Guardian Africa network + Equality | The Guardian Latest news and features from, the world's leading liberal voice en-gb Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2014 Sat, 12 Jul 2014 16:40:40 GMT 2014-07-12T16:40:40Z en-gb Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2014 The Guardian We're Namibia's first gay married couple: any questions for us? <p>Ricardo Amunjera and Marc Themba are a happily married gay couple living in Namibia, where homosexuality is against the law. Relive the best bits of our live Q&amp;A<br></p><p>Ricardo Amunjera and Marc Themba are credited with being Namibia's first gay married couple. Though <a href="">homosexuality is criminalised</a> in Namibia, the pair tied the knot in South Africa and returned to Namibia to become prominent <a href="">LGBT rights campaigners</a>.</p><p>Amunjera, 31, says he believes &quot;the best way you can help somebody is by telling them your story&quot;. His activism has earned him the title of <a href="">Mr Gay Namibia 2013</a> and is he is the process of setting local support group in his home town, joining a countrywide support network for LGBT. His work is not without its risks; another winner of the Mr Gay Namibia title, <a href="">Wendelinus Hamutenya, was attacked as he walked home</a> days after winning the competition. According to the rights group <a href="">OutRight Namibia</a>, LGBT people in Namibia encounter homophobia and transphobia on a daily basis.</p><p>Hi Everyone </p><p>Hope all is well. My name is Ricardo, Marc's Husband and we are writting from our boardroom in Walvisbay :)</p><p>Hi Maeve, it is a pleasure to join into the web chat. <br />Im seating right next to Ricardo in my office's boardroom as Ricardo is off work today in order to participate in this web chat...</p><p>We met through a mutual friend on Facebook. The guy did the introduction, we then exchanged numbers, long international phones calls started followed by long Skype sessions. Eight months after that we got married and i relocated to Namibia to live with Ricardo</p><p>On Facebook..... Facebook gave me the love of my life. I need to send Marc an email :)</p><p>The advocacy spectrum is broad and covers everyone evenly.</p><p>Hi Traveller23, </p><p>I 'd say that Bisexuality issues are mostly overlooked or ignored as there is more need to address the intense and escalating Gay &amp; Lesbian matters worldwide.</p><p>Hello, if you let me get into your conversation, I think your question is really good. Many people think that LGBTI rights are some sort of special rights for 'gays', while in fact it is about LGBTI people to be able to enjoy the very same rights everybody else has. A very good strategy in this regard is to try to get allies from wider civil society about non-discrimination on any ground, especially around election time, when governments tend to reduce the space for civil society to dissent and demand accountabilty.The International HIV/AIDS Alliance's member organisation in Namibia, Positive Vibes, supports the country's biggest LGBTI network, Outright Namibia, which advocates for health and human rights, another important avenue to fight discrimination.</p><p>Delighted to hear this but having lived in Namibia for 6 years I know that this must be hard. How have people reacted to this?</p><p>Not at all. Our Namibian goverment never really openly spoke about their stance on homosexuality although elements within the goverment voiced their opinion and as far as Iam concerned those are opinions and hatred that they will ahve to deal with while I live the best life in a country that I call my home.</p><p>I lived an openly gay lifestyle in Namibia in the early 90's and I was never discriminated against. My partner and I have been together for 20 years now and married for 6. For the first year that gay marraiges were legal in South Africa we could not find anyone willing to marry us!! Nevertheless, we have never been discriminated against and most people we meet comment about our love, which we are blessed to have.</p><p>Do you feel threatened often by the homophobia you face? And if so, how do you and your family cope with that?</p><p>Not at all. Somehow all these individuals throwing hateful comments never actually materialise. I have come to terms that people will hate and try to break you to feel more secure about their own situation. I simply dont give to much attention to that.</p><p>Hello, I am the Senior Adviser on HUman Rights at the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (who made It's all about love with Marc and Ricardo). I just wanted to first, congratulate Marc and Ricardo on being so brave. We shouldn't underestimate what it is like to come out and defend human rights for all, includng LGBTI people these days. In Africa alone, more and more countries are introducing or enforcing anti-homosexuality legislation, like in Nigeria or Uganda. And in many more, politicians are venting their homophobia openly, fueling stigma and discrimination at every level of society.</p><p>How do you feel about the plight of other gay people in Africa? </p><p>Do you feel angry about the American evangelical Christians who've caused the new wave of homophobia in some other African countries?</p><p>Iam angered by the fact that our people are killing their own but more so iam dissapointed that we havent realised the hidden agendas of the American Evangelican Christian groups come with. They speak about peace and what the bible stands for yet all i see is a path left behind filled with the blood of innocent people.</p><p>On Facebook Pablo Casta&ntilde;o asks: <br /></p><p>My question would be how do they avoid arrest or legal action, and how do they carry out their activism under the constant threat of homophobia from anti-gay activists and law enforcement? Lastly, congrats on being married and having so much courage in such a dangerous situation!</p><p>Our goverment never really voiced their stance on homosexuality. Although forces within the goverment have a strong negative attitude towards human rights for all. I live in a beautiful country where not everyone share the same views but iam relatively safe.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Africa Namibia LGBT rights Gay marriage Equality Mon, 19 May 2014 10:32:43 GMT International Aids Alliance Ricardo Amunjera, 31 and Marc Themba, 30, the first known gay couple to be married in Namibia. Photograph: International HIV/Aids Alliance International Aids Alliance Ricardo Amunjera, 31 and Marc Themba, 30, the first known gay couple to be married in Namibia. Photograph: International HIV/Aids Alliance Maeve Shearlaw Ricardo Amunjera and Marc Themba 2014-05-19T10:32:43Z In search of the African middle class Economists are fond of saying that one in three Africans are now middle class. But who are they talking about?<p>&quot;Africa Rising&quot; stories have become old news in English-speaking media, so much so that <a href="">Africa is a Country</a> called them a meme not long ago. But only a few have run in French news outlets, and <a href="">one such op-ed</a> [fr] recently made it to Le Monde. The piece has a specific flavour for a couple of reasons: a condescending and prescriptive tone, also known as the <a href="">Fran&ccedil;afrique</a> touch, as its title trumpeting that &quot;Africa is on the right tracks&quot; (L'Afrique est bien partie) makes clear; an emphasis on the rise of the &quot;African middle class&quot;, portrayed as the cornerstone of the &quot;African economic revolution&quot;, whose origins are to be found in &quot;diversifying and emancipating economies&quot;, enabling &quot;endogenous growth&quot; that is free of the &quot;dependency on raw materials exports&quot; because it is &quot;driven by consumption&quot;. Such a nice Cinderella story! Who would guess that a little over a decade ago Africa was mostly described as <a href="">&quot;the hopeless continent&quot;</a>?</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Africa South Africa Nigeria Aid Global development Equality World Bank Angola Somalia Ivory Coast Burkina Faso Morocco Tunisia Economics Fri, 03 May 2013 13:06:54 GMT Kim Ludbrook/EPA Despite evidence of how misleading it can be, change in African countries continues to be examined through its reflection in western mirrors. Photograph: Kim Ludbrook/EPA Mort Rosenblum/AP There's enough actual change taking place all over the continent to make the notion of a burgeoning middle class look respectable. Photograph: Mort Rosenblum/AP Alamy It's difficult to tempt investors if 'Africa' remains associated with deadly conflicts, food crises and looming poverty. Photograph: Alamy Nic Bothma/EPA But by fixating on wealth, the discussion misses out on the other two pillars of social stratification: social status and political power. Photograph: Nic Bothma/EPA Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images Businesses are being tempted by notions of the 'new African consumer', eager to loosen their purse strings. Photograph: Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - APRIL 25: Bongani Mkhatshanes (c), age 32, talks to a white neighbor as his daughter plays nearby on April 25, 2005 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Bongani grew up in Soweto in a family with 9 siblings. He is now a young successful businessman with interests in advertising, a nightclub and property development. Photograph: Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images Jacques Enaudeau for <a href="">Africa is a Country</a>, part of the <a href="" title="Guardian Africa Network">Guardian Africa Network</a> 2013-05-03T13:06:54Z Joyce Banda: 'I want Malawians to say our country became a better place' The Malawi president and award-winning gender activist on the pressure of steering the country through economic crisis<p>She is southern Africa's first and only female president a mother of five catapulted to one of the toughest jobs in the region this year when her predecessor died suddenly. Now, <a href="">in an exclusive film made for the Guardian</a> (video), Joyce Banda reveals how daunted she was by the task of rescuing Malawi from a severe economic crisis, and how her status as a traditional African woman helped her to shoulder that burden.</p> <a href="">Continue reading...</a> Governance Global development Malawi Africa World news Human rights Gender Equality Mon, 17 Dec 2012 13:09:13 GMT Stephane De Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images Joyce Banda, Malawi president, heads to her inauguration ceremony in the capital, Lilongwe. Photograph: Stephane De Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images Lucy Lamble, Nick Francis and Marc Francis 2012-12-17T13:09:13Z