Johannesburg – On the African continent, some of the most marginalised individuals are those belonging to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
While the health of the people of the continent has been brought into an even sharper focus since the beginning of last year in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is clear that the developmental goals of the continent are threatened by the ongoing exclusion and marginalisation of, and violence against, members of the LGBT community.
In South Africa alone, within the first two and a half months of this year, at least six murders of LGBT individuals occurred.
Studies have shown that approximately 10 lesbian women are raped a week in South Africa in an attempt to “cure” them of their homosexuality.
Across the rest of the continent, violence and discrimination against LGBT individuals is correspondingly rife. Legislation related to LGBT rights varies across the continent, with some countries adopting extreme forms of legal punishment, including the death penalty and lengthy prison sentences, while others, such as South Africa, constitutionally protect the rights of LGBT individuals and legally recognise same-sex marriages.
A notable statistic emerging from a report compiled by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association shows that of Africa’s 54 countries, same-sex relations are legal in 22 countries and are punishable by death or lengthy prison terms in countries such as Uganda, Nigeria and Togo.
While Africa’s legal responses to LGBT lives are often criticised by the Western world, the laws proscribing and criminalising same-sex relationships and LGBT expressions are, in fact, one of the many lingering effects of colonialism that have been uncritically adopted within post-colonial Africa.
Under the inherited British anti-sodomy laws, Kenya as an example, prosecuted 595 people between 2010 and 2014.
As a result of these colonial-era laws, homosexuality has misguidedly come to be recognised as un-African. It is, therefore, important to understand the deeply rooted reasons for this violence.
The work of Judith Butler provides one perspective on why the LGBT community is marginalised and victimised. She argues that within all societies there are certain individuals who are positioned as legitimate and grievable, while others are recognised as ungrievable and are, consequently, not considered legitimate citizens of the society.
Those who are grievable, such as heterosexual white men in patriarchal societies, for example, are considered worthy of rights and protection, while those who do not conform to the logic of heteronormative patriarchy are ungrievable. Without social, cultural and religious change, legal measures alone will not end the violence faced by the LGBT community.
Overall, lesbian, gay and transgender individuals need to be recognised as an important and natural part of societies.
Until this happens, Africa cannot truly say it is free from colonial impositions and ideologies.
• Westman is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Free State Centre for Human Rights, University of the Free State.
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