In Uganda, many people
hold views that are against homosexuality. Thus, in 2009, a Ugandan lawmaker
introduced a bill that would carry the death penalty for any offender guilty of
homosexuality. However, the bill failed due to the international criticism that
it received and the control that rich nations have over poor nations such as
Uganda. But the bill was reintroduced this month and part of its fueling is a
bitter contempt for Western diplomacy. The author of the bill wants to force
the Western world to stop giving money to Uganda. However, the Obama
administration said it would use diplomatic tools to promote equal rights for
the LGBTQ community. But African nations have reacted bitterly to these new
dictates of engagement, comparing it to neo-colonialism. Antigovernment demonstrations
have broken out and most people agree that homosexuality is not tolerated and
that Westerners are often overbearing. The American government is remaining
opposed to the bill however, and is trying to lobby Uganda against the bill as
well. This bill would include the death penalty of anyone who is homosexual and
requires that known acts of homosexuality be reported to police within 24 hours
however these elements have been pressured to be taken out. But overpressure
can be counterproductive. Yet the government of President Museveni has allowed
for the bill to be debated in Parliament and feels that that the cultural
attitudes in Africa are different than Western ideas. With the society of
Uganda being very religious and traditional, the tensions between advocates and
opponents remain high. In the past, homosexuals were stoned to death or shot
and within the past year, a newspaper published a list of gay people in Uganda
and urged people to hang them. American evangelical Christians have played a
role in stirring up anti-homosexual sentiment in Uganda that led to the bill.
But the few gay rights advocates working in Uganda have had their support widen
as well as received much recognition.
But the new bill would prohibit organizations working for gay rights in
Uganda. However the author of the bill, Mr. Bahati, feels that the bill will be
passed if not now, then at least at some point in the future.
The social issue of gay
rights is seen around the world as well as in Uganda. Since the majority of
societies in the world are stratified based on gender, they are also stratified
based on sexual orientation. Those who chose a homosexual lifestyle are given
less power, wealth, and prestige than those who chose to be heterosexual. Those who are homosexual often are
discriminated against, and do not receive the same rights and treatment as those
who are heterosexual. Religious institutions are often the ones to show
resistance to homosexuality, feeling that it is a sin and since Uganda is a conservative
and religious country, they have a lot of religious influence and resistance to
homosexuality as well. However, there has been a significant gay rights
movement in Uganda as organizations have been mobilizing for action. But many
organizations in Uganda, even the government, have been mobilizing for
counter-action, trying to pass a bill to completely take away all of rights of
homosexuals within this country. Yet in most countries throughout the world,
people are stratified based on their sexual orientation. But as most would look at this issue as a
mere personal trouble for those who suffer from homosexual discrimination need
to use their sociological imagination to see the bigger picture in how the
issue of homosexual inequality is a larger social issue. With Uganda wanting a
bill that would allow for the killing of homosexuals simply for being
homosexual would be a violation of human rights as well. Yet the stigma that surrounds the idea of
homosexuality causes for many of the biased views that people continue to have.
Thus, due to the way people were socialized about homosexuality, many anti-gay social
attitudes and extreme bills that support these attitudes continue to exist in
Uganda as well as many other countries.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/world/africa/ugandan-lawmakers-push-anti-homosexuality-bill-again.html?pagewanted=1&ref=africa
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