We continue a series of four pieces addressing LGBTI nomenclature, issues, and politics in Africa. The four authors whose short pieces we feature provide much food for thought, on the mythological constructions of history, religion, and culture, the abuse of power by national and international actors, and the pros and cons of communal identities and notions of “rights.” We look forward to our readers’ comments on this important series.
Today:
by Lilly Phiri, “Reflections on Ebenezer Obadare’s Insights on Gay Rights and Same-Sex Marriage”
From the onset, let me state my position in the ‘gay debate’ within Africa. I am in critical solidarity with members of the LGBTI communities in their struggle for the recognition of their identities in Africa. My discomfort is with the direction some of these struggles have taken as they are largely Western enterprises which seem to have left behind the African LGBTI communities they claim to represent.
Allow me to thank the author for sharing his views with the general readership. I find his paper to be well written and full of passion for the subject. I must state that despite the radical approach to the matter at hand, I agree with most of the author’s sentiments, especially when he states that homosexuality brings to the fore questions of “human flourishing” and who fits into the African democratic assembly. Following USA President Barack Obama’s recent gay rights advocacy in Kenya and the subsequent response from the Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, that for Kenyans today the issue of gay rights is generally a non-issue and that they want to focus on other areas, I propose a different perspective. Allow me to borrow the argument from Ezra Chitando, a Zimbabwean scholar who has stated that Africa cannot afford to undertake piecemeal liberation as liberation should be holistic, thus liberation of all persons ought to be included. But yet again, the African audience needs to ask and answer for themselves the question of liberation from what to what and for whom? The current homosexuality struggle in Africa is for recognition of sexual identities and not necessarily for same-sex marriages and so, discussing same-sex marriages in most African countries at this stage is jumping the gun.
However, I have two areas I wish to challenge the author on. First, in the debate on homosexuality in Africa, one needs to create a balance between the ‘African’ concept of communitarianism and the very Western concept of rights. Many traditional African cultures have accommodated homosexuals as long as they are ‘unspoken about’ and categorized in Western binaries of homo and hetero. What most Africans revolt to is cultural imperialism that arises when the ‘gay agenda’ is pushed by the West who expect Africans to embrace it uncritically. I believe taking the rights approach in dealing with homosexuality in Africa is an uphill battle but approaching it from communitarian perspectives would be more appealing to most Africans who thrive on Ubuntu or Umuntu philosophy – “I am because you are”, after all, homosexuals are our very own family members. The other argument the author raises is the relevance of the ‘good book’ in the homosexuality debate. Many African scholars, among them Masiiwa Gunda of Zimbabwe, have observed that the Bible cannot be wished, as many Africans Christians have embraced the Bible as their own – thanks once more to Western imperialism – and heavily rely on it, especially in the homosexuality debate. Instead of wishing away the ‘good book’, I would be comfortable if the author realized and acknowledged its importance in the African context but challenged texts of terror within the Bible that have been used to denounce homosexuality.
In conclusion, in our quest to journey with our LGBTI friends and family in Africa, I believe it is cardinal not to underrate the African worldviews which have informed and shaped such discussions, as challenging this worldview from a Western perspective waters down our efforts. We need to find positives within the African perspectives that can be used as springboards for our ‘gay embracing agenda’. Western cultural imperialism and worldviews, even as much as we can learn from them, need not be the ideal benchmark for the African audience that still bears the brunt of Western imperialism.
Lilly Phiri is a Doctoral Student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Her research interests are alternative identities and sexualities, gender, queer theory, religion and cultures.
Previous:
by Ebenezer Obadare, “Ebenezer Obadare On Gay Rights, Same-Sex Marriage”
Forthcoming:
by Michael Bosia, “Mike Bosia Comments on Lilly Phiri’s Article”
by Cilas Kemedjio, “Cilas Kemedjio on Human Rights”