If you decide to jump out the closet...

...you might not choose Uganda. Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment!

Actually, I believe South Africa is the only country in Africa to legalise it, and that only happened recently.  A Ugandan woman has just been granted asylum in USA because she was persecuted in Uganda for being a lesbian. Read more here.

Needless to say that I find this attitude to people who have a different sexual orientation than the majority extremely ridiculous. And whenever the topic is up for discussion I really enjoy is to elaborate on two things to stirr up the Ugandans a bit:

• i.e.by telling them that In Denmark you can marry someone from the same sex. Well, basically you can do whatever you want to do as long as you keep the law - which is equal for a hetero or a homo. Sort of on line with the rest of the human rights...
• or when two men hold hands (which is really common throughout Uganda) in Denmark, if we didn't know better, we would consider them boyfriends.

Actually  the progress friendly President Museveni has previously ordered the arrests of homosexuals in Uganda, saying UN human rights conventions do not necessarily apply to Africa (he might have a point, because African presidents do have a problem regarding human rights in general). Also the churches have had a leading part in misguiding youth on this matter in order to highten the morale - ie. you can find the worst bull-shit advice in Ugandan papers on how to avoid homosexuality.  Unfortunately, this attitude has widespread support in Uganda who like to cling to the idea that homosexuality is an imported western practice and essentially 'un-African'. Again the churches have done a good job teaching people 'right from wrong'.

I wonder if this political ban and the religious moralising mean that people who ever had any doubt about their sexuality will ever question that they might be homosexual? Surely, it is not only a huge risk to live it out, it is also extremely difficult. I mean where do you go to meet others? And what if you are not sure? And what if you are already married?

Uganda has a long way to move.....

Comments

[Howard Gibson]

I dont know who you are and to be honest having read the above I hope I never do!

Natural Human Beings are welcome in Uganda but perverted twisted sub-humans most surely NOT.

If you do happen to come and even decide to look me up then please stay away from my donkeys also as I do not wish them to be disturbed by any such "un-naturial" acts.

[The 27th Comrade]

I'm venting. And mildly-angered. Anger begins here.

I so hate it when you [insert expletive] think we are supposed to be cheap clones of the infallible, ever-correct Europe [expletive]. What, so just because you do it makes it the right thing to do? [Expletive.] `Human rights' is the other way to spell `What the [expletive] Danes think is okay'?

Okay, I find the Danish attitude towards Militant Islam (yes, Militant Islam) very ridiculous. The Mohammed Cartoons and all. In Uganda you can marry anyone you want, as long as you keep the law. Do you know that is true? And, if you are all for people doing what they want in Denmark `as long as they keep the law', can one marry a mouse? Or a dog? You [expletive] [expletive] are just [expletive] in your wild search for `rights' and `freedom'. I find it strange that homos can fuck in Germany but Muslim girls can't wear the veil. Denmark as well, I think. Bloody racist, white-supremacist assholes. [I've given up on censoring myself :-)]

That any two guys holding hands are first thought to be gay ... well, bloody Danish pervs can't be blamed, can they?

More anger:
You are saying African presidents have a bad record of human rights, and so it makes sense that they are against homos. Well, Bush is an African president, right? Or the leaders you had before the time homosexuality was legalised were Africans, no? It is very easy (and very convenient) to declare the model over here as wrong, even though it was standard in Europe not too long ago. And at that time, Europe was bullying the poorer world into being `more civilised, more like Europe'. Can you justify the position Denmark had about homosexuality back then? Do you know the Danes fed it on the poorer countries?

As for the religious leaders - well, I don't follow them or support their stand. I am not even against homos - I am very, very against the reason for the legalisation (i.e., because the fuckin' Danes will take Pernille away, if we don't legalise homosexuality, and one of the 27th Comrade's most most most favourite blogs will have to go).

`Uganda has a long way to move .....'
Shit, Pernille. Delete that line. What the fuck do you mean? What if I said Denmark has a long way to move, because there is this other place where I am free to fuck the gods? So, you mean `moving' is defined by how close we are to being cheap copies of Denmark? Please!

I hear lots of such bull-shit every fuckin' day, and it is just silly. Anyway, these are fads, and they will pass. Please, let's all give each other a chance to be different (homo/straight, anti-gay/pro-gay, African/fuckin' European). Forcing the homosexuality on us is no different from forcing heterosexuality on homos. So much for rights to be gay and no rights not to be Danish.

Anger ends here.

:-)
:-D

Phew! Hi, Pernille! Your blog rocks! I love it! ;-)
:-D