigay laws. Photo by Benedicte Desrus

While U.S. Christian Right leaders made headlines when international pressure forced them to retract support for Uganda’s notorious Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009, a new report by Political Research Associates shows that U.S. Christian Right groups continue to build organizational strength and campaign to inscribe homophobia and anti-abortion politics in the constitutions and laws of African countries in the years since.
The U.S. Christian Right’s most recent efforts are documented in the new report Colonizing African Values: How the U.S. Christian Right is Transforming Politics in Africa.
The report authored by Rev. Dr. Kapya Kaoma, an Anglican priest originally from Zambia, investigates the Pat Robertson-founded American Center for Law and Justice, the Mormon-led Family Watch International, and the Roman Catholic Human Life International, as well as a network of Christian dominionists known as the Transformation Movement or New Apostolic Reformation. The report details ACLJ’s efforts to influence the constitution-writing process in Zimbabwe and Kenya, and the anti-LGBT and anti-reproductive justice activities of the other groups in such countries as Uganda, Malawi and Zambia.
Although anti-abortion and anti-LGBT legislation were established by British colonial governments, U.S. Christian Right groups label human rights supporters as “neocolonialists” imposing liberal sexual mores on Africa. Hiding behind African staff, these groups have established local offices and befriended key African political and religious leaders. The charismatic beliefs shared by many African Christians and American religious conservatives has also created an opening for the U.S. right-wing to exploit.
The result of on-the-ground research in four African countries, this report exposes the underlying goals of these organizations and points to who the true neocolonialists are. The investigation was inspired by the findings of Rev. Dr. Kaoma’s 2009 report, Globalizing the Culture Wars.
http://www.politicalresearch.org/resources/reports/full-reports/colonizing-african-values/

DIVERSITY IN THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT IN UGANDA. By Susan Labwot

The growth of the women’s movement can be traced back to the late 1950s and early 1960. The growth of the movement was the emergence of individual women in positions of responsibility in the public affairs.

When discussing diversity in the women’s movement, culture is of the critical points of reference since it determines the values of an individual and the community, in respect to how we see ourselves and others, as well as our world outlook. Culture informs our responses to social, political and economic relations in the environment. Our identity is shaped by society’s beliefs, expectations and experiences which we acquire through socialization at the family level, in schools, churches and participating in community activities.

By the nature of women’s gender socialization, many of them will try to avoid situations or engagements that compromise their livelihood or put their families at risk and therefore conform to societal expectation even they would personally wish to defy. This explains why few women speak out against issues of domestic violence and sexual rights simply because these are topics that they community has viewed as ‘bedroom issues’ and they should not be discussed in the public sphere. The ones who do so are given all sorts of names and some women do not want to even associate with them. This can be clearly seen from the current discussion on the Marriage and Divorce Bill that has gathered a lot of decision both in parliament, media and the public.

It important to note that in Uganda, much of the earlier sensitization and education, which unfortunately has persisted in the women’s organizations and clubs, was geared at transforming African women into better wives of ‘Westernized’ African men and hence reproducing Western notions of gender, domesticity, morality and household divisions of labour. This has given inadequate considerations of women’s own realities, needs and priorities and has continued to promote activities that have limited women’s engagement and kept them partially locked in the private sphere, depoliticized, and passive such that the majority of women fear or simply do not challenge the status quo.

The recent democratic processes in the country under the reinstated multi-party politics and the global economic and social networking trends, are also seen in some circles as weakening and fragmenting the women’s voice and hence the urgency to critically discuss the issue of individual identity and pluralism within the women’s movement.

“Most people are scared to stand up and speak out their mind on political or what are regarded as ‘controversial’ social issues. If we desire to see pluralism in the women’s movement then we need to get the women beyond the ‘bread and butter’ syndrome and economically empower them so that they have the freedom and choice of engagement”, a respondent said.  Women therefore need to have the right information and civic education, coupled with economic empowerment, if they have to have the courage, perseverance and the time to embrace pluralism and actively participate in political discussions and activities.

As the nation celebrates Women Day, it’s important that the contribution of women through their movement should be given more work.  Power and decision making in the women’s movement should be decentralized and shared to include women from all walks of life, rural and urban, old and young and women from the formal and informal sector. This deliberate effort of inclusion and active engagement will go a long way in erasing the current bias that has been created of an elite urban-based women’s movement and help to strengthen an all-inclusive and sustainable women’s movement.

The women in the movement need to learn to strategically negotiate in order to convince those people with alternative views and also promote critical and analytical thinking within the movement. Women activists should try to build men’s capacity to speak out on gender issues and attract them to the women’s movement.

Susan works at the Uganda Women's Network (UWONET) and is a member of the steering committee, Pluralism Knowledge Programme ,Uganda.This same article got published in the Daily Monitor, a national newspaper in Uganda on 7th March 2013.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/Women-s-movement--should-be-open/-/689364/1713322/-/hkb2h5z/-/index.html 

By Howzit MSN, 14/02/2013

Is It Time For The First African Pope?

Earlier this week Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would resign from his role as the leader of the Catholic Church on 28 February. Many are now speculating that the next pope might be from Africa.

Cardinal Peter Turkson

Ghanaian cardinal Peter Turkson, at a relatively sprightly 64 years old, is a widespread favourite for the job. Betting house William Hill has named Turkson as a 3/1 favourite, while he is also the favourite at Ladbrokes.
Other African cardinals that have been listed as possibilities for the job are Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria, the 74-year-old Archbishop of Kinshasa Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of DRC and 69-year-old Nigerian John Onaiyekan, 69, the Abuja archbishop.
Reports that the next pope may come from Africa rise from the growth of the Catholic faith in the southern hemisphere, particularly Africa and Latin America.
As much as many people would like to see an African pope elected, the demographics of the College of Cardinals makes this extremely unlikely. The college is made up of 117 members, of which only 18 are from Africa.
In an interview with with The Associated Press earlier this week, Turkson humbly fielded suggestions that he might be the next pope, saying: "I've always answered 'if it's the will of God', being the pope of the church is not going to be an easy task." The Ghanaian added: "We need to repair our credibility. Our pastors need to be believed in again and recognised and taken seriously. If we say we are celibate clergy, we need to live faithfully to that celibacy. There's one thing we can't compromise on and that's our credibility."

Tribe or Ethnic Group

Those who oppose using the word "tribe" desire that African ethnic groups are understood as similar to those elsewhere.

They want the complexity of these groups paid attention to, and are attentive of the word "tribe's" associations with notions of backwardness, atavism and superstition - its roots in colonial policies aimed at defining African societies and making them legible for control.

They are attentive to the fact that the term is only used to describe their cultural formations, of the fact that Western societies' cleavages would never be defined as tribes.

They also reject the notions of fixity, of common ancestry that come with the term "tribe", preferring the looseness of the term ethnic group, and how this acknowledges internal differences of language, culture and descent, and permits accretion.

Conversely, this, along with constant media use, may explain why many African people continue to use the term "tribe".

Even with their fictive kinships, many Africans may prefer to establish the bonds between them as based on common descent, as biological, than to acknowledge the complex ways in which their present-day ethnic groups were formed.

By Basil Ibrahim, Nairobi-based political consultant

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20465752 

Ugandan unity over open grave

With Dr. James Mulwana passed on the mentor of Uganda industrialization, an icon of local and regional entrepreneurship.  He was a very successful businessman, a philanthropist, and a seasoned diplomat.  And yet, throughout his life, he stayed a humble person.

Uganda has lost an exemplary personality, in business, social activities and politics.  Buganda kingdom has lost a great son of land who helped the Kabaka in many ways.  And Thailand has lost her honorary consul in Uganda.

Mrs. Sarah Mulwana has lost her caring husband, his children and grandchildren their loving father.

I have lost one of my best Ugandan friends.  For me, the name James Mulwana stands for honesty, integrity, hard work, friendliness, generosity, tolerance and humility.

The funeral service and the burial of Dr. James Mulwana at his ancestral home in Masiriba, kiboga districit, on Wednesday, with thousands of mourners in attendance, was not only a living documentation of “Who is Who in Uganda” but also a rare “showdown” of Ugandan unity over an open grave.

The president and the vice-president of Uganda were sitting relaxed next to the Katikkiro and the Mengo establishment.  Representatives of all political “shades” paid tribute to a personality who had been able to bring “friends and foes” together,

Clergy of different faiths and denominations joined in prayers for sending the souls of James Mulwana into the realm of eternal life.

All this was not a dream.  It was a beautiful picture in real setting.

However, it is very unfortunate that this demonstration of Ugandan unity needed the death of a Ugandan role model, Dr. James Mulwana, and took place over his open grave.

Is it “wishful thinking” to hope that Mulwana’s death may lead to change in the “mindsets”, and greater appreciation for the value of Ugandan unity?

It is a pity that the “good ones” pass on too early. James Mulwana was 76 years old, only.

By Klaus Holderbaum (former German ambassador to Uganda and a number of other African countries, now senior Presidential Adviser(Uganda) on tourism and investment.)

 

Talk Sexual Pluralism-Uganda

                                             2010:The Anti-homosexuality Bill arouses passion.

In Uganda, widespread homophobia appears to be one of the most shared aspect by different religious/ethnic/professional/rural and urban groups in Uganda.

In 2005 a constitutional amendment that prohibited same-sex marriage was endorsed, stating… “Marriage is lawful only if entered into between a man and a woman,” and “it is unlawful for same-sex couples to marry”

The existing law in Uganda criminalizes homosexuality, and Ugandans can face up to life in prison for engaging in homosexual acts; Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI).

In 2009, a private member’s bill was tabled in parliament as a legislative proposal that would broaden the criminalization of same-sex relations by dividing homosexual behavior into two categories: "aggravated homosexuality“in which an offender would receive the death penalty, or "the offense of homosexuality" in which an offender would receive life imprisonment.

"The offense of homosexuality" is defined to include same-sex sexual acts, involvement in a same-sex marriage, or an attempt to commit aggravated homosexuality.

As a result of widespread international reaction to the proposed bill, the president instituted a commission to discuss the implications of passing the bill.

Whereas majority of responses from Ugandans in print media and radio were in support of the anti-gay bill, there was widespread disagreement with the death penalty as the recommended punishment. 

In the inter-parliamentary meeting hosted by Uganda, Uganda’s speaker of parliament rejected the inclusion of LGBT bills discussions on the agenda, stating that it was a matter for Ugandans to decide by themselves. 

Despite international pressure, homosexuals are still marginalized in Uganda. As a result, development of the country is threatened as the country’s development partners have threatened to cut development assistance to the country.

Overall the rights of LGBT individuals continues to be a difficult issue for people in Uganda to consider.So where does that leave us in a bid to reconcile pluralism to sexual orientation?

  

Josephine Nakimuli Kigozi

Communications& Advocacy Officer