![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.faceofmalawi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Gist-Trapence.jpg\" "\\"Gift")
<\/a>Gift Trapence<\/p><\/div>
\nAlmost everyone, from the then president Bingu wa Mutharika, the
\nmedia, civil society organizations, faith based organizations, the
\nclergy, traditional leaders and a good section of the citizenry
\ncondemned the two, Steve Chibalanga and Tionge Monjeza.<\/p>\n
No wonder, the two lover birds were hurriedly arrested an sentenced to
\n14 years in prison by the Blantyre Magistrate court, a conviction
\nwhich was later dropped by Mutharika after international pressure.<\/p>\n
This was the time the rainbow cloth was threatened, those with
\nminority rights were threatened and forced to live in hiding their
\nsexual feeling.<\/p>\n
If the late presidents words, that homosexuals are nothing but
\nabnormal people, then Malawi seems to have a lot of such people, whose feelings cannot just be ignored an outcasted in each and every aspect, be it development and health sectors.<\/p>\n
Homosexual acts are illegal in most African countries which regards it as against traditional morals.<\/p>\n
In Uganda, an MP recently introduced a bill which stipulated the death penalty could be imposed for some homosexual offences, although he has since said he now wants this changed to life in prison.<\/p>\n
South Africa is the only African country where same-sex marriages are
\nlegal – discrimination based on sexual orientation was banned after a
\nnew constitution was introduced when white minority rule ended in
\n1994.<\/p>\n
Malawi\u2019s current president Joyce Banda, during her nation address
\nspeech in Parliament recently, said she will repeal the laws that
\noppress the gay community.<\/p>\n
Banda, who assumed the presidency in April when her predecessor died,
\nmade the announcement in her first state of the nation address.<\/p>\n
“Indecency and unnatural acts laws shall be repealed,” she said. But
\nrepealing a law requires a parliamentary vote, and it is unclear how
\nmuch political support Banda would have for sweeping changes in this
\nimpoverished and conservative nation in southern Africa.<\/p>\n
Although the president has brought hope to the condemned and
\ndiscriminated souls, some quarters still looks to be happy when the
\nsee their fellow human beings being oppressed because of their sexual
\norientations.<\/p>\n
Malawi’s Public Affairs Committee (PAC), an umbrella body of all
\nchurches in Malawi has trashed the president’s wish to free
\nhomosexuals.<\/p>\n
Addressing the press in Blantyre, PAC General Secretary Maurice
\nMunthari said homosexual should not be entertained as it is not only
\nunbiblical but also unMalawian.<\/p>\n
“We urge the president to tread this issue very carefully,” said Munthari.<\/p>\n
He said they are consulting with their Muslim groupings to on how best they can counter attack the move.<\/p>\n
Homosexual issues have, for the recent time, become a hot issue
\nbetween African and foreign countries.<\/p>\n
Executive Director for the Center of the Development of People (CEDEP) Gift Trapence, said the president\u2019s speech to repeal the laws is a commitment of the Malawi government in protecting the rights of the
\nminority.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a good message to both Malawians and the international
\ncommunity the government is committed to respect human rights
\nregardless of who one is. Mind you, rights are rights whether one
\nlikes it or not. They need to be protected even if it is one person,\u201d
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Recently, while addressing an audience of diplomats in Genever, US
\nsecretary of state State Hilary Clinton called for the rights of gay
\npeople to be respected.<\/p>\n
“Gay people are born into and belong to every society in the world,”
\nsaid Clinton adding that, “Being gay is not a Western invention. It is a human reality.”<\/p>\n
Clinton did not outline sanctions for countries that fail to
\nreform same-sex laws, but an official memorandum directs US government agencies to consider gay rights when making aid and asylum decisions.<\/p>\n
Her comments follow a warning by UK Prime Minister David Cameron last
\nmonth that the UK would reduce some aid to countries that refuse to
\nrecognise gay rights.<\/p>\n
This stills seems to be not an easy ride for the homosexuals in
\nMalawi, but still, a rainbow cloth looks to be covering the nation,
\nbringing with it faces that have been rejected to freedom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
During their first trial, their only hope of living in a country where everyone enjoys the freedom regardless of his\/her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[268,368,2401,2528,2438,302,258],"class_list":["post-11281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news","tag-bingu-wa-mutharika-fertiliser-subsidy-industry-green-revolution","tag-gay","tag-gay-rights","tag-gift-trapence","tag-homosexuality","tag-malawi-news-2","tag-malawi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.faceofmalawi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}