Doubts over Parliamentbeing LGBTQ messiah
Doubts are thickening over same sex relationships laws being approved in Parliament after the Constitutional Court recommended to proponents to push for favourable amendments if unsatisfied with last month’s ruling.
In separate interviews with Nation on Sunday, the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament and the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), ardent advocates of same sex rights, said proposed amendments would face opposition in the august House.
CHRR executive director Michael Kaiyatsa said: “Looking at the current socio-political and cultural context, it is very unlikely that our Parliament would take such a step.”
The recommendation came after the court, sitting in Blantyre, struck off an application by Jan Willem Akster from the Netherlands and Jana Gonani, seeking legalisation of same-sex relationships.
“If the applicants feel the said provisions unfairly target them, the best option for them is to lobby Parliament to change the law,” reads part of the judgement.
The duo challenged sections 153, 154 and 156 of the Penal Code that criminalise carnal knowledge.
Meanwhile, a United States-based non-governmental organisation, Human Rights Watch, is piling pressure on Parliament to amend the Penal Code to end anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) discrimination.
In its reaction to the ruling, it posted an article on its website https://www.hrw.org titled: ‘Dark Day’ in Malawi for Rights of LGBT People Constitutional Court Upholds Criminalisation of Same-Sex Conduct.
It wrote: “The power to guarantee LGBT rights now lies with Parliament. Parliament should uphold Malawi’s international human rights obligations by urgently reviewing and amending the Penal Code to end anti-LGBT discrimination and protect everyone’s right to safety, privacy and dignity,”
However, Kaiyatsa observed that parliamentarians are coy to rally behind controversial matters.
“We know from experience that politicians are reluctant to push for legislative changes on issues that are deemed controversial or unpopular due to fear of backlash from their constituents or religious groups,” he said.
Kaiyatsa said their focus will now be on strengthening advocacy to build support for legislative reforms.
“One thing we have learned from the recent court case is that legislative reforms will not occur unless there is a shift in perception and attitudes towards LGBTQ individuals,” he said.
Legal Affairs Committee chairperson Peter Dimba said: “Our societal norms and values abhor LGBTQ rights making it difficult for the proposed laws to pass.
“The issue of LGBT rights remains controversial and members of Parliament are influenced by public opinion which is adverse on this matter.
“Besides, laws do not operate in a vacuum. They operate in a society with norms and values,” he said.
In the Constitutional Court verdict, judges Joseph Chigona, Vikochi Chima and Chimbizgani Kacheche dismissed the application based on a number of grounds.
Among them, they argued that the applicants failed to produce evidence on how the said Penal Code provisions were biased against those involved in same sex relations.
Consequently, the judges declared that all questions raised by the applicants about the constitutionality of the provisions were actually legitimate.
