Gay Botswana - An Historic Event Unfolds

Intro: Peaceful Botswana in southern Africa is both modern-urban and simple-rural, rich and poor, prosperous and challenged, with both an anti-gay law and a playful assertive gay community the breathes freely. It's a huge country with elephants, deserts, paved roads, a tolerant President and intolerant churches, a big university and various gay-friendly venues and lots of out, young, bold LGBTs.

By Richard Ammon
GlobalGayz.com
March 2011

By coincidence I arrived in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, on a quiet yet historic day of human rights in Botswana: for the first time ever a law suit was filed against the government of Botswana claiming that the existing law criminalizing homosexual behavior (not 'being' homosexual) is unconstitutional. (photo right, parliament building).

The suit was jointly filed by LeGaBiBo gay organization (Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana) and a Botswana human rights organization, Bonela (Botswana Network on Ethics, Laws and HIV/AIDS)who have been planning the submission for months. At the press conference the director of Bonela described how the law unfairly discriminates against a certain portion of citizens and is therefore against the constitutional guarantee of equal rights.

In their joint press release they stated: "Homosexuality has been in African culture since time immemorial; it is actually homophobia that is ‘un-African’. it was the European colonialists and preachers who imported the hatred against same sex behaviour. They brought the criminal categorization of that behavior. The acts were indigenous. The name and the crime were imported...

An in-depth report about gay Bostwana can be read at GlobalGayz.com
Also see Gay Botswana New & Reports and Photo Galleries