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A GLBTQ EDUCATION INTERNET RESOURCES Latin America, Caribbean & Africa: Africa

Index: Latin America & Africa -  - Middle East / Asia -  - Race/Ethic Minority Issues: U.S., Canada, Europe,  New Zealand & Australia -  - Homosexuality:  Biological  or  Learned ? -  -  Public School Issues -  - Transgender / Tranvestite / Transsexual -  - Lesbian  &  Bisexual Women -  - Homo-Negativity / Phobia -  - Identity Formation  &  Coming Out -  - Counseling  &  Therapy -  - Professional Education  -  - Bisexuality -  - Religion   &  Spirituality -  - Male  Youth Prostitution -  - HIV-AIDS -  - Gay & Bisexual Male Suicide Problems -  - Drug / Alcohol Use / Abuse / Addiction  -  - GLBT  History -  - Community Attributes  &  Problems -  -  Couples / Families / Children / Adoption / Spousal Violence -  - The Elderly

Latin America, The Caribbean  & Africa: Africa

Section Index

Part 2 - "Africa" (This Page): South Africa - Kenya - Zambia - Namibia - Nigeria - Uganda - Burkina Faso - Botswana - Ivory Coast - Senegal - Egypt - Algeria - Morocco - Tunesia --- Angola - Benin - Burundi - Cameroon - Cape Verde --- Central African Republic - Chad - Comoros - Republic of Congo - Democratic Republic of Congo --- Equatorial Guinea - Erithrea - Ethiopia - Gabon - Gambia -- Ghana - Guinea - Guinea Bissau - Lesotho - Liberia --- Ghana - Guinea - Guinea Bissau - Lesotho - Liberia --- Mauritius - Mozambique - Niger - Reunion - Rwanda --- Sao Tome and Principe - Seychelles - Sierra Leone - Sudan - Swaziland - Tanzania - Togo --- General African Resources --- International Issues & Resources..

Part 1 - "Latin America" : Mexico - Cuba --- Caribbean: Jamaica - Trinidad / Tobago - Puerto Rico - Haiti - Martinique / Guadeloupe - Netherland Antilles - Cayman Islands - Bahamas - Bermuda - Saint Lucia --- Latin American / Caribbean Resources --- International Issues & Resources..

Part 2 - "Latin America": Central America: Panama - Honduras - Belize - Costa Rica - Nicaragua - Guatemala - El Salvador --- South America: Brazil - Peru - Chile - Columbia - Argentina - Equador - Venezuela - Uruguay - Bolivia - Guyana - Paraguay --- Latin American / Caribbean Resources --- International Issues & Resources..
 

AFRICA

Not all SA's gays enjoy greater freedom: "South Africa's gays are enjoying a new era of freedom in cities 10 years after the end of apartheid, but black and coloured homosexuals in townships and villages are still victims of discrimination and hate attacks." - "Gay Apartheid" in South Africa N/A: "She also said that many bars ask blacks for their "membership cards." When they can't produce these non-existent ID's, they are denied entrance. "There is still a lot of racism against blacks from whites," she says. "Black and white gays live in two different worlds. It's almost as if there is gay apartheid." Even white gay and lesbian activists acknowledge the divide. Evert Knoesen of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Project concedes that integrating whites and blacks in the community "remains a big issue."" - Gay battle not won yet: "Gays are enjoying a new era of freedom in cities 10 years after the end of apartheid, but black and coloured homosexuals in townships and villages are still victims of discrimination and hate attacks..." - 'Gay hate' website sparks fury: "South Africa's oldest lesbian and gay service organisation, the Triangle Project, on Friday reacted with outrage at a website that called for the "reclaiming of Cape Town from the homosexual plague"..."

The highest court in South Africa has overturned apartheid-era laws criminalizing homosexuality (Oct. 1998). - Adult gay sex is not a crime, court rules. - A short history of South African Pride. - South African Court Grants Same Sex Spousal Rights. - Court Hears Challenge To South Africa Gay Marriage Ban. - South Africa Anti-Gay Adoption Law Unconstitutional. - South African Gays Gain Adoption Rights. - L'adoption permise pour les homosexuels en Afrique du Sud. - South Africa OKs gays in its military N/A (Related Information: The Effect of Sodomy Laws on Lifting the Ban of Homosexual Personnel: 3 Case Studies) - South African gays take centre stage: "Conservative Christians have threatened to disrupt the Miss Gay South Africa beauty pageant which is scheduled to take place on Saturday." - Gays Reap Rewards Slowly in Post-Apartheid South Africa. - Gays neglected in HIV/AIDS campaigns. - Engendering gay and lesbian rights: the equality cluase in the South African Constitution (PDF Download). - Lesbians targets of rape war: Lesbians are being raped, assaulted and victimised "every day" in the townships, in an attempt to force a change in their sexual orientation. Since January this year, 33 black lesbians have come forward with their stories of rape, assault, sexual assault and verbal abuse to organisations fighting hate crimes in Johannesburg townships.

Behind closed Doors: Gay and Married. -  School boys: the player queen. (Links to 7 other stories at the end of story) - Gay Life in Africa. - Moffies, Artists, and Queens: Race and the Production of South African Gay Male Drag (Abstract). - South African lesbians fear rise of crime against them. - Le mal de vivre des lesbiennes noires: Les homosexuelles noires habitant dans les townships subissent de graves traumatismes, liés aux agressions verbales et physiques dont elles sont victimes quotidiennement. C’est ce qui ressort d’une étude de deux chercheuses sud-africaines. La première du genre à donner la parole à cette communauté humiliée. - Rape New Weapon Against South African Lesbians.

The Lesbian and Gay Equality project: Special features (2004): A Religious Opinion on Same Sex Marriage. - For Same-sex Marriage. - Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective Violence Against Women: "No woman can determine the direction of her own life without the ability to determine her sexuality. Sexuality is an integral, deeply ingrained part of every human being’s life and should not be subject to debate or coercion. Anyone who is truly committed to human rights must recognise that every woman has the right to determine her sexuality free of discrimination." - Unmasking our struggle: "When black lesbians and gay men turn to the lesbian and gay community, they are often met with racism from their white counterparts. They may be met with white lesbians and gay men who do not understand their cultural background, find them sexually "exotic", cannot be bothered to spell their names properly and have no understanding of how racism has affected their lives. In extreme cases, they are not made to feel welcome at cultural or political gatherings..."

Prisons slammed over male rapes: "Prison psychological services director Dr Lorinda Bergh testified she found it startling that no policy had been developed to protect homo- and transsexual men in jail... She was testifying on claims by former inmate Louis Karp, who claims to have been raped and abused while awaiting trial for car theft in the Pretoria local prison in 2001 and 2002... Earlier on Tuesday, prison doctor Kobeli Khomari admitted that measures to deal with rape among inmates were inadequate, even though the phenomenon was "very common".Khomari also conceded that rape claims very rarely reached court and said rape victims were not referred for psychological help as a matter of course... She agreed with Barlow that "trauma upon trauma" was heaped on Karp, and that this was largely a result of a lack of understanding of male rape..." - Inquiry documents ill-treatment of SA gays in prison.

Black like me? Gay hairstyling and the paradox of modernity in South Africa (2007 Dissertation): The starting point for this research project is hairstyling and "hair saloons". Hairstyles are an important marker of cultural identity and hair saloons frequently provide safe social spaces for gay men as well as a significant point of interaction with broader communities. Hair saloons are thus sites where same-sex identities can be developed and expressed as well as negotiated with the outside world. In the South African public imaginary, gay lifestyles are associated with "modernity", a term which has both negative and positive connotations. This is particularly apparent in the ambiguous response to hairstylists, as a source of what is both desirable and regrettable about "modernity". This research will explore the articulation between "modernity" and contemporary same-sex identities in South Africa. The nature of rural and urban, traditional and modern, will be explored through a network of stylists and their associates who live and work outside of the metropole, in the urban peripheries, small towns and rural areas of South Africa's Mpumalanga province.

The Lesbian and Gay Equality project: Special features (2003): Expressions of Johannesburg pride (Alternate Links 1, 2): "One can almost write a report on Pride before it takes place. South African Gay and Lesbian Pride (formerly Lesbian and Gay Pride - a more inclusive and less marginalizing title) is now firmly following the model set by Prides worldwide... so what are they partying after, you may ask? It is a far cry from the foundation of the Pride phenomenon in South Africa, now in its 14th year. There was a time - and Yusoof Abdullah, co-organiser of the Pride event this year is keen to remind people of his connection to those initial Pride marches - when Pride meant something... Well there is a good reason why some political sentiments need to be injected back into the Pride event - our most public expression of pride in ourselves and our community. Just because it says so in the constitution doesn't mean that people don't discriminate against lesbian and gay people and that homophobia is not still rife in South Africa... Few lesbian or gay people in the world have not heard of Matthew Shepard; a victim of a violent and brutal homophobic attack that led to his death hanging from a fence in the USA. But we have our own Matthew Shepards - we are just less willing to learn their names and honour their suffering with action... I have been marching in Pride marches in UK and South Africa since 1985. I have never missed a year. I even helped to organise one in South Africa in 2001. My commitment to the need for Pride and its meaning is total - so why was this the first year of my adult life that I couldn't march? Am I getting old? And why should that be such a sin in the gay world? No, none of this, I just could not find anything there to be proud of.

'I've got two men and one woman': ancestors, sexuality and identity among same-sex identified women traditional healers in South Africa:  This paper presents preliminary insights into the complex nature of the same-sex orientation of seven women who are sangomas (traditional healers) in Soweto. Data was derived from an ethnographic study, used as the appropriate methodology because of the veiled and secret nature of same-sexuality amongst traditional healers... the belief system of the sangomas provides a window into different categories of sexuality in an African framework through which the interaction and intersection of their personal same-sex desire, and that of their male ancestors, can be viewed. Sangomas construction of identity and desire shifted between that of personal agency and that of a dominant male ancestor. This required constant negotiation and encompassed elements of both the 'modern' and 'traditional'. In the case of these sangomas, same-sexuality the basis of marginality assumes a social status and becomes a source of power.

The Lesbian and Gay Equality project: Special features (2001-03): Charity begins at… uhm… - Meds, Drugs and HIV. - How Sexuality is used to disempower women. - Homophobia and the Rights of Lesbians and Gays. - Recognise Same Sex Marriages. - Queer State funeral in Sebokeng.

Out In Africa: South African Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. - South Africa: Out in Africa: Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. - Homosexuality and South African Cinema. - The Power of Culture Special: Cinema in Africa - South African Queer Cinema Exposes Double Standards.

History: South Africa: Apartheid Military Forced Gay Troops Into Sex-Change Operations. - Gays tell of mutilation by apartheid army. - Men who suffer in silence:  South African law does not recognise the existence of male rape..." - A leading light of gay and AIDS activism in SA. - The official treatment of white, South African, homosexual men and the consequent reaction of gay liberation from the 1960s to 2000. PhD Dissertation. University of Jahannesburg. Download Page.

Troubling Gender: Homosexuality in an African Society: "The aim of our study is to analyse the interrelationship between the stereotypes and my myths surrounding same-sex relationships/sexuality, sexual ransgression and gender-based violence.We will document the findings and place them in the context of the existing, but marginal research. What kind of myths and stereotypes are prevalent around homosexuality in African societies and especially in South Africa? Are there any intersections between these myths and gender-based violence and/or violence against lesbians – and if so,what are these myths? To understand these myths we will documen the history of same-sex relationships in differen African societies..." (Paper presented at he Sex &Secrecy Conference 2003, the 4th Conference of the International Association for the Study of Sexuality,Culture and Society (IASSCS) by Wendy Isaack and Henriette Gunkel: PDF Download).

Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology: Index Page: South Africa: - Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Ambisexual Behaviors. - Gender Conflicted Persons. - HIV/AIDS.

International Encyclopedia of Sexuality: South Africa. See: Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Bisexual Behaviors & Gender Diversity and Transgender Issues.

Resources: - gaysouthafrica.org - SA Pride's Parade official site. - Pride Cape Town. - Gay and Lesbian Archives of South Africa. (Old Site) (Archive Link) - The Durban Lesbian & Gay Community & Health Centre. - GMax: gay and lesbian South Africa. - Gay South Africa. - The South African Gay Information Guide. - South African Lesbian and Gay Equality Project. - Gay / lesbian links relevant to Southern Africans. - Grey Gay Guide. - Feminist Internet Resource Guide: Africa. - Gay South Africa Lifestyle. - Gender DynamiX: African based organisation for the transgender community. The aim is to create awareness and visualize transgenderism. - Lesbians in South Africa: A forum for South Africa's Lesbian community: - Jewish OutLook: the new South African Jewish Organisation catering for the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgendered and Intersex Community.

Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country: South Africa Information News. - African Veil: Countries Covered: South Africa. - Queer afrol. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. - Mamba Online: Gay South Africa Lifestyle, News, Dating.

Gay South Africa (Global Gayz) - News Report 2001 to Present. - ILGA Report. - LGBT rights in South Africa. - QRD. - Gayscape.

Arts & Culture Index: Africa N/A. (Archive Link)

Books: - Defiant Desire: Gay and Lesbian Lives in South Africa - 1995 - edited by Mark Gevisser, Edwin Cameron (31 Sample Pages). - Different Rainbows: Same-Sex Sexualities and Popular Movements in the Third World - 2000 - edited by Peter Drucker (7 Sample Pages) (Table of Contents) (Review by Gary Kinsmans: "Third World 'Queer' Liberation "A revolution within the revolution." Contains: "Mandela's stepchildren: homosexual identity in post-apartheid South Africa" (P. 111-36) "Mark Gevisser, co-editor of the South African anthology Defiant desire (1994), discusses the development of homosexual identity in post-apartheid South Africa." Plus: "Awakenings: dreams and delusions of an incipient lesbian and gay movement in Kenya" (P. 179-92) "John Mburu writes from the embattled movements in southern Africa, where a spate of dictatorial presidents have made anti-homosexual pronouncements and embarked on campaigns of anti-gay and lesbian harassment. Mburu specifically deals with the movement in Kenya." - Moffies: gay life in Southern Africa - 2000 - by Bart Luirink (Review) (Abstract) (Amazon).

Books: - Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Among Lesbians and Gay Men (Psychological Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Issues, Volume 3) - 1997 - edited by Beverly Greene (Abstract). Contains: "From Apartheid to Mandela's Constitition" by Cheryl Potgieter. - The Greatest Taboo: Homosexuality in Black Communities - 2001 - by Delroy Constantine-Simms (11 Sample Pages) (Excerpt) (Interview with author) (Table of Contents) (Review: Black Gay / Gay Black) (We are soliciting essays on Black homosexuality for the "The Greatest Taboo: Volume 2) Contains: "Institutionalizing Sexuality: Theorizing Queer in Post-Apartheid South Africa" by Vasu Reddy. - The Invisible Ghetto: Lesbian & Gay Writing from South Africa - 1995 - edited by Matthew Krouse. - Gayle: The Language of Kinks and Queens, A History and Dictionary of Gay Language in South Africa - 2005 - by Ken Cage. - Hungochani: The History Of A Dissident Sexuality In Southern Africa - 2004 - by Marc Epprecht (Review) (Related Article: homosexuality taboo in africa.

Search GLBTQ: The Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Culture. - Search BGLAD. - Search the QRD. - Search all GLBT Resource Directories. - Search Google.com. - Search Google Scholar. - Search Google's G:LBT Directory. - MSN Search. - Search findarticles.com: many full text articles and papers.

Academic Searches: Search IngentaConnect: The most comprehensive collection of academic and professional publications. - Search Project Muse: Scholarly Journals Online. - Search JSTOR: The Scholarly Journal Archive. - Search The National Library of Medicine.
 

KENYA: -  Being gay in Kenya: (Alternate Link) Though rarely enforced, punishment in Kenya for gay sex is five to 14 years in jail. Sex between women is not mentioned in the law. The gay Kenyan men interviewed by Reuters asked to have their names changed, citing potential family and work problems. - Being gay, Christian and African: A 32-year-old Kenyan student, angered by a campaign in Cameroon "outing" top personalities for their alleged homosexuality, speaks anonymously to the BBC News website about his struggle to accept his sexuality. - Homosexuality debate in Kenya un-muted as key figures start questioning homophobia. - Homosexual Tourists Get Hostile Reception from African Muslims.

Where the Gay Community Hangs Out: In Nairobi, the homosexual community is a close-knit one that often operates in private homes and behind closed doors, unwilling to come out of the closet�at least until recently when �representatives� of the gay community in Kenya have began appearing on radio shows and showing a more visible face of an invisible world. - Life slowly gets easier for gay people in Kenya. - Rants and raves of a Kenyan gay man: Homophobia and Racism. - Being gay, Christian and African: A 32-year-old Kenyan student, angered by a campaign in Cameroon "outing" top personalities for their alleged homosexuality, speaks anonymously to the BBC News website about his struggle to accept his sexuality.

Editorial: Men Who Have Sex With Men and Their HIV Epidemics in Africa (AIDS, Frits van Griensven, 2007): "In this issue of the Journal, Geibel et al. report a capture-recapture study to estimate the number of men who have sex with men (MSM) who sell sex in Mombasa, Kenya. The authors surveyed 77 venues and estimated the number of MSM selling sex at these venues to be 739... the investigators were able to identify and enroll hundreds of MSM selling sex in the African country of Kenya. This number also indicates that there must be a fairly large population of male clients willing to pay for the sexual services of these MSM, as well as a larger community of other MSM, since most MSM do not sell sex. Indeed, an earlier snowball-survey conducted in Nairobi in 2004 enrolled 500 MSM in a needs-assessment within 2 months. That the HIV prevalence among Kenyan MSM may be high can be derived from data from an ongoing cohort study among MSM in Kilifi, a town located on the northern coastline of Kenya between Mombasa and Malindi: 38% (23/60) of men were HIV-infected at baseline.[3] Additional evidence for an elevated HIV prevalence among MSM in Kenya comes from HIV voluntary counseling and testing data from sites throughout the country, where of the 780 MSM tested between 2002 and 2005, 10.6% were HIV-infected.

Homosexuals come out in Kenya: (Alternate Link)  Luzau Basambombo spent six months in a Kinshasa prison, abused over and over again. The Congolese human rights activist suspects that he was put behind bars because he openly admitted being homosexual. 'If you are gay in Congo, you become an outlaw,' he says. After being released from prison, he left Congo for Uganda where he was granted asylum. 'When the authorities found out that I was gay, I was asked to leave the country,' he says. Today, the 38-year-old Congolese lives in Nairobi and he feels comfortable there. 'Things are changing here in Kenya - in favour of us.' Gays and Lesbians are prosecuted in most African countries. In some Nigerian federal states, where the Muslim sharia law is in force, homosexuals are stoned to death. - Kampala homo pubs: The Ugandan Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Miria Matembe recently outed a bar, according to a report in New Vision, a Ugandan newspaper... There is too much immorality all around us. Homosexuality, lesbianism, name it."

Anglicans defect to Kenya over gay priests: On Thursday, two U.S. priests were consecrated as Anglican bishops in Kenya, the latest in a string of priests who are defecting to African congregations because of the American church’s liberal stance on gays. - United Nations Human Rights Committee Pushes Kenya to Legalize Abortion and Homosexuality. - Pro-gay church community established in Kenya, Uganda: (Alternate Link) The church community of St Sebastian, based in the Spanish Canary Islands, has announced the establishment of its first fellowships in Africa, being prepared in Uganda and Kenya. The all-inclusive church community is especially known for its outreach to homosexuals. In Kenya and Uganda, both the government and local church communities are strongly homophobic.

Statement from the LGBTI coalition in Kenya: The Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya is a recently formed umbrella body consisting of eight Kenyan groups of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people, representing the interests and concerns of all LGBTI Kenyans... All members of the Kenyan family cannot be said to have equal rights as long as paragraph 162 and 165 of the Kenyan Penal code exist. Whilst these draconian laws remain on our statutes, LGBTI people will continue to be the target of verbal and physical injury, sexual violence and social marginalization. Further to this, these laws inhibit the delivery of effective HIV prevention and treatment services to LGBTI people in Kenya, recognised by our own National AIDS Control Council in the Kenya Country Position Statement to UNGASS, 2006. Enough is enough. It is time to scrap the laws that the British imposed upon us and left us with, laws that the colonizers themselves scrapped long ago. Let Kenya move out from the shadows of her colonial past and recognise the rights of her gay and lesbian citizens. - Rich LGBT program at the World Social Forum 2007 in Nairobi, a milestone for the Kenyan LGBT movement. - Cabinet to Discuss Homosexuality in Kenya: I am the type of person who totally ignores anything a politician says but this article on Ngilu just goes to show how Kenyan politicians have their heads buried in the sand.

Kenya: issue of homosexuality among Coastal youths: Speaking in Mombasa during a leaders meeting, Ngilu said she was shocked by revelations that homosexuality among teenagers was rampant in Coastal towns... “We cannot allow sex between man and man. Men should have sexual relationships with women only,” she said. She urged the provincial administration to crack down on tycoons who, she said, lured youths into homosexuality. Coast General Hospital chief administrator, Dr Khadija Shikelly, said schoolgirls engaged in anal sex to avoid getting pregnant. “There is need for parents to educate their children on the dangers of this vice,” she said. - Human Rights Commissioner Confronts Homophobic Statements by Council of Imams in Mombasa: Recently the Council of Imams and Preachers of Coastal Kenya, along with Muslim youth groups, have launched a campaign to eradicate homosexuality and prostitution from Kenya's second city, Mombasa. The groups claim that homosexuality and immorality are on the rise in Kenya. "The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights is always deeply concerned when those in positions of authority and responsibility make comments that might be understood as some in the community to be a call to violence against another community or group of people - in his case homosexual people. Whilst the law in Kenya criminalizes homosexual acts between men, the law does not criminalize a community or an individual because of his or her sexual or gender identity.

The "Myth" of Homosexuality in Kenya Society (Alternate Link). - Homosexuality and HIV/AIDS in Kenyan Society - A series of articles from Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper. - HIV positive and gay in Kenya; double stigma. - AIDS services for gay men slowly grows. -  Understanding the HIV Prevention Needs of Men Who Have Sex with Men in Nairobi.  - Kenya’s President Jumps on Anti-gay Bandwagon.. - Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Ambisexual Behaviors: Adolescents and Adults. - Gays, lesbians fight conservative governments and an unkind society. - Kenya Gays See End To Repression. - Kenyan Gay Rights Activists Optimistic. (Alternate Link) - Gay bashing the new national pasttime in Kenya. - The gay underground. - Amin Shamji: Kenya's George Michael. - LGB Support in Peace Corps Kenya.

AIDS Kenya: Where Are Kenya's Homosexuals? (Alternate Link) "Daniel Arap Moi, the current Kenyan president, agrees. ''Kenya has no room or time for homosexuals and lesbians. Homosexuality is against African norms and traditions, and even in religion it is considered a great sin,'' Arap Moi has been quoted saying i n Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper. But networks of men who have sex with men can be found across the continent. And in Kenya, where homosexuality is a criminal offence, their voices are beginning to be heard. Statistics on the number of such men are hard to come by." - Kenya: Gay and positive. (Alternate Link) - Support Survive AIDS Kenya. - Homosexuality and Aids: A double-edged sword. - HIV and Kenya's homosexuals. - Mke-si-mume: Neocolonialism and Sexual Practice in Kenya. - Gay men on the agenda: "For many veterans of conferences on the HIV/Aids scourge on the African continent, the recent ICASA conference in Nairobi was remarkable for being the first such high-profile gathering in Africa that made a space for gays and lesbians on the official programme..."

Arap Moi joins the club: Kenyan President Moi has echoed the anti-lesbigay sentiments of Uganda's Museveni, but is it a matter of conviction or a method of distraction? Planet Out news staff reported on 30 September 1999.... The staggering claims, that there are no homosexuals among Gikuyus, is shattered by Stephen O. Murray's interview with a young Gikuyu man called Kamau, who is a student in London. Kamau states that he had been aware of his attraction to other men from a very young age and that he met and knew of other young men who, just like himself, showed interest in men."

Lesbianism sweeps through female soccer in Kenya: Leading Kenyan psychiatrist says closeness between people of the same gender results in homosexuality. - Chronology of Protest And Destruction in Schools: "Devil worship, homosexuality and drug abuse are rampant in schools in Central Province, a new report says... Homosexuality was particularly common in Kiambu and Thika districts, a fact attributed to their proximity to Nairobi, a city going through socio-cultural turbulence."

Kenya Rules Out Condoms For Prisoners: "He admitted that sodomy and homosexuality are rampant in Kenya's prisons. Dr. G.M. Baltazar, a Nairobi  epidemiologist, also admitted that homosexuality is rampant in the prisons. "Prisoners, because they are confined together, will continue having abnormal sexual relations, whether we like it or not," he said." - Une réponse trop lente face une séroprévalence très élevée en milieu carcéral.

Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology: Index Page: Kenya: - Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Ambisexual Behaviors. - Gender Conflicted Persons. - HIV/AIDS.

International Encyclopedia of Sexuality: Kenya. See: Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Bisexual Behaviors & Gender Diversity and Transgender Issues.

Resources: - Queer afrol. - Sodomy Laws. - Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country: Kenya Information / News. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. - Rainbow Kenya. - African Veil: Countries Covered: Kenya. 

Gay Kenya (Global Gayz) - News/Report. - ILGA Report. - The Eastgarden. - Sodomy Laws. - LGBT rights in Kenya. 

Books: - Different Rainbows: Same-Sex Sexualities and Popular Movements in the Third World - 2000 - edited by Peter Drucker (7 Sample Pages)  (Table of Contents). Contains: "Awakenings: dreams and delusions of an incipient lesbian and gay movement in Kenya" (P. 179-92) "John Mburu writes from the embattled movements in southern Africa, where a spate of dictatorial presidents have made anti-homosexual pronouncements and embarked on campaigns of anti-gay and lesbian harassment. Mburu specifically deals with the movement in Kenya."

Search GLBTQ: The Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Culture. - Search BGLAD. - Search the QRD. - Search all GLBT Resource Directories. - Search Google.com. - Search Google Scholar. - Search Google's G:LBT Directory. - MSN Search. - Search findarticles.com: many full text articles and papers.

Academic Searches: Search IngentaConnect: The most comprehensive collection of academic and professional publications. - Search Project Muse: Scholarly Journals Online. - Search JSTOR: The Scholarly Journal Archive. - Search The National Library of Medicine.
 

ZAMBIA: - Zambian gays gather to look into the future of their sexuality (PDF Download). - Hope for Zambian MSM: For the first time in Zambia, men having sex with other men (MSM) will have a government endorsed assessment aimed at identifying their existence and sexual behaviours in relation to HIV and Aids. This is done to draw the government’s attention to health issues faced by MSM in that country. Spearheaded by US-based Centre for Disease Control (CDC) together with the Zambian Ministry of Health and the Society for Family Health International, the assessment “is exciting and will give some sort of identity for MSM in Zambia” according to Riva Ukwimi, who is the project coordinator of Friends of Rainka (FORP) at the Society for Family Health...

Zambian lesbian speaks out:  Cindy aged 28 speaks out about her sexuality after being called a tomboy for years. Living in one of Zambia’s cities located in the heart of copper-belts in Ndola. Cindy talks about what she’s been through and how she’s trying by all means to leave the city because her community can not accept that sort of sickness... From that time I have had threat within the community and I have since moved to Lusaka where I’m not very much free, easier to make friends who are like. I wish there more news and activities involving lesbian in some organisations that way there would be more us coming out to contribute or participate. I’m very please to discover that there is a website that’s dedicated to Zambian LGBT “Africanveil”. I’m also please to be amongst the contributors of Africanveil, this will help in having to open the site to all Zambian lesbian that feel left out, I’m please to have had a chance to speak to ndanji regarding our contribution as women.

- Zambian activists have vowed to fight for their rights, despite official pronouncements that organizing would be a felony. - Homosexuality situation in Zambia. (Alternate Link) - Homosexuality in Zambia. -  Zambian Homosexuals Elect Leaders. - Conflict over Gay organizing spreading north to Zambia. - Fear of arrest: Harassment of activists. - Zambian Gays Hold Meeting In Defiance Of Ban. - Police in Lusaka have begun a clamp-down on the gay movement and their supporters (Must Scroll). - Africa's gays seek swift end to legal bans (Must Scroll). - Zambia Angered by Norwegian Support of Gays. - Homosexuals prowl Zambian Streets.

Gay Group Struggles for Life in Zambia N/A. (Related Information: Government treatment of homosexuals in Zambia, and its attitudes towards gay organisations; protection or support available from human rights groups)  - Conflict over Gay organizing spreading north to Zambia. - No Legal Organizing in Zambia. - Zambia's Registrar of Societies continues to refuse to register the gay organization Legatra (Lesbian, Gay and Transgender Association), according to the Gay and Lesbian Times. - Legatra's foundation was not a wise step. - More on Legatra. - Zambia gets 'tough on corruption and gays'. - Makaveli: The Story Of An African Gay Bar.

African Gays Encouraged by South African Decision N/A: "The London Times reports gay men and women across the African continent have been heartened by the South African Supreme Court's recent repeal of the country's sodomy laws and are hoping that the tolerance evidenced by the decision will spill into the minds of other African leaders. This week Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia's former President, called on Zambians to "cool down" after months of often vicious debate and controversy surrounding efforts by the Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual and Transgender Persons Association (Legatra) to gain official status as a non governmental organization. The Zambian government has repeatedly warned anyone agitating for gay civil rights risks arrest and imprisonment."  - Zulu defends homosexual.

'My name is Pelekani Luwenji, I am a homosexual': "Please don't insult me for this letter. It wasn't just Mercy who made me become homosexual, it was an arrogancy of many other girls and the hatred of certain people. I still have dreams of getting back to girls. I can even consider becoming a bi-sexual. I will take my chances of homosexual. At least being gay will satisfy my everyday need for enjoyment and everlasting comfort and passion. In TIME magazine a woman wrote that gays and lesbians should have fair and equal treatment. I know that many Zambians are against homosexuality. I know some can stupidly say that homosexuals are a threat to Zambian society. Can I please enlighten on some truthful and interesting insights on this whole issue? ..."

The Violations of the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Persons in Zambia (PDF Download) (Word Download): The retention of codes that criminalize sexual relationships between same-sex consenting adults has a devastating impact on same-sex practicing people in Zambia.  Gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in Zambia live in constant fear of arbitrary detention, discrimination in education, employment, housing, and access to services, and extortion—all buttressed by the existence of sections 155 - 157 and lack of specific legal protections for LGBT under Zambian law... On 23 September 1998 in a statement to parliament, published in the Times of Zambia, Zambian Vice President Christon Tempo vowed that, "If anybody promotes gay rights after this statement, the law will take its course... When LGBT organizers appeared in the newspaper to announce their wishes to register the organization, government officials warned that any attempt to register the group or hold public meetings would be met with arrests. The then Home Affairs Minister Peter Machungwa ordered police to arrest anyone who attempted to register a group advocating for homosexual rights... Extortion of gay men remains a major problem, and is often conducted with police participation.  Gay men interviewed for this note all reported that blackmail of men believed to be gay was a regular occurrence and often led its victims to financial ruin, depression and ostracism from family and community.  A recent report on a Zambian human rights website included an report by a police officer in which he described the targeting of gay men—both Zambian and foreigners—for police-instigated extortion attempts...

African prisons' refusal to provide condoms exposes prisoners to HIV: "The report claims that, "Malawi and Zambia show that at least one in eight men has sex in prison."" - Sexual practices and HIV infection in some Zambian prisons. - Zambian Prisoners routinely raped by prison warders. - Responding to the challenge of HIV/AIDS behind bars. - HIV/AIDS in Zambia. - Introduction to AIDS in Zambia.

Resources: - Queer afrol. - Sodomy Laws. - Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country News: Zambia Information/News. - African Veil: Countries Covered: Zambia. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa.

Gay Zambia (Global Gayz) - News/Report. - ILGA Report. - Amnesty International 1999 Annual Report on Zambia.

Search GLBTQ: The Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Culture. - Search BGLAD. - Search the QRD. - Search all GLBT Resource Directories. - Search Google.com. - Search Google Scholar. - Search Google's G:LBT Directory. - MSN Search. - Search findarticles.com: many full text articles and papers.

Academic Searches: Search IngentaConnect: The most comprehensive collection of academic and professional publications. - Search Project Muse: Scholarly Journals Online. - Search JSTOR: The Scholarly Journal Archive. - Search The National Library of Medicine.
 

ZIMBABWE: - South Africa Gay Marriages Spark Homophobic Outcry In Zimbabwe. - Zambia will never legalise gay marriages-gov’t.  - Zimbabwe Latest: Gay Bashing in Parliament, Mugabe Prez for Life: Another week, another unfortunate report from Zimbabwe. The latest are gay-baiting remarks made by the country's leading opposition figure and a homophobic "joke" by its top minister...- Zimbabwe gay group wins international award. - Kelvin Ncube: I'm gay: ZBC radio and TV presenter Kelvin Ncube has sensationally revealed that he is gay. In an exclusive interview with New Zimbabwe.com last night, Ncube said: "I have always wanted to share this with everyone but the situation in Zimbabwe did not allow it." - Zimbabwean drag queen reveals all.

New Blow for Gay Rights in Zimbabwe: Activists struggle on as legal clampdown on same-sex relationships comes into force... Until recently, homosexuality was not illegal in Zimbabwe, although the statutes outlawed sodomy. However, a new law that came into force in August makes "physical contact between males that would be regarded by a reasonable person as an indecent act" a criminal offence. In a terse response to the new law, Keith Goddard, programme manager for the group Gays and Lesbians in Zimbabwe, GALZ, said, "Lesbians and gays are there and have a right to their sexual preference. Sexual preference is a human right." Geoff Feltoe, a professor of law at the University of Zimbabwe, said the amendments represented a hardening of attitudes towards same sex-relationships. "A seemingly intimate embrace or hug between two men would presumably be construed as a crime now," said Feltoe. "It would seem the impetus for such legal transformation was the sensational sodomy trial of the late Banana."  - L'Église anglicane du Zimbabwe radicalise sa position sur l'homosexualité (Translation). - Activists struggle on despite new legal clampdown on same-sex relationships.

Gay activist goes into hiding: The dreaded Zimbabwe state security agency the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) has launched a manhunt for gay activist Dumisani Dube after the activist made a stunning disclosure to ZimDaily last week that he had a love affair with cabinet minister and Mugabe loyalist Stan Mudenge who infected him with the deadly HIV virus five years ago... The hunted gay activist who fears for his life has gone into hiding and says he is making arrangements to flee the country before he is captured. The CIO is well known in Zimbabwe for their rank brutality and savagery when dealing with suspected culprits. Dube, a member of a fringe association Gays And Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) has threatened to expose names of six well known cabinet ministers, priests and several ZANU PF bigwigs who he claims are gay and have solicited sex from his friends and other GALZ members over the past ten years... - Zimbabwe Hunting Gay Activist, Claims Affair With Mugabe Loyalist.

Homosexual and hated in Zimbabwe. - Zimbabwe Church Council Condemns Homosexuality. - Zimbabwe's Gays & Lesbians Critique Former President. - Zimbabwe Gay Leader Blackmailed, Arrested. - GALZ leader charged with sodomy. - Totally unacceptable to cultural norms: Gays in Zimbabwe fight institutionalized homophobia, see slow gains in social acceptance. - Gay Zimbabwe: Black Gay Life in Zimbabwe. - Gay Advocates Brace for WCC Showdown in Zimbabwe N/A. - Black skin, 'cowboy' masculinity: A genealogy of homophobia in the African nationalist movement in Zimbabwe to 1983.

Mugabe says homosexuals should be 'cured' by church. - Police raids Zimbabwe gay organisation's office. - Statement from the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe: Under The Cloak of Marriage. - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who is currently in South Africa for the opening of the African Union, "has ordered a witch hunt to flush out gays and lesbians in his government." - Lesbianism rife at school (Must Scroll). - Fighting Fear - most well-known lesbian in Zimbabwe. - Zimbabwean lesbian tells tales of her struggle.

Homophobia and Postcolonialism By Mica A. Hilson. - The Apartheid of Homosexuality. (PDF Download) - Zimbabwe's Gays Go 'Out' at Great Risk. - In and Out of the Zimbabwe Closet N/A. - Zimbabwe gay rights face dim future. - Zimbabwe's GALZ Issues Statement on Presidential Election. - Exemples de persécution motivée par la préférence sexuelle de la personne: Zimbabwe N/A. - Homophobic Dictator Mugabe Hunted and Haunted in Rome. - Our day of shame over Zimbabwe: While Mugabe butchers his way to another stolen term, the commonwealth does.... nothing. - Robert Mugabe challenged to 'take the test': Research shows that most homophobes are repressed homosexuals.

Zimbabwe Gays: 'Dogs and Pigs' No More? (Alternate Link, 2) - Mugabe fuels 'Reformation' against gays. - Zimbabwe gays soldier on N/A. - Reports in various Zimbabwean newspapers claim that members of GALZ were beaten and chased from their stand at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair last week. This year's scandal has led to the resignation of honorary trustee, the Midlands provincial governor, Cephas Msipa from the board of the fair. - Gay leader detained: "Gay leader Keith Goddard was detained at State House for several hours and later spent two days at Harare Central Prison for breaching security regulations at State House recently..." - Gay bashing in Zimbabwe: I - Mugabe's unholy war. - Gay bashing in Zimbabwe: II - Outing the gay debate. - Mugabe fuels 'Reformation' against gays.

Gays move closer to recognition in Zimbabwe. "Yet, in subtle ways, things are also changing. Intolerance, particularly at the official level, seems to have mellowed into indifference. The random and all too frequent arrest of gays appears to have ceased, while the police’s last raid of the Gays and Lesbians Association of Zimbabwe (GALZ) office was in 1996. "We have a good relationship with our local station," says Keith Goddard, who heads the 400-member organisation. "They treat us with great professionalism." Furthermore last July, after years of fighting, gays were allowed to set up their own stand at the annual Zimbabwe International Book Fair – no small feat, considering that their presence at the 1995 event caused a fiasco. "We thought it was a positive development and we can now put that whole campaign to rest," Goddard told IPS. Buoyed by a new-found confidence, the gay community is now pushing for greater recognition by society..."  - Zimbabwe gay group wins court victory, but mob attacks exhibit. - Gays Flee Zimbabwe Mob. - Zimbabwe clamps down on male hookers.

The 'Unsaying' of Indigenous Homosexualities in Zimbabwe: Mapping a Blindspot in an African Masculinity - 1998 - by Marc Epprecht, Department of History, University of Zimbabwe (Journal of Southern African Studies 24: 631-51): PDF Download. - Fear and loathing of homosexuality in Zimbabwe: settler origins and African transitions, 1890-present.

Writing Still: New Stories from Zimbabwe - 2003 - edited by Irene Staunton (The African Review of Books): "Two stories dealing with gay rights tell of love lost, or never grasped. 'When Samora Died', by Annie Holmes, is more than a mere 'gay rights' story though. It is about the entrenched prejudices of white Zimbabweans, not just against blacks and communists, but 'homos' too. 'Mea Culpa' by Rory Kilalea, tells of a gay university student beginning to understand, and deny, his sexuality in a world of racism. He finds a voice to fight the racism and in doing so has to deal with the so many other remnants hiding in his closet.

Men, HIV & AIDS: (Alternate Link) "The wall of silence is finally crumbling around the last taboo topics in Africa - male rape and male-to-male sex. Some political and religious leaders have denounced gay men and women as un-African although 19th century ethnographic research documents sex between men in Africa. Politically constructed homophobia has a negative impact on public health because it excludes homosexuals from prevention and awareness campaigns, making them vulnerable to HIV infection... Regional Conference 2003 Report: "With HIV prevalence of 27-30% in its crowded prisons, Namibia offers counselling to prisoners but not condoms because it could be seen as encouraging sodomy, which is a criminal offence. Male rape, possibly the last frontier in public debate, was brought into the conference by Men United, a South African group dedicated to breaking the silence about male rape, providing support and care for survivors and their families, and educating youth to speak out against all sexual abuse."

Male Rape in Zimbabwe: The depravity of Mugabe’s regime knows no bounds. - Reports of rape and torture inside Zimbabwean militia: " Ms. Siyangapi is one of the few women to speak publicly about the prevalence of rape and other sexual atrocities in the Zimbabwe military. But a growing number of human rights groups have charged in recent months that forced sex and sexual torture are routine elements of life for men and women alike in the Youth Service, used as both a reward and a punishment..." - Let's turn off Mugabe's lights: the best way to bring Zimbabwe's regime to its knees is for South Africa to cut its electricity supply - Features - related article: Male rape, the latest weapon for Robert Mugabe's men.

Zimbabwe TV chief faces inquiry: "The powerful head of the Zimbabwe state broadcaster is to be investigated by the government after allegations of homosexuality were made against him, according to newspaper reports. Alum Mpofu, the chief executive of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corp, has been accused of causing a disturbance at a Harare nightclub after being caught "in a compromising situation" with a man, according to the state newspaper the Herald..." - Zim TV chief faces inquiry over alleged homosexuality. - Zimbabwe Media Chief Quits Before Probe. - Gays et Lesbiennes du Zimbabwe (Translation). - Gays et Lesbiennes du Zimbabwe (Translation).

Carlos Mpofu, from Bulowayo, Zimbabwe, was twenty years old when our researcher spoke to him in 2000: Meanwhile, in high school I had just begun inching toward acting on my feelings. I had started dating my O-level teacher. I never had real sexual contact, just small stuff; and we never even discussed the fact that we were both gay. But we knew that we enjoyed each other's company. He was much older. We broke off for a while, because we were frightened. But in December 1998, we reconciled. One night early in the next year we went out; we were holding hands and cuddling, sort of, at a movie house. One of my workmates was in the theater, a fellow teacher at the church school. On Monday, I went back to work and Pastor Bismarck called me in. He said, "I have heard a very disturbing thing and I want to discuss it with you." I was fired on the spot for being gay. They "preaccused" me of things they thought I would do to schoolkids-molest them or corrupt them... I was suicidal for about a month. I attempted to commit suicide; but my friends found me and revived me... In June I fell in love. We made the mistake of being too careless. We did the kinds of crazy things you do when you are in love. Bulawayo is a small city and my mother was well known. My elder brother's girlfriend saw us kissing in town. This was the beginning of the biggest family problems at home...

Totally unacceptable to cultural norms: Gays in Zimbabwe fight institutionalized homophobia, see slow gains in social acceptance (First of four parts): "These are some of the responses government-appointed commissioners recorded just last summer when they surveyed half a million Zimbabweans about what they want included in the country's new constitution. In each of their reports, the verdict on whether or not "freedom of sexual orientation" would be a fundamental right is clear. "Homosexuality and lesbianism were rejected and condemned as they were regarded as totally unacceptable to cultural norms and values of Zimbabwean society," one report sums up. In another report, 98 percent of those surveyed answer no to the question, "Should gays and lesbians be allowed in Zimbabwe?" The invectives go as far as blaming Gays for natural disasters "such as drought, locusts, worms and diseases.""

Film: Tina Machida in Zimbabwe (Harare, Zimbabwe - Gays and Lesbians): A young woman fights for the rights of gays and lesbians against the odds. 26 minutes, Color, Closed Captioned. - Zimbabwe: Gays talk straight: SPARK is a regular series of features that gives young people a chance to talk openly about sex and drugs and other teenage topics. All SPARK features are designed to provoke and carry a wide range of views. In Zimbabwe, young gay men break taboos to talk candidly to Craig Hamilton about their sexuality.

Resources: - Amnesty International On-line, Zimbabwe. - gayZIM: Zimbabwe's only online, interactive magazine. - Gays & lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ: Basic Information) GALZ Web Site. - Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ Web Site).

Queer afrol. - Behind the Mask - A Web Site on Gay and Lesbian Affairs in Africa. - Africa by Country News: Zimbabwe Information/News. - African Veil: Countries Covered: Zimbabwe. - theGully.com news & Articles: Africa. - GLB Organizations. - QRD.

Gay Zimbabwe (Global Gayz) - News/Report. - ILGA Report. - Sodomy Laws. - LGBT rights in Zimbabwe. - Lesbian and Gay Rights in Zimbabwe (1998).

Search GLBTQ: The Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Culture. - Search BGLAD. - Search the QRD. - Search all GLBT Resource Directories. - Search Google.com. - Search Google Scholar. - Search Google's G:LBT Directory. - MSN Search. - Search findarticles.com: many full text articles and papers.

Academic Searches: Search IngentaConnect: The most comprehensive collection of academic and professional publications. - Search Project Muse: Scholarly Journals Online. - Search JSTOR: The Scholarly Journal Archive. - Search The National Library of Medicine.
 

NAMIBIA -  Gay week set to attract 'straight' community: The Namibian lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) organisation – trp – endevours to raise awareness and educate the public about diversity. “We want to increase tolerance and acceptance of all people who are different in society”, Carol Millward, the project coordinator of the LGBTI Week celebrations said. - Namibia Law Banning Male-to-Male Sex Is Hindering Condom Distribution, HIV Prevention in Prisons, Advocates Say (Alternate Link). - Jail condoms draw fire in U.S., Namibia. - Namibia's prisons sit on AIDS 'time bomb'. - Dispelling “heterosexual African AIDS” in Namibia: Same‐sex sexuality in the township of Katutura. - Constructing Namibian queer selfhood in the era of HIV/AIDS (Word Download).

Namibia Chips Away at African Taboos on Homosexuality: (Alternate Link) (Alternate Link) "She also apparently gossiped with colleagues. Other teachers started teasing Gurirab, asking him why he didn't play soccer and why he spent so much time around his mother. Then one morning, he said, the gym teacher invited him into his office, locked the door and forced him onto the desk for sex. Let's see how good you are at it," the teacher said, according to Gurirab, now 25, who recounted the story through tears. The ordeal left his legs and arms with red bruises. The next day, distraught and confused, he had sex with a female classmate. "I wanted to change so badly and not be gay . . . but I couldn't," he said. "I knew I liked men. I decided I would kill myself. . . . I was so desperate I called a lifeline in London. They saved my life... From Uganda, where homosexuality is punishable by life imprisonment, to Sierra Leone, where a lesbian activist was raped and stabbed to death at her desk last year, homophobia has long trapped gays in a dangerous, closeted life. With no places to meet openly, no groups to join, it seems sometimes that gay men and lesbians in Africa don't exist at all. But in Namibia, a growing national debate about homosexuality has followed a period of harsh condemnation, and gay rights groups now operate openly in the capital, Windhoek. One of them is the Rainbow Project, where Gurirab works as a suicide prevention counselor..." (Related Blog) - Namibia's Rainbow Project votes for change. - The Rainbow Project: a lesson in pride. - African AIDS Awareness Campaign: The Rainbow Project.

Namibian leader in new attack on queers: “Gay and lesbian Namibians are being scapegoated for the country’s problems and demonised as the enemies of the state,” according to Peter Tatchell of the UK-based LGBT human rights group OutRage! ”The homophobic slurs by Namibia’s Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration, Ms Theopolina Mushelenga, are the latest in a long series of attacks on Namibian lesbians and gay men by senior government officials. “We echo the condemnation of this vilification made by Gays & Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ). See their statement below. “The Namibian President, Sam Nujoma, has for years echoed the anti-gay hate speech of neighbouring leader, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. He has denounced and threatened queers, encouraging a climate of prejudice, discrimination and violence.

A Crisis Corps Assignment in Namibia:  Gay Life in Namibia: Through the gaydar web site, I’d met a handful of gay men in Windhoek, all colors, and the unanimity of opinion was total: gay life in Namibia sucked. It’s not completely non-existent, even though there’s no gay bar; it’s just weak, fearful, and fragmented. Only a handful of gay men are “out” in any sense of the word. Namibia’s semi-hidden gay organization is called The Rainbow Project, known among gays as TRP. The name expresses the hopeless desire to unite Namibia’s races under the banner of gay pride. There’s precious little pride and even less racial tolerance. If the whites ever participated, they pulled out long ago, retreating to private parties and social cliques. The Rainbow Project is now a Black and Coloured organization. I’m told that there are tribal differences in the acceptance of homosexuality. Among the Ovambo and the Herero, it’s absolutely verboten; the Coloured and Damara communities are much more tolerant. One Saturday, The Rainbow Project sponsored an HIV/AIDS fundraising dance in Khomasdal, the formerly Coloured township where I lived. That I wasn’t going to miss! As it ended up, I was pretty invisible, but it was an interesting anthropological experience: a slice of pre-Stonewall gay life. About 40 young Black and Coloured men and women pitched up at a plain room that was sparingly decorated with red hearts and red balloons. There were a fair number of cross-dressers, tall young men in spiked heels and bare midriffs, and flapping wrists everywhere. Nobody was older than mid-30...

Nujoma attacks homosexuals (Must Scroll). - A small Namibian gay group, the Rainbow Project, challenged Nujoma on the remarks. - Namibian Court Grants Partner Rights. - Court rebukes government over gay rights. - Court knocks down Namibia gay victory. - Namibia gay rights row. - Nujoma's "gay purges" cause international outrage. - Namibia, The Bermuda Triangle of African Homophobia. - Homosexuality is all-african: (Alternate Link) "September 1999: Thanks to the efforts of a group of Norwegian researchers homosexual behaviour amongst members of a tribe in the north of Namibia, a tribe that has not been influenced by Christianity, has been recorded." - Namibia: Prime Minister Blasts Plan for Gay Castrations. 

Namibian president announces purges against gays. -