Homosexuality in Uganda
Series: RN Focus on Uganda
From: Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Length: 00:17:03
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- Homosexuality in Uganda
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- Radio Netherlands Worldwide
PLEASE NOTE: This program is only available on PRX. The duration is 17'03".
This piece is part of a series on Uganda, comprising 3 half-hour programs and this feature. For more information, contact joan@SchardtMEDIA.org
Homosexuality is illegal under Victorian-era legislation still in force in Uganda and many other English-speaking countries in Africa. The laws reflect a deep aversion among many Africans to homosexuality.
But gays and lesbians exist in Uganda and the rest of the continent. They pay a high price for their sexual orientation: they face discrimination, and even torture and jail. A gay Ugandan recounts how he was picked up and tortured by the authorities. Months later he is still suffering from the consequences. His account of the treatment of gays and lesbians is corroborated by an international human rights worker.
Nonetheless, in this hostile environment, gays and lesbians are trying to organize. They are also receiving support from certain sectors of the Anglican church. Religion continues to play a major role in Uganda, but some pastors have come to realize that the church and Ugandan society cannot continue to reject gays and lesbians.
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Piece Description
PLEASE NOTE: This program is only available on PRX. The duration is 17'03". This piece is part of a series on Uganda, comprising 3 half-hour programs and this feature. For more information, contact joan@SchardtMEDIA.org Homosexuality is illegal under Victorian-era legislation still in force in Uganda and many other English-speaking countries in Africa. The laws reflect a deep aversion among many Africans to homosexuality. But gays and lesbians exist in Uganda and the rest of the continent. They pay a high price for their sexual orientation: they face discrimination, and even torture and jail. A gay Ugandan recounts how he was picked up and tortured by the authorities. Months later he is still suffering from the consequences. His account of the treatment of gays and lesbians is corroborated by an international human rights worker. Nonetheless, in this hostile environment, gays and lesbians are trying to organize. They are also receiving support from certain sectors of the Anglican church. Religion continues to play a major role in Uganda, but some pastors have come to realize that the church and Ugandan society cannot continue to reject gays and lesbians.
Transcript
The consecration of a gay bishop in the United States last August sparked off a heated debate about homosexuality and the church throughout the world. Nowhere more so than in Africa. Anglican leaders in Uganda, for instance, condemned the confirmation of Reverend Gene Robinson, describing it as 'regrettable, sad and lamentable'. Homosexuality in Uganda, as in most other countries in Africa, is illegal. If caught, gays can be sentenced to life imprisonment. The attitudes of the church and the general public towards homosexuality are also quite hostile, as Eric Beauchemin reports.
SOUND
This bar in downtown Kampala, the capital of Uganda, is a popular meeting place for gays. On weekends, a few dozen men drop in here. It's one of the few places where they can be themselves. Outside, they face rejection, persecution and even torture. John is a 23-year-old. In 1999, the authorities were...
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Eric Nuzum
Posted on April 17, 2004 at 06:19 AM | Permalink
Review of Homosexuality in Uganda
The program feels incomplete and leaves the listener with a lot of questions. Listeners are left to wonder, specifically, why the producers decided to highlight homophobia in Uganda (as compared to--well--any other nation in the word)? Sure, terrible things have happened there, but (unfortunately) persecution of homosexuals is hardly unique to Uganda--or even Africa.
Secondly, the listening experience is somewhat flat--the listener isn't left with much of an idea what they are supposed to do with this information. Not that the program should contain a call advocacy, but the program bludgeons you with details about these terrible stories, leaving the listener a bit numbed but strangely unmoved.
An answer to this might have been to spend more time with the victims of discrimination and persecution. They appear in the program just long enough to share the basic details of their oppression and then are gone. Such treatment diminishes their humanity and relatability to listeners. Their stories would be significantly more powerful if we understood they entire dynamic of their lives.