Academic challenges un-african myth

Yet another text book, written in French by one of Cameroonian academics – Charles Gueboguo, was launched recently in Paris, France.

The text book – La question homosexuelle en Afrique, is researcher Gueboquo’s quest in his sociology doctorate studies on homosexuality in Africa.

“The book is the fruit of a research study carried out in Yaoundé and Douala (which are two Cameroonian cities) gay and lesbian communities”, says the author. He emphasizes that in this research he wanted to establish a reason for the thriving gay visibility with the stigma and denial in the country.

The book is a fair quest without biasness and prejudices on homosexuality unlike many texts on the same subject, and that makes it pioneer as a francophone reading that tries to curb myths around this daunting matter.

Gueboguo argues that homosexuality has always been present in Africa. He says the lack of wording disqualified it in many African countries but did not mean it wasn’t existing.

The author, who advocates for non-discrimination and the respect for sexual orientation, had many times been victim of harassments from the Cameroonian government and the press for his opinions on non-discrimination.

“In Cameroon, you’d better not be gay, gay-friendly or even do a neutral questioning on homosexuality. That is why I decided not to launch my book here”, he contends.

This bold human rights defender has taken a stance which already caused harm in his academic career, but he’s adamant to take homosexuality debates further.

“Homosexuality is a social reality in Africa and … it is my role to question the facts, to do researches and come out with impartial results. It is not because I live in (a) society which refuses to admit sexual diversity”, he explains.

Gueboguo also challenges governments that they don’t predict the consequences of their actions when indicting certain subject matters such as homosexuality and Aids.

“I hope that my book will show the path for a debate and change people perception of homosexuality and homosexuals”, he concludes.

Now church opens for gays in nigeria

House of Rainbow becomes the first church in Nigeria to accommodate all people irrespective of their sexual orientation.

Launched last month in Lagos, the church was founded by Reverend Jide Macaulay who started with his ministry long time ago in that country even before the advent of President Olusegun Obasanjo who early this year introduced same sex prohibition bill that outlaws and deplores homosexuality.

House of Rainbow is part of the Universal Fellowship of the Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), which are churches first established in the 1960s and merely intended for homosexuals in the world.

�Our vision is to take care of and empower people who are likely to be ostracized and isolated in diverse communities, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in particular, Macaulay attested.

Not only that Macaulay is a gay pastor, but also a Christian theologian, a poet, a self-published author and an educator in business. He had spent most of his teen years in Nigeria before leaving for London to do work as pastor.

I know what it is like to be a gay person in the Nigerian conservative society, forced to live in a closet and even afraid to talk about your sexual orientation in Church, he decried.

He says of the church; The church is supposed to be the place where we appear true to each other and to God.

Macaulay says the church reflects diversity, and it aims to implement inclusive language use as well as to encourage involvement of women.

He concluded that House of Rainbow seeks to remind Nigerian population that God is beyond human sexuality.

UN takes a stand on sexual orientation.

United Nations’ (UN) working group on arbitrary detention declared that the detention of eleven Cameroonian men on the grounds of their presumed sexual orientation was arbitrary and constituted a violation to their rights.Therefore in this regard, that violates articles 17 and 26 of the International Covenant on the Civil and Political rights.The UN ruling came through a complaint by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) on behalf of the eleven men. These men were arrested in 2005 in a gay bar in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and jailed for a year under the Cameroonian Penal Code which dictates six months to five years.

After many attempts due to lack of evidence, the men were finally tried in June this year, but only nine of the men as two had already been released.

"I hope this decision will bring justice for gay people and will prevent cases like that of Alim, who died needlessly," commented Marc Lambert, one of the 11 former detainees.

The UN ruling was warmly welcomed by IGLHRC, ICJ, and Alternatives-Cameroun, which are the three organisations that have worked internationally and locally on behalf of the Yaoundé 11since their arrest, and this has been so far one of the major human rights victories for homosexuals in Africa.

According to Human Rights Researcher for Alternatives-Cameroun, the UN body's decision “will help stop other people from being arrested and possibly dying simply because of their sexual orientation.

”IGLHRC says there are still many homosexuals, Africa in particular, who get apprehended but without trials and formal charges.

Cary Alan Johnson, IGLHRC Senior coordinator for Africa, is warning the government of Cameroon “to live up to its international and regional obligations, (and therefore) to release anyone currently detained on sodomy charges, and repeal all laws that lead to these detentions.”