{"id":23839,"date":"2012-12-10T12:00:12","date_gmt":"2012-12-10T12:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=23839"},"modified":"2012-12-08T15:23:50","modified_gmt":"2012-12-08T15:23:50","slug":"together-the-voices-of-reason-and-care-can-bring-sexual-equality-to-an-ever-more-draconian-uganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2012\/12\/together-the-voices-of-reason-and-care-can-bring-sexual-equality-to-an-ever-more-draconian-uganda\/","title":{"rendered":"Together the Voices of Reason and Care Can Bring Sexual Equality to an Ever More Draconian Uganda"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our writer, who saw an unlikely champion of gay rights fight for his beliefs in an African court, says that there are grounds for optimism in the battle for equality there.<\/em><\/p>\n

As I stood in the morning heat out outside one of Kampala\u2019s district court houses waiting for the British producer David Cecil<\/a>, who was about to attend a hearing, I could see example of the penalty which lay in store should he be found guilty. A blue goods container with its doors replaced by a cage stood in the corner of the sandy compound. In it, around eighty prisoners awaiting trial fought their way to the front of the blackness, desperate for air and light. Both the laws and justice are severe in Uganda.<\/p>\n

David had been arrested for staging the play, The River and the Mountain<\/em>, which had gay themes. And the government is using his case to prove that their hostile view of homosexuality is real, and one they will enforce.\u00a0\u00a0 When I asked him if jail was a real possibility, and not just bluster designed to scare foreigners and their press corps, he replied determined: \u201cof course it\u2019s a possibility; this is what they are pushing for.\u00a0 The crime carries an automatic sentence of two years, not up to two years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Draconian<\/strong><\/p>\n

He seemed genuinely shaken, and knew that there would be no immunity for his case. He has lived in Uganda for five years, and knows its tactics well, \u201cthey seem to be dragging things out, and indefinitely postponing things.\u201d David isn\u2019t gay, and seemed to me to be an accidental activist, but when I asked him if he regretted staging the play, his familiar determination once again made an appearance: \u201cno not at all. The only regret I have is that it was limited to a very small audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

What his play has done, albeit unintentionally, is bring wider international attention to the draconian laws concerning sexuality, laws which are set to become tougher in the coming weeks, and laws which he feels do not reflect the public mood, \u201cI doubt whether the politicians really care about public opinion on this, and for me that is the biggest tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new bill which has been whirring around Parliament since 2009 threatens to bring in the death penalty, forced reporting of homosexuals, and hefty prison sentences for the promotion of homosexuality. The law would set new standards for state-sponsored civil rights abuse. But already, being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender in Uganda means a life conducted mostly in the shadows, and without the peace that comes from knowing that law will protect you. Fear is a constant companion, and sanctuary is rarely found. I did, however, find one such sanctuary.<\/p>\n

It was a \u2018safe compound\u2019 called Ice Breakers. Set up by the leading activist Frank Mugisha<\/a>, it aims to provide a secure space from which LGBT people can get learning advice, health advice from the on-site clinic, but most importantly: safety. As the car waited at the giant metal gates, I wondered what I would find once they creaked open.\u00a0 The gentle gardens and low rise buildings within the high brick walls were an instant comfort.\u00a0 People wandered around and there was a palpable sense of ease. The centre is kept alive by money from international donors, including from the British organisation, The David Cairns foundation.<\/p>\n

Its money goes mainly into the health clinic, which is one of the few places in Kampala gay people feel comfortable to seek advice about HIV.\u00a0 Gay men in Uganda are four times more likely to contract HIV, mainly because they feel unable to ask about the disease, and how best to prevent it.\u00a0 The dark clinic with shallow medicine cabinets is very much on the front line of fighting the disease among this marginalised and persecuted community.<\/p>\n

Comfort<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mary, the stout head nurse was sat in her chair as I entered.\u00a0 She had the look of a woman who is impossible to shock. I asked her why people come to see her. Her answer was simple: \u201cbecause here they feel free.\u201d\u00a0 Conversation quickly turns to the bill, which would make it technically illegal for her not to report her gay patients.\u00a0 She shrugs of the suggestion, \u201cthere is no way the bill will stop us treating them.\u201d\u00a0 I smile:\u00a0 this is not the \u2018hostile public\u2019 I was warned about back in England. I asked her if she felt that the activists can fight the bill alone, she looked at me, incredulously, \u201chow can they fight the bill when they are sick in their beds?\u201d<\/p>\n

Inside the centre\u2019s lounge, sat on a plump sofa watching the Ugandan version of X Factor, I found Aliyo.\u00a0 I asked him what the centre meant to him. He smiled, \u201cthis is my comfort; this is my safe place.\u201d I then asked him what he felt on the other side of the compound\u2019s strong walls, his smile soon dropped, \u201cyou are always worried \u2013 this is about your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

I left the safety of Ice Breakers and headed back into the chaos of Kampala. The human rights tragedy will continue to unravel, and as it does, it will bring a health catastrophe with it.\u00a0 But from the courthouse to the safe-house, the voices of care and reason do exist, and they are strong, even if they are occasionally accidental.<\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 independent.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our writer, who saw an unlikely champion of gay rights fight for his beliefs in an African court, says that there are grounds for optimism in the battle for equality there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[181],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sexualities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23839\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}