• Gender
• Zimbabwe

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Exactly a decade after making futile attempts to engage civil society organizations and the general public on the inclusion of sexual orientation in the Constitution, GALZ made headway on the 26 of February, when in collaboration with other human rights organizations it hosted the Sexual Orientation Indaba.

The event saw close to a hundred participants from various NGOs in Zimbabwe come all out to map a way forward in supporting the recognition of LGBTI people and inclusion of a sexual orientation clause in the new Constitution.

On the Indaba panel were prominent Human Rights Lawyer Otto Saki, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) Director Irene Sawyer, and Sexual Rights Centre (SRC) Director Sian Maseko.

All  panelists highlighted the need for human rights activists to look at LGBTI issues from a human rights perspective. Emphasis was placed on the need for NGOs that deal with human rights to separate personal from professional issues in order to not to reinforce the stigma and discrimination of LGBTI people.

Addressing delegates, Sian Maseko highlighted the need for human rights activists to realise that sexual orientation was not just an issue for LGBTI people.

“When we talk about sexual orientation, we should realise that we all have a sexual orientation as human beings. Human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and inalienable. There are no human rights which apply to some human beings and not some, and you cannot strip some people of their rights.”

Otto Saki also said : “There’s the obligation to respect human rights. What does that mean; it means one has to refrain from interfering directly with your fundamental rights. They should not prohibit anyone from enjoying those rights in terms of the law. They have to be protected so in the event of being stopped for instance in a demonstration, we’d expect the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to protect you. It’s an obligation and they have to fulfill those rights. The right to work, education, health, all sort of rights to privacy all these rights we talking about that apply to heterosexual also applies to any other forms of orientation,” he explained.

During group discussions participants highlighted why it was important to include the sexual orientation clause in the new Constitution, the benefits for LGBTI people and society at large. Also noted were the implications of not having the sexual orientation clause in the new Constitution. These are: continued discrimination, arrests, curative rape for lesbians, beatings, harassment and driving of LGBTI people underground. This has an impact when it comes to HIV/AIDS on both the heterosexual and homosexual communities.

Representatives from various organizations gave examples of how they were going to incorporate and highlight LGBTI issues in their work, and how they were going to work hand in glove with GALZ to achieve this. Also highlighted were the obstacles likely to hamper their endeavors. These are: resistance by people owing to religion, culture, and influence from people in positions of authority, homophobic legislation, and events happening in other African countries eg Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, as well as lack of capacity within their organisations to be able to articulate LGBTI issues.

However, at the end of the meeting, participants were able to come up with a working plan. Ideas were also shared on how to overcome the obstacles. To show their support and dedication to   human rights work, participants compiled a preliminary draft resolution saying – among other things – that sexual orientation and gender are integral to every person’s dignity and humanity. They also agreed that it’s necessary to specifically include sexual orientation in the new Zimbabwean Constitution.