Is the anti-gay climate worsening in Zambia?

Happy Mother’s Day! It’s all downhill from here.

Turns out Zambia (a country in Africa known for proclaiming itself as a “Christian nation” and criminalizing anal sex) has reportedly been worsening over the past couple months in regards to its treatment of queer citizens. Two men have thus far been arrested twice after being accused of sodomy, and human rights advocates are now claiming that the progressively hostile environment could eventually see the country leading a “witch hunt” against the gay population.

“It’s sort of like dealing with an iceberg, where you don’t know what the true extent of the problem [is],” said Juliet Mphande, executive director of the human rights group Friends of Rainka, in an interview with BuzzFeed. “You just [feel] defeated when you truly comprehend it.”

Mphande said anti-gay sentiments have been stoked in recent years by politicians fighting over rewriting the constitution, as well as religious leaders who have been sounding the drumbeat against gays and lesbians. Some of these pastors, she says, have ties to religious conservatives in the United States. [SOURCE]

The article goes on to say that the government’s stance on the matter is, “Well, if it’s not normal, then we shouldn’t tolerate it, and if we don’t tolerate it, we should make it illegal.” Except that train of thought would crash if you actually scrutinized it. I know I’ve said this before, but — 2013. We are in the year 2013. We shouldn’t still be making laws according to religious dogma rather than scientific fact, because it only encourages us not to think about our actions and instead allows us to do whatever horrible bullshit we feel like under the assumption that the invisible bearded giant in the sky will somehow look favourably upon it.

Keep Reading

Trans issues didn’t doom the Democrats

OPINION: The Republicans won ending on a giant anti-trans note, but Democrats ultimately failed to communicate on class

Xtra Explains: Trans girls and sports

Debunking some of the biggest myths around trans girls and fairness in sports

How ‘mature minor’ laws let trans kids make their own decisions

Canadian law lets some youth make medical or legal decisions for themselves, but how does it work?

To combat transphobia, we need to engage with the people who spread it

OPINION: opening up a dialogue with those we disagree with is key if we want to achieve widespread social change