Galz celebrates IDAHOT
EVERY year the global community of sexual and gender minorities namely lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and intersex people, celebrate International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia — IDAHOT on May 17th.
The day celebrates milestones, the LGBTI movement has undertaken in the fight for attainment of their rights as well as raise awareness on homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and other ills that the community still struggle with.
The 2022 theme “Our Bodies, Our Lives, Our Rights” impresses on the need to respect the body autonomy of all individuals.
LGBTI organizations in Zimbabwe together with their families and allies celebrate IDAHOT annually through various means such as fun days, movie/theatre, dialogue, talk shows amongst other means in a way to raise visibility of the constituency, share advocacy asks with policymakers and promoting a general culture of tolerance of LGBTI by the broader society.
74 countries across the globe still criminalise same-sex relationships with the punishment varying from life imprisonment to death sentence. However, the most harmful violations are on the bodily rights of a person.
This is why the year’s theme is so important – so that the dignity and respect of all people are maintained as a basic tenet of societal safety.
Galz (Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe) is proud to have participated in the inaugural Conference Against Phobias at the University of Zimbabwe a week before this year’s IDAHOT celebrations, and noted with gratitude the increase in understanding of how phobias fracture society and are detrimental to development.
Zimbabwe is considered a hostile country for LGBTI persons due to the archaic draconian laws that criminalise same-sex sexuality even in cases where two adults are consenting.
Furthermore, the 2013 national constitution prohibits people of the same sex from marrying each other. The country has a history of politicizing sexual minorities as the former Presidium referred to the community in derogatory terms likening his own citizens to animals – a key human rights violation.
The use of hate speech and homophobia was low-hanging fruit to divert the public from reallife economic hardships as well as garner more political support.
Religious fundamentalism has not made the situation any better as the three dominant religions namely Christianity, Muslim and African Traditional Religion have a common trait in condemning and marginalizing the LGBTI community. Yet these structures should be safe spaces for all citizens.
Galz (formerly Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe) is an association of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons and is the oldest organisation in the country having been formed in 1990 with the mandate to protect, promote and represent the rights of LGBTI people as equal citizens in Zimbabwe through Advocacy, Lobbying, Education, Empowerment, Research and provision of safe places.
Galz has had its share of historical harassment, violence and unjust practices as seen in the unjustified raids, physical assaults and unfounded charges on Galz leadership. This has however brought some positive results such as Galz challenging and winning cases against her oppressors in courts.
This has also led to the birth of other LGBTI organisations and pressure groups as they saw opportunities to also contribute in the fight for equality and equity of persons of same-sex sexuality. To date, Zimbabwe has 15 organisations that are led and working on the LGBTI cause and have formed the LGBTI sector.
Besides these organisations, LGBTI people have other closer support structures that help to cushion them from abuse. Contrary to common beliefs, LGBTI people come from and have families, and these are the first lines of defence in protecting bodily autonomy and personal rights. The principle of ubuntu still reigns true.
The Zimbabwean Queer narrative cannot be expressed entirely without citing the role and involvement of the parents, families and allies of the LGBTI persons popularly known as the PFLAG. PFLAG has also endured violence and exclusion from social spaces over the SOGIE of their family members. Galz has since 2018 interacted with 643 members of the PFLAG through dialogues and small group discussions hosted within the recreational centres in Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare and Masvingo.
The PFLAG has come in handy through their peer-to-peer support whenever a family is experiencing difficulties in accepting the sexual identity of a child or sibling through counselling and moral support. The day would not be the same without the added support of allies, partners, friends, colleagues and family members who offer invaluable support to the LGBTI movement in the restrictive society, and this year we also salute them.
To find out more about Galz and its work in fighting phobias, email info@ Galz.co or visit Galz.org, or search for Galz on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.