Zimbabwe, Africa

Today, Zimbabwe is ruled by President Robert Mugabe who has been accused by rights groups such as Amnesty International of violations of human rights. Zimbabwe is currently experiencing a hard currency shortage, which has led to hyperinflation and chronic shortages in imported fuel and consumer goods. President Mugabe's critics blame his program of land reform. Laws passed in 2006 make any actions perceived as homosexual a criminal offense. The Zimbabwean government has made it a criminal offense for two people of the same sex to hold hands, hug, or kiss. The "sexual deviancy" law is one of 15 additions to Zimbabwe's criminal code quietly passed in Parliament.

 

News & Reports:

 

Gay teacher at leading Zimbabwean private school resigns after death threats

A teacher at a prestigious private school in Zimbabwe was forced to resign on Friday after his admission that he was gay prompted a furious backlash from parents. Neal Hovelmeier, one of two deputy headmasters at St. John’s College, Harare, said he had been left no choice but to quit after threats were made against… Read more »

Being gay in Zim: A male sex worker opens up on choice

Takunda Munashe was only 13 years old when he started selling his body to other males while living in Mtapa, a high-density suburb in Gweru, the administrative capital of the Midlands province in Zimbabwe. For Munashe, now 29 years old, it was not because he was looking for a ticket to his next meal as… Read more »

Homosexual students under threat

Walking with a spring in her step, her left hand thrown around the waist of another woman, Ressina Chimuka, a student at Midlands State University in Gweru, walks around the campus. They draw the attention of onlookers. The lovers pretend to not notice the glaring, though it does make them uncomfortable “Belonging to a sexual… Read more »

Govt clamps down on gays

Government has reportedly clamped down on foreign gays and lesbians attending the International Conference on Aids and STI’s in Africa (ICASA) in Harare and seized their workshop material at Harare International Airport, NewsDay has learnt. This came as suspected State security agents yesterday pulled down an exhibition stand mounted by the group to display and… Read more »

GALZ says 50 percent of gays HIV positive, pushes for action

AT least 50% of the country’s gay and lesbian community is HIV positive, a recent study conducted by the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) has revealed. The results of the study confirm that this situation, if ignored, could erode the government’s achievements in HIV management over the past one and a half decades. “In… Read more »

35 injured as armed men attack gays

Armed men left 35 people injured after they stormed a gay party and beat up guests in Harare over the weekend, Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) organisation has claimed. GALZ said its members were attacked by a dozen of unidentified men who gate crashed the organization’s party which was held at a private venue… Read more »

How I Got Addicted to Africa (and Wrote a Thriller About It)

A semester outside Harare with a local family, a 11,000-mile trip that included a harrowing sailboat ride, a diplomatic career—and now writing thrillers that at last have an audience. “American audiences don’t want to read about Africa.” That was the reaction from one literary agent a few years ago in reply to my first pitch… Read more »

Proud Healthy

Factors such as stigma, discrimination, violence, gaps in the knowledge and attitudes of health-care workers, and the criminalisation of same-sex acts have adversely affected the access to and uptake of health-care services by LGBTIs in Southern Africa. To address the need to build and strengthen the capacity of LGBTI organisations in Southern Africa in the… Read more »

Zimbabwe: Zanu PF councillor calls for gay rights to be respected

In a move likely to anger the party’s leadership, a Zanu PF councillor in central Zimbabwe said he supports gay rights. Richman Rangwani, a councillor and HIV campaigner in Mhondoro-Ngezi, attended an event in the Netherlands on Saturday for International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. He told delegates that many Zimbabweans were opposed to homosexuality… Read more »

GALZ Wins Human Rights Award

GALZ was awarded the, 2014 AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa(ARASA) Human Rights, HIV and TB Award at a ceremony hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa on 16 April 2014. “The ARASA Human Rights, HIV and TB Award was established in 2007 to recognise and support organisations across southern Africa undertaking groundbreaking work to protect… Read more »

GALZ Statement On Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa’s Remarks.

Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa’s statements as reported in the Sunday Mail 30 March 2014 perpetuate hate and wrong perceptions about LGBTI people. It is unfortunate coming from a high-ranking church leader of his calibre. As a man of the church, one would expect Prophet Makandiwa to do his gospel duty by standing alongside the marginalised and… Read more »

Zimbabwe: Gay rights activists arrested in police raid at hotel

Two gay rights campaigners in Zimbabwe have been arrested for allegedly convening a public meeting without authorisation. Raids against activists are common in the country, which is notorious for its tough laws against same-sex sexuality activity and LGBT freedom of expression. In a statement on Thursday, Gay and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) said Natasha Dowell… Read more »

Zimbabwe Police Again Raid LGBT Rights Meeting

Police in Zimbabwe today stormed a local hotel where human rights defenders were attending a media training workshop by Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ). They arrested two of those at the meeting and brought the meeting to an end. About 20 participants were in the session, at the Bronte Hotel in Harare, when the… Read more »

Zimbabwe: Head of gay rights group faces court over accusations of unregistered operation

The chair of gay rights group Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, faced court on Monday as the organisation is accused of failing to register itself. Martha Tholanah, also a co-director of GALZ, was accused of operating the organisation without registering it under the Private and Voluntary Organisations Act. She appeared before magistrate Donald Ndirowei, and… Read more »

GALZ Statement On The Court Judgement Of Ricky Nathanson

We welcome the acquittal of Ricky Nathanson on a charge of “Criminal Nuisance” on Tuesday 4 February by a Bulawayo Magistrate. The unfortunatearrest of Ricky and the subsequent judgement by Magistrate AbednicoNdebele proves that the Police continue to use knee-jerk reactions to casesinvolving the LGBTI community. It would seem that the officer investigatingRicky Nathanson’s case… Read more »

GALZ Statement On The Arrest Of Transgender Activist, Ricky Nathanson.

GALZ deplores the arrest , detention and trial of Ricky Nathanson, a transgender person in Bulawayo on the 16th of January for using a ladies toilet. We are concerned that Ricky may have been treated in an inhumane and undignified manner during the arrest and subsequent detention in police custody before her court appearance. We… Read more »

Zimbabwe LGBTI rights group GALZ wins High Court victory

Zimbabwe’s High Court has ruled police must return seized property to LGBTI rights group Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), finding the group does not need to be registered with the government Zimbabwean LGBTI rights group Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) have scored a major victory, with the country’s High Court ruling that the… Read more »

Gays fear police blackmail after Zimbabwe allows all phones to be bugged

Zimbabwe LGBTs fear police will witch-hunt and blackmail them as new law allows monitoring of all private phone calls, text messages and internet use Zimbabwe has given permission to security agencies to spy on every single citizen’s phone calls, text messages and internet use – and LGBT people fear they will be the worst hit.… Read more »

Gays lament HIV treatment exclusion

The Gays and Lesbians Association of Zimbabwe (GALZ) has said its members are being discriminated against in remote parts of the country when accessing HIV and AIDS treatments. GALZ programs manager Samuel Matsikure said unless addressed, the situation is likely to derail efforts by government to reduce further the national HIV prevalence which declined to… Read more »

Gay in Zimbabwe: “Chop off their heads!”

President Robert Mugabe’s controversial victory translates to another five years of fearful living for the country’s gay community, according to lobbyists. “The past period was a torrid time. Gays were a target of politicians, particularly Mugabe and, by extension, the police. This was a strategy to win votes,” says a Zimbabwean artist now based in… Read more »

Zimbabwe: Mugabe seeks life in prison for homosexuals

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has resume his verbal attacks on LGBT people, promising that he will make the country a “hell” for gays and lesbians if his Zanu PF party wins the July 31 election. He proposed life sentences for homosexual activity, saying that the current law, which provides for up to a year… Read more »

Attack on LGBT group in Zimbabwe; police to the rescue

A group of young men, apparently acting as a youth militia for an unidentified anti-gay organization, attacked the offices of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) today, threatened staff members with hammers, ransacked the offices and locked up the staff. In contrast to last year, when police raided the group’s offices and arrested GALZ members,… Read more »

Africa: Few Programmes Target Gay Men, Other MSM and Transgendered in Southern Africa, Study Says

Analysis Despite the Global Fund’s progressive policies on the inclusion of gay men, other men who have sex with men and transgender individuals (GMT) in programmes supported by the Fund, only a tiny fraction of the money spent by the Fund in six countries in Southern Africa has targeted this population. This is one of… Read more »

Mixed feelings among LGBTs as Zimbabwe turns 33

Zimbabwean LGBT people across the world have expressed mixed feelings on the country’s Independence Day celebrations as Zimbabwe turned 33 today. For some LGBT Zimbabweans who fled from the country because of its widespread homophobia, Independence Day was a time for grieving and for remembering what they had lost. During the day’s celebrations in Harare,… Read more »

LGBTs worry as Zimbabwe moves to restrict rights

The long-awaited Zimbabwean draft Constitution outlaws same-sex marriage, which has aroused concern in the community of Zimbabwean lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. In interviews, LGBTI people said they fear that such homophobic legislation would fuel hatred and violence against them. “I don’t have aspirations of getting married, but I fear that such laws… Read more »

Zimbabwe: The Mean Season for Gays

Harare — For Zimbabwe’s gay community, voting season is a time of dread. As political temperatures rise ahead of expected elections next year, gays and lesbians are being targeted by police in an apparent strategy to win over voters. On 11 August 2012, police raided a book launch at the headquarters of the Gays and… Read more »

GALZ UPDATE

Background The Zimbabwe Republic Police on Thursday 23 August 2012 charged The Co Chairperson of GALZ for running an “unregistered” organisation. Detectives at the Law and Order Section at the Harare Central Police Station on Thursday 23 August 2012 charged GALZ that was represented by Martha Tholanah, the organisation’s co-chairperson with running an “unregistered” organisation… Read more »

Zimbabwe: Gay Couple Arrested

A suspected gay couple, one of whom was wearing female apparel including a skirt, wig and blouse has been arrested in Kadoma. The couple confessed after a body search by policemen that one of them was not a “woman.” The “woman” had to show male organs to prove that indeed he was a man after… Read more »

Zimbabwe: Police Harassment of LGBT NGOs and Activists Must Stop

(New York) — In the latest of what has become an alarming pattern of police harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights defenders, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) have charged the co-chairperson of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), Martha Tholanah, with running an “unregistered” organization. On August 23, detectives at the… Read more »

Police raid headquarters of Zimbabwean LGBT rights group

A police raid took place on the headquarters of the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) association in Harare over the weekend, in which police arrested 44 gay rights activists. The raid, which took place on Saturday, came as activists were preparing to launch a report on the abuse suffered by LGBT people in Zimbabwe.… Read more »

Zimbabwe: Gay rights group to be charged with insulting Mugabe

Police in Zimbabwe have summoned the director of the group Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe and intend to charge the organisation with insulting the president, Robert Mugabe. Media reports from Zimbabwe say Chesterfield Samba, who now heads GALZ, was called upon by the police this week to attend a station for questioning. It is reported… Read more »

Zimbabwe Denies Claims Of State-Sponsored Violence Against Gays

Harare, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s justice minister rejected allegations that the country has state sponsored violence and he vowed not to recognize gay rights after meeting with the U.N. human rights chief on Monday. But the nation’s main independent civic groups accused President Robert Mugabe’s party of trying to present a “fraudulent” account on human rights… Read more »

Zimbabwe dismisses allegations of state sponsored violence, rejects gay rights

Harare, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s justice minister rejected allegations that the country has state sponsored violence and he vowed not to recognize gay rights after meeting with the U.N. human rights chief on Monday. But the nation’s main independent civic groups accused President Robert Mugabe’s party of trying to present a “fraudulent” account on human rights… Read more »

Zimbabwean pulls out of Mr Gay World 2012

The Mr Gay World contestant from Zimbabwe has pulled out of the competition citing personal reasons but organisers praised the “brave stand” he had taken by coming so far. The Mr Gay World contestant from Zimbabwe has pulled out of the competition citing personal reasons but organisers praised the “brave stand” he had taken by… Read more »

Gay rights out of constitution

The final draft constitution, earmarked to replace the Lancaster House Constitution, will criminalise homosexuality and ban same-sex marriages according to the views of the majority of Zimbabweans, it has emerged. In an interview, Constitution Select Committee (Copac) co-chair Mr Edward Mkhosi (MDC) said Zimbabwe had unequivocally affirmed that homosexuality should be outlawed. “During the outreach… Read more »

Gay rights at center of Zimbabwe’s constitutional debate

Robert Mugabe condemned gays in 1995, but many have stood up for their rights. Harare, Zimbabwe — “Pigs and dogs” he called them, and that was just the beginning of President Robert Mugabe’s campaign of abuse of gays. This year, 16 years after his searing attack, his sentiments about gay people are back in the… Read more »

GALZ Denies Policy On Outing LGBTI Peiple In Zimbabwe’s Ruling Party

A statement on the Gays and Lesbians Association of Zimbabwe (GALZ) website has rejected accusations made in Monday’s Zimbabwe’s Daily News which said the group plans to out top Zanu PF officials. The newspaper had reported that GALZ director Chesterfield Samba had said his organisation would name ruling party politicians who lambasted the LGBTI community,… Read more »

Gay Zimbabwe News & Reports 2011

1 "For six days and six nights I was in this hell." 1/11 2 LGBT Africans Face Blackmail and Extortion on a Regular Basis 2/11 3 Detention, Harassment and Intimidation of GALZ members 4/11 4 CSO Position Paper On Progress on UNGASS 2011 4/11 5 Statement on President Mugabe’s Threats, at the Burial of Muzariri… Read more »

Gay Zimbabwe News & Reports 2010

Also see: Behind the Mask LGBT African website Gay Rights and History from Wikipedia Reports: Part 1 Gay bashing in Zimbabwe (1996); Part 2 Gay bashing in Zimbabwe (1996) Gay Oral History Project in Zimbabwe: Black Empowerment, Human Rights, and the Research Process (1999) Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) 1 Zimbabwe’s New Constitution Mistery… Read more »

Gay Zimbabwe News & Reports 2008-09

Also see: Behind the Mask LGBT African website Gay Rights and History from Wikipedia Reports: Part 1 Gay bashing in Zimbabwe (1996); Part 2 Gay bashing in Zimbabwe (1996) Gay Oral History Project in Zimbabwe: Black Empowerment, Human Rights, and the Research Process (1999) Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) 1 African lesbian conference demands… Read more »