I’m Glenna Gordon, an American photographer and journalist, presently commuting between West Africa and Brooklyn. Previously, I lived in Liberia. And before that, I lived in Uganda. I’ve traveled and worked in over a dozen countries in Africa.
Pepe’s partner at their home in Kampala
A couple of days ago, Chris Blattman linked to my recent reporting on the gay community and asked, Is Uganda a good place to be gay?
Homophobia is real and widespread. Yet Uganda boasts a vibrant gay rights movement, and nowhere else in Africa have I seen a more open and public debate. Gay men and women tell their stories in the newspapers; protests and legal battles get fair and often favorable coverage in the press. Every single editorial board of every major newspaper is solidly behind the gay rights movement.
The anti-homosexuality bill, simply put, is a backlash. A backlash from a group that, in the long run, is losing the battle of ideas.
Blattman is right that western newspapers are behind the gay rights movement, but doesn’t mention that Ugandan newspapers regularly publish stories calling for “forensic anal probes” to determine whether or not someone has participated in “sodomy.”
The virulent hatred I heard during a taping of Agenda Uganda on the bill made it clear that while things are being discussed, the discussion is neither balanced nor courteous.
Many of the people I talked to think things have gotten worse recently because of the bill. In a way, friends told me, it allows people who were mildly homophobic or not public about their homophobia to not just express themselves but also to act on their hatred and fears. It’s impossible to say how many violent attacks or instances of discrimination have taken place recently or in the past simply because the police are some of the most homophobic people in this equation.
There are whispered stories of violent offenses too grave to write without confirmation, and too dangerous to confirm.
But, in one respect, Chris is right: Uganda has a chance to be a leader in sub-Saharan Africa and set a precedent for protecting gay rights. That is, if the bill doesn’t pass. When I was asking to speak to people last month, many said no and cited the bill as the reason. I thought to myself, “there’s no way that bill will pass, ever,” but my conviction is nothing compared to the consequences they will face if I am wrong.
Here’s what Andrew Mwenda has to say:
Multitudes of Ugandans are homophobic and would not hesitate to sanction genocide against gays. To secure attitudinal change through force would require unprecedented violence. Our challenge is how to foster openness and tolerance. This can only be achieved through open debate.
This is why although Bahati is subjectively homophobic, he is objectively an ally of gays. By introducing his bill with provisions to kill gays, he has inadvertently opened debate on a subject that has been taboo in Uganda. In the process, he has given gays and progressive intellectuals an opportunity and a platform to enlighten Ugandans about sexual diversity and expose the fallacies that inform homophobia.
He’s right that a conversation has started, and things might change quickly. But, for now, Uganda is not a good place to be gay . That’s like saying the American South in the 1960s was a good place to be black.
We’ll just have to wait and see where the conversation goes.
