The entire social edifice in Malawi could be what breeds intolerance for the LGBTIQ+ community and leading to their rights not being seen as human rights.
Lawrence Phiri Chipili, the executive director of Lesbian, Intersex, Transgender
The entire social edifice in Malawi could be what breeds intolerance for the LGBTIQ+ community and leading to their rights not being seen as human rights.
Lawrence Phiri Chipili, the executive director of Lesbian, Intersex, Transgender and other Extensions (LITE) based in Malawi, says policies that exist in the country are generally not inclusive of minority groups.
But how much of the hate and intolerance directed at Malawi’s LGBTIQ+ community is Malawian?
For instance, when former president Bingu Mutharika pardoned Monjeza and Chimbalanga from four years of harsh imprisonment in 2014, he hinted at the fact that even his “humanitarian grounds” were a bit shaky. He still said their same-sex marriage was a crime against “our culture, our religion, and our laws”.
The laws that criminalise same-sex marriage in Malawi have colonial roots and were enacted in 1930 during British colonial rule. After gaining independence in 1964 Malawi has kept these, even when the British repealed them from common law in 1967.
In many cases, “our culture” usually refers to the Victorian morality that many Africans easily think originates in Africa. And “our religion” is often what came with the missionaries. The Victorian era is, of course, infamous for amplifying patriarchy and introducing rigid gender roles that have impacted every sphere of modern life.
“It’s basically the same cultural factors. The same religious, political and economic factors that are actually contributing to people having challenges in maintaining and exercising their human rights just like any other person,” said Chipili.