GAY AND CHRISTIAN Activist reflects Botswana’s journey in accepting LGBTIs
Anthology documents journeys of African gay rights activists
An anthology documenting the journeys of gay rights activists in southern Africa was released on Monday to coincide with commemorations of International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia.
Titled, ‘Hopes and Dreams That Sound Like Yours: Stories of Queer Activism in Sub-Saharan Africa,’ the anthology was published by Taboom Media and GALA Queer Archive. Anthology editor and founding director of Taboom Media, Brian Pellot, said the project emerged from a Media Advocacy for LGBTI + Equality workshop hosted in January this year. Pellot said the stories are all relevant as they bring a realistic dimension to the experiences of gay activists. “Some are deeply personal stories of self-discovery and acceptance. Others chart the challenges that LGBTQI+ rights groups face in discriminatory environments. All carry messages of hope and dreams for a better tomorrow. “Queer and ally artists bring each story to life with original illustrations that depict the joys and struggles of this collective movement,” Pellot stated. From Botswana, illustrations were done by an activist called Dilotsotlhe, while Bakang Ndaba shared snippets of his personal journey in a piece titled, ‘Six times too many.’ Ndaba is an openly gay Christian. He is Roman Catholic and also a theology student. He told this publication that he had been privileged to open up about his sexuality, having hosted a media campaign training workshop around this topic. As a devout Christian, Ndaba found it fit to work closely with the Botswana Council of Churches (BCC) and he said the organisation is making strides in engaging different church leaders from various churches and Christian denominations on homosexuality, and developing an inclusive curricular for theology studies. “BCC revisited and analysed scripture… The Bible is written in parables so they unpack everything, with reference to other scripture that is similar so that they have a whole understanding of the context,” Ndaba said. He said that prejudice against homosexuality still exists in the Church. “Homophobia is still rampant in the Church, but it is often influenced by personal bias because some people approach scripture with personal prejudice. “There is still a lot of resistance and people come up with their own perceptions; some even hide behind Christianity to spread hate, which is blasphemy.’’ Ndaba was raised in a traditional Setswana home and coming out of the closet about his sexuality was no easy feat. In 2017 he opened up to his mother about his sexuality and she was accepting.
His siblings, like some other people in his community, have not been as supportive but he is hopeful that they will one day come around.
“I have found myself being excluded because I don’t fit into the social construct of how a man should look and behave. I have however grown to be comfortable in my own skin and I know that God loves me the way I am.” Ndaba said while there has been progress, Botswana still has a long way to go towards creating a social environment that is conducive for LGBTI to be free and open. “There is still a lot of education needed, for example, there are still people who don’t know the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity. That is why in our social settings, you find people will say things like, ‘A o monna kana o mosadi?’” Next month it will be a year since the Gaborone High Court decriminalised same-sex relations and while Government has since appealed the ruling, the hope in the LGBTI community is that one day, gay marriages will be legalised.
Ndaba is just as hopeful but said it is all a work in progress. “It is not something that will happen in the next two or three years; maybe in the next 10 to 15 years. There is still a lot of online backlash, which shows that our society is not ready for change. “Not everyone is supportive and it can put some people in harm. We still need to raise awareness, spread education and encourage cultural reform.’’