HUNDREDS of demonstrators filled the streets of Gaborone, Botswana’s capital, on Saturday to protest against proposed legislation seeking to legalise same-sex relations in the country. The bill aims to comply with a 2019 court ruling in favour of LGBTQ rights. Backed by religious groups, the protesters marched across the city, holding signs with messages like ‘we say no homosexuality’ and ‘protect our children.’
Pastor Pulafela Mabiletswane Siele of the Evangelical Fellowships of Botswana, representing a Christian group, delivered a petition to the parliament, stating that the bill ‘would open floodgates of immorality and abomination.’ He urged the parliament to consider a referendum on the matter.
The protest in Botswana is part of a broader pushback against LGBTQ rights in southern Africa. Recently, Malawi witnessed thousands of people taking to the streets ahead of a constitutional court case challenging the country’s ban on same-sex relationships. In Namibia, lawmakers have supported legislation to ban same-sex marriage and penalise its supporters after a Supreme Court ruling allowed for the recognition of some unions contracted abroad.
Botswana’s High Court ruled in 2019 in favour of campaigners seeking to strike down jail sentences for same-sex relationships, deeming the punishment unconstitutional. Despite the government’s attempts to revoke the ruling, the appeal was unsuccessful in 2021.
The bill, which is expected to be discussed in the coming weeks, aims to remove provisions related to gay sex from the penal code. However, opposition lawmakers have assured that they will consider the views of the church before making any decisions.
Botswana’s LGBTQ rights group LEGABIBO expressed concerns about the weaponization of religion and faith to distort the message of the church, which, it believes, should encourage love and restoration.
(with AFP)