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an ex-gay ministry, and others — defend their actions in Uganda while maintaining that they never wanted people to be punished for being LGBT. But many Ugandans say the fundamentalist groups’ message is far more sinister and they are actually accusing LGBT people of recruiting Ugandans into the “homosexual lifestyle,” abusing children and spreading HIV/AIDS. “They say that gay people have taken over the U.S. and the United Nations and are now targeting Uganda,” said Rev. Dr. Kapya Kaoma, an Episcopalian priest from Zambia and author of the 2009 report, “Globalizing the Culture Wars: U.S. Conservatives, African Churches & Homophobia.” (See sidebar.) Meanwhile, HRC has joined with the Council for Global Equality — a coalition of international human rights activists, foreign policy experts, LGBT leaders, philanthropists and corporate officials — in protesting the Uganda bill. The coalition is urging the State Department to develop a strategic plan for addressing the criminalization of homosexuality in African countries and is calling for a review of LGBT-related policies around the world, notes HRC Legislative Counsel Ty Cobb. Additionally, the U.S. Senate has unanimously passed a resolution that expresses its “unequivocal opposition” to the Ugandan bill. A similar resolution is pending in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“It is very, very dangerous for us to do our work,” said an African LGBT rights activist.
The struggles for LGBT equality in the U.S. and in Africa are inextricably linked, a 2009 report says.
commissioned by the Massachusetts-based progressive think tank Political Research Associates.
The increasingly dire situation for LGBT Africans, in fact, can be traced to the ordination of LGBT clergy by some Protestant denominations in the U.S., according to the 2009 report, “Globalizing the U.S. Culture Wars: U.S. Conservatives, African Churches & Homophobia.”
The African religious leaders are enticed, in part, by money. The right-wing groups instruct them to reject money from their mainline churches and to accept money from conservatives instead, the report says. Of course, unlike the churches’ money, the conservatives’ funding often goes to individual bishops and requires no accountability or oversight.
The report breaks new ground. Until now, there has been little research done in Africa on the topic. Researchers interviewed church leaders on all sides of the issue in both countries. They also attended far-right Christian seminars and interviewed participants, and studied a staggering amount of literature on the churches, religious homophobia, the history of churches’ missions in Africa and more.
“U.S. human rights advocates both inside and outside the churches have a particular responsibility to stop the exporting of homophobia from the U.S. to Africa and to support the African-led struggle for human rights and full equality,” wrote Rev. Dr. Kapya Kaoma, the report’s author. To download the report, visit: www.publiceye.org.
Feeling powerless against the advance of LGBT equality within the U.S., far-right Christian leaders in this country began mobilizing African clergy who recently began to wield greater influence on Christianity worldwide. Although the far-right Christian leaders’ goal was to restrict the rights of LGBT Americans, it has fostered an increase in homophobia in Africa, creating a more hostile, dangerous climate for LGBT people there, according to the 42-page report,
Photo: Sarah Streyle
Kaoma at HRC
The developments in Uganda have outraged HRC members and supporters — more than 38,000 have sent e-mails to the House to encourage members to sign the resolution. The bill is still pending in Uganda, but even if the bill is defeated, there is still more work to be done all over the world to protect LGBT people from violence and discrimination, said Kaoma. “The evangelicals haven’t just been to Uganda, they’re going to other countries and spreading their message of homophobia,” he said.
The Fund for Global Human Rights, a non-profit group that supports human rights work, is collecting donations for LGBT organizations that work on the ground in Uganda. To contribute, visit www.globalhumanrights.org. Click the “For LGBT Emergency Defense” box on the donation page to ensure your gift is sent to the organizations in Uganda.
WWW.HRC.ORG
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