The new developments around the world with regards to the LGBTI community, have recently sparked conversations in response to protests and repressive laws internationally and Malawi is not spared. Although these emerging issues have the further potential of silencing this key population and efforts to protect their human rights, beneficiaries, and stakeholders in the Umunthu Inclusive Society Project have remained committed to nurturing movements that can take action against human rights violations perpetrated against the LGBTI people. Some of the Champions and members of this community have assumed various leadership roles in their communities as a result of movement-building pieces of training where ArtGlo ignited self-actualization of the power within and strengthened the capacity that each person has to change the status quo.
Primary Justice Actors (PJAs) that we have been engaging with have also shared how their attitude towards the LGBTI people has transformed from refusing to take note of their legal concerns to perceiving them to be as human as anyone else. PJAs are trained players who have committed to play their role to achieve an inclusive social climate for discriminated persons, especially LGBTI people. These include Police Victim Support Unit Officers, Community Policing Officers, Lay Magistrates, and Community and Religious leaders.
“I used to see them as people who are disrupting order in the community and that they cannot meaningfully contribute to development. Even when they bring their disagreements to our offices, I used to mock, judge, and attribute any violation they face to the sexual orientation that they chose instead of concentrating on their concern like any other human being,” narrated a Policeman from Dedza district.
Another policeman testified that he took part in shunning away a gay individual who came to report that he was harassed by some men before he relocated from Lilongwe. The particular person was a well-known sex worker who after some men discovered that they had been sleeping with a fellow man after clubbing, plotted to physically assault him. This LGBTI person sought assistance from the police only to be told that he could not be assisted. The police officers cited that it was beyond their mandate to do so and told him to go to get assistance at a private clinic. The PJA workshops that this policeman attended after moving to Dedza helped him to realize that together with his team, they wrongly handled the matter since every Malawian is entitled to equal access to justice.
On the other hand, the LGBTI people have introduced and revamped networks across Chikwawa to raise awareness and advocate for their rights. This has been portrayed by how other LGBTI network members were conducting their activities whilst some members were attending the follow-up visit that the ArtGlo team had in the district. They further highlighted that they are now able to participate in decision-making positions like anyone else regardless of their sexual orientation.
“The movement building trainings that I attended have been so beneficial to me and members of LGBTI community networks here in Chikwawa. I am now serving as a Chairlady of Community policing in my village. Other members of our network are serving as Chiefs Counsel, a volunteer teacher at an orphanage, a Church Secretary,” expressed one of the LGBTI people in Chikwawa.
However, there is a common consensus between the LGBTI people in Chikwawa and the PJAs in Dedza who both cited that the protests that the faith leaders were having to influence the courts to determine in their favour, posed a significant threat to their efforts. The latter shared that demonstrations brought confusion among them and threatened their efforts to ensure equitable justice delivery for all including the LGBTI people. There was a greater possibility that the key population whom they also had convergence workshops, would lose their trust in them upon seeing them providing security during the protests.
“Sometimes we receive complaints that discrimination against the LGBTI people is still happening because the workshop did not reach out to everyone in our offices. Our knowledge on how to influence change to our colleagues has hampered the level of depth in the same and often backfires when they cite that the project engaged us and we should be focal persons for the same,” a Policewoman from Dedza added.
Nevertheless, ArtGlo also engaged the family and friends of this key population to build an immediate support network for the LGBTI people. These workshops have assisted the immediate relations of the same to understand the plight of their close relatives and friends as well as facilitate bold conversations on how best to support their lives and the war against discrimination due to their sexual orientation.
“Upon realizing that I am a member of the LGBTI, my elder brother who provides most of my needs reduced his support. Ever since he attended one of the workshops and heard one of the parents testify, he now constantly checks up on me and has recently bought me a new smartphone upon noting that he has not been on social media after losing one some time back,” narrated one of the LGBTI persons in Chikwawa.
The convergence workshops that the LGBTI and PJAs have had have assisted in building strategic relationships among them in the fight against human rights violations perpetrated against the former. In Chikwawa, the LGBTI members applauded the peer education approach where police officers orient their colleagues about inclusion. This has further facilitated a common understanding between both the community members and these officers in the course of their work. These strong partnerships have also contributed to reducing the backlog of cases that would have reached the courts since a majority of disagreements are amicably resolved at the police station in Chikwawa.
Meanwhile, the PJA actors recommended that the project should also engage other stakeholders like teachers and school administrators who have absolute powers over their wards. They cited a case that happened at one of the secondary schools in Dedza district where some boys were expelled from school on the allegation that they were promoting homosexuality at the institution. The matter was reported to the police after the decision to expel the said students had already been made and this was too late for them to act on the matter.
Although the PJAs in Dedza recommended that the project should consider reaching out to community members so that community barriers to access justice are also addressed, Chikwawa district presents a different case. This is because Champions of Inclusion in Chikwawa have been holding community awareness campaigns that involve the use of plays, cultural dances, and experts to address the same.
The Umunthu Inclusive Society project also seeks to raise awareness of the situation of LGBTI people in Malawi by engaging key stakeholders through advocacy art pieces produced by LGBTI people themselves. The two-year long project is funded by the Southern Africa Litigation Center (SALC) and is being implemented in Phalombe, Chikwawa, Dedza & and Mchinji.
