An MP who sits on the committee in charge of the process says there is "no chance in hell" that Zimbabwe's new constitution will include gay rights. Edward Mkhosi has told New Zimbabwe that despite clamouring for protection on foreign TV channels and the internet, Zimbabwe's homosexuals are "cowards" who failed to make their views known during a countrywide outreach. "We gave our people a chance to decide what they want to see in the new constitution. In all the outreach meetings in the provinces we conducted, people were very clear that they don't want gays. As you know in our culture, such practises are foreign to us, we only know a family with a father and mother. "The gays and lesbians were cowards, not even one of them came out to say 'I'm a homosexual and I want this'. We can't talk for them, they are not zombies. They should have come out and said we want this thing, but they didn't." Being gay is taboo in Zimbabwe, where sexual activity between men is illegal, as is anyone of the same sex even holding hands, hugging or kissing if it's perceived as being sexual. The nation also has tight censorship laws which have reportedly been used to harass lgbt people and activists. Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has actively targeted and repressed lgbt people and made viciously anti-gay comments such as this in 1995: "It degrades human dignity. It's unnatural, and there is no question ever of allowing these people to behave worse than dogs and pigs. If dogs and pigs do not do it, why must human beings? We have our own culture, and we must re-dedicate ourselves to our traditional values that make us human beings. … What we are being persuaded to accept is sub-animal behavior and we will never allow it here. If you see people parading themselves as Lesbians and Gays, arrest them and hand them over to the police!"
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 13th January 2012 - 6:38pm