I've been thinking about this post since before my arrival and I picked today to finally post it given the recent event in Uganda. For those who don't know, Uganda gay rights activist David Kato was beaten to death yesterday January 26th. In Uganda, homosexual acts are illegal and can be punishable with up to 14 years in prison- there have even those been pushing for death sentences in some cases. In Senegal, same-sex sexual activity is illegal meaning not only is it illegal to marry your partner or have a recognized union (what many states are fighting for in the US) but even voicing that you are homosexual could be punishable. In February of 2008, 5 men were arrested following the publication of photos that seemed to be depicting a wedding ceremony between two men. Then in January of 2009, 9 men were arrested and sentenced to 8 years in jail. They were charged with two things. The first being conspiracy. Among the arrested was a man who runs an organization that provides condoms and counseling for the extremely underground gay community of Senegal.
Because Senegal is mostly Muslim, it is believed by most that homosexuality doesn't even exist which is why it is not uncommon to see to guys who are friends holding hands walking down the street. This is where I get confused, being gay: illegal, gay activity: illegal, so naturally boys and girls alike would choose to hold hands in public?? Today my friend Paulette and I spent the day walking around, making our way to the zoo and back. She held my hand countless numbers of times whether it was to pull me out of the way of a car rapide or just because. It's one of those personal bubble barriers I'll have to break down seeing as I don't normalllly hold hands with too many in the states. Even when locking arms with my girlfriends, we tend not to make it very far arm in arm- for some reason walking with two hands freely has always been more comfortable.
Sadly, anti-gay sentiment has been on the rise in Africa over the last few years. Multiple governments across the continent have been pushing for harsher punishments against homosexuals and their activity. Gambia's president even taking it as far as to say that he would behead any homosexuals found in his country- I believe that this one sentence speaks to just how much unwesternized Africa truly is (beheading?? really?? how 18th century of them). It's one thing to read about it in books but living among it is completely different.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12295718
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/world/africa/09senegal.html
Catching up on reading your wonderful blogs, myself. This is a poignant post, as we prayed for several people in Church two weeks ago, particularly for David Kato. There's an ugly confluence of beliefs going on here: The Bishops of the Anglican Church in Africa, specifically Uganda, have been putting a great deal of pressure on the Anglican Church in England. Given that the Anglican Church in Africa is one of the fastest growing congregations in the Anglican/Episcopal faith, they wield a lot of power. Unfortunately they also feel entitled to impose their agenda of intolerance on the rest of the Church. And it's making some headway. Archbishop Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is kowtowing to their demands; more conservative, and equally-intolerant Episcopal congregations in the US have aligned themselves with the Ugandan Anglican Church, and are seceding from the Episcopal Church in America. What to do? Unfortunately so much of this is tied in with the social and political climate, as well as the religious climate. It's not just the Muslims, as you can see. Curiously, Islam, up to the 15th century, preached a remarkably tolerant attitude towards homosexuality. It's been only recently that Islamic so-called clerics (Osama bin Ladin, Muqtada al Sadr, et al) have co-opted what once was a religion of tolerance and turned it into one of hatred and forced assimilation.
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