In the African context, gender is either male and female. There is no room left for other gender identities, like two-spirited, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and others (2SGBTQIA+).
This is the main reason why many African countries have no regard for those who identify as 2SGBTQIA+, informed by traditional, cultural and religious beliefs.
As a result, those who identify themselves outside of the male-female differentiation are often ostracized and increasingly face the danger of being killed for going against the grain of which gender identity one has to belong to.
Many a parishioner refer to Genesis 19 which describes Sodom and Gomorrah, a Biblical city that was destroyed because of immoralities, chiefly homosexuality in justifying their argument against any other gender identities apart from the male and female.
However, although Genesis 19 alludes to God’s abhorrence for sin, including homosexuality, sympathizers of those who go defy the “natural” order premise their case on Mathew 22:37-39 that talks about loving a neighbor as one of the pair of the greatest commandments.
But the African society would hear nothing of the sort. We would love the neighbor, ye, but to propagate the same character as that which led God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah is unacceptable. Sexual orientation is just either one between male and female.
Last month in Ghana, the Western Region Network of Ministers, Churches, and Councils and their members held a demonstration through the streets of Takoradi and Sekondi against the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and in support of the anti-2SLGBTQIA+ Bill, currently before Parliament.
On the same breadth, the Zambian Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) last year, said it would continue supporting efforts to criminalize homosexuality.
Violating penal codes
Such sentiments are shared across the continent which in turn have made many African States take vigorous actions towards those that identify as 2SGBTQIA+ such as the recent passing of Uganda’s anti-homosexuality law.
Although many African countries do not have anti-gayism laws per se, those that identify as 2SGBTQIA+ are usually arrested or detained for violating penal codes such as public indecency or going against the laws of nature in Nigeria
In Africa, there is only South Africa that Constitutionally upholds the rights of those that identify as 2SGBTQIA+ yet, even with such recognition, they (gays, lesbians and other non-conventional gender adherents) continue to face discrimination due to traditional, religious and cultural beliefs.
“Religious institutions seem to perpetuate the hate crimes experienced by queer individuals. In extreme cases, religious leaders have advocated for killings and hateful crimes to be committed against those in the queer community,” said the Youth Policy Committee Gender Working Group.
“Whilst not all religious institutions intentionally promote acts of violence and hateful crimes, they justify acts of transphobia and homophobia by members of their institutions. Other religious teachers choose to cower behind their right to religious freedom, stating that any harmful acts done in the name of religion should be allowed and are justifiable because being allowed to criticize transphobic or homophobic people would be an infringement on their right to religious freedom.
“However, South Africa’s highly respected spiritual guides, sangomas, are also joining the fight against queer killings and acts of transphobia and homophobia. There is an important need for such support as there are many spiritual healers who identify as queer. It is very clear that faith, spirituality, religion and sexuality are not mutually exclusive and many sangomas are making it a point to make this known.
“Although large support for queer individuals has been shown, actions such as the African Christian Democratic Party protest to stop the Western Cape Education Department from passing a gender identity and sexual orientations policy, one that allows for inclusivity in spaces of learning, shows that as a country, whose Constitution condemns homophobia, we still have a long way to go.”
According to Gerbrandt van Heerden, an African researcher and analyst at the IRR, a think tank that promotes political and economic freedom based in South Africa, there is no question that categorizing same-sex relations as a foreign concept and a form of neo-colonialism serves as a major obstacle to 2SLGBTQIA+ rights on the African continent.
African historical evidence
He writes: “Historical evidence in many instances dispels this notion that LGBT people, as well as alternative gender expressions and identities, are alien to African culture.
“In pre-colonial Uganda, some priests in the Kingdom of Bunyoro would wear women’s attire, and in the Teso tribe, men who dressed as women were officially recognized as a third gender. Similarly, in the Kikuyu and Meru tribes in Kenya, special religious leaders called Mugawe dressed and wore their hair like women, and in some cases were even recognized as being married to other men.
“The Kamba tribe in traditional Kenyan society allowed same-sex marriages between two women in order to encourage fertility. For the Kamba tribe, a son represented the past, present and future, and without a son, a family’s future and their ancestors would be spiritually erased. Where a woman was unable to produce a son for her family, she was allowed to marry another woman who would then act as a surrogate. The son of this surrogate mother would then become the torchbearer of the original husband and wife’s family spirit.
“Throughout Western Africa, especially in Northern Nigeria, the Hausa tribe’s vocabulary included dan Daudu which means men who are like women. When a child was recognised as a dan Daudu at an early age, he would be given female-specific toys and encouraged to express his gender openly regardless of biology. As adults, they would perform the tasks of women such as preparing and selling food at the marketplace. Furthermore, they would continue to live with other women until taking a husband.”
In addition, van Heerden, said despite this historical evidence, the Hausa tribe is now one of the most hostile towards queer people, prescribing a death penalty for anyone convicted of same-sex offences.
However, Jean Daniel Wong, Director of Collectif Arc-en-Ciel, a 2SGBTQIA+ lobby organization based in Mauritius, argues that one of the reasons many African countries are resentful towards other gender identities is the decolonization that is going on across the continent.
“Although the African continent is no longer under colonial rule, many African countries are still trying to gather themselves, trying to understand who they are and what they stand for,” he says.
“Much of the customs practiced in many African countries including religion, have been a borrowed phenomenon, something which the colonizers infused on Africans. As a result, when it comes to issues such as gender identity many Africans including the clergy and traditional leaders see that as a Western phenomenon.
“Although history dispels the notion that Africa has always been in favor of heterosexual activity and being a patriarchal continent, there seems to be a no tolerance approach when it comes to other gender identities and as much as some would say Africa is a continent full of homophobia one has to bear in mind that it is also the same Western countries that came here with that narrative that gender is a representation of only males and females.
“Several Western countries to date, don’t have laws that fully uphold the rights of other gender identities. In the United States of America, there are States right now that are not in favor of 2SLGBTQIA+ rights such as California, Texas, and Pennsylvania.”
Most vilified groups
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a disaggregated data collection, analysis, and crisis mapping project, there were 142 anti-2SLGTBQIA+ demonstrations in 2022, up from 56 in 2021 in the United States, which just shows that this notion of being anti-2SGBTQIA+ is not something unique to Africa.
“In years to come, I believe Africa will soon embrace other gender identities just like what other countries are still doing but for that to happen, the religious, traditional and cultural sects will have to play a pivotal role in educating people to understand that there is nothing wrong or contagious about one not identifying as male or female,” said Danie.
Furthermore, van Heerden, says that the 2SGBTQIA+ community was not something new to the African continent and cited that educating people about the issue would help in ensuring that the rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ persons are upheld sooner, rather than later.
“Debunking the idea that LGBTI people are unAfrican is another powerful tool to further LGBTI rights on the continent. It all boils down to education. Studies have shown that tolerance for gay people is highest among educated Africans. LGBTI people are among the most vilified groups on the continent today, but simply paging through the history books annuls the rhetoric of African leaders who propagate homophobic ideas,” adds van Heerden.
With what is happening in the United States, it will be quite difficult for many African countries to accept the existence or presence of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in their respective communities even if there was extensive education on that matter.
Some of the 2SLGBTQIA+ advocates, especially in the West, have taken it upon themselves to teach young children about the various gender identities.
However, some of them have taken it to extreme levels where they are teaching young children who are as little as five about sex. We have seen books in some United States libraries that teach young children how to perform oral sex using full illustrations in those books and getting those little ones to attend and take part in adult drag shows.
This is not sitting well with many parents, not only, in the United States and across the globe, including in Africa where questions are now being asked about the actual narrative behind legalizing 2SLGBTQIA+ rights on the continent.
Nevertheless, more than half of the countries on the African continent now, don’t have a problem with those that identify as 2SGBTQIA+ than they were a decade ago.
A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court of Namibia ordered the Department of Home Affairs to recognize same-sex marriages that are performed outside the country, this is despite the country not allowing same sex marriages to be conducted in the country, a move that many 2SLGBTQIA+ advocates in Namibia and the rest of the continent applauded.
The bottom line is, yes, there is going to be more recognition of 2SLGBTQIA+ rights on the African continent but religious, traditional and cultural sects still control the narrative and as it stands, they still believe Africa is a patriarchal society with only room for the male and females and no other gender identities.
