Women Won't Wait - Women Won’t Wait Campaign condemns decision to imprison Malawi couple

Women Won’t Wait Campaign condemns decision to imprison Malawi couple

20 May 2010, The Women Won’t Wait. End HIV and Violence against Women.
Now. campaign strongly condemns the decision of Judge Nyakwawa Usiwa-
Usiwa to convicttwo Malawian men of “gross indecency” and “unnatural acts”.
The two men were sentenced this morning to 14 years imprisonment for
convictions for “carnal knowledge of a person against the order of nature”
(article 153 of Penal Code) and committing an “act of gross indecency
with another male person” (article 156 Penal Code).

The decision shows blatant disregard for fundamental human rights and we call for the immediate release of the two men and the repeal of sections 153 and 156. The two men, Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, were arrested by police on 28 December, 2009 two days after they conducted a traditional engagement ceremony (Chinkhowe). On January 6, 2010, Chimbalanga was subjected to anal examinations to establish whether the couple had “consummated” their engagement, tests which are medically unfounded and violate the right to freedom from non-consensual medical tests protected in the Constitution of Malawi and international law. The imprisonment of the two men represents a contravention of the Constitution of Malawi and a number of international and regional human rights treaties ratified by Malawi, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We are particularly concerned that Malawi is in breach of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights while it is the chair of the African Union. By condemning these two men to prison the Government of Malawi is violating rights to privacy, freedom of expression and conscience and non-discrimination on the grounds of real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. We categorically reject the Government of Malawi’s statement that the verdict protects Malawi’s culture and traditions. Tradition, culture or indeed moral indignation, even if it be a majoritarian view, cannot trump rights to dignity, privacy and non discrimination. We believe that this conviction, statements released by officials of the Government of Malawi, and laws that criminalise private, consensual same sex conduct between adults will entrench homophobia, sexism and attacks on human rights. Furthermore, they reinforce the fear of arrest and imprisonment that has enveloped Malawi’s LGBTQI community. Criminalizing homosexuality only acts to insight hatred and violence. In the last few months, civil society organisations working for the rights of sexual minorities, including sex workers, people living with HIV and AIDS and men having sex with men, have suffered threats and intimidation, including raids on offices and confiscation of HIV and AIDS awareness-raising materials. This has necessitated some activists going into hiding as there are fears for their safety. The convictions and political support for homophobia in Malawi will also reverse gains made in response to the HIV epidemic by further marginalising and stigmatising an already excluded community. For this very reason, many international institutions have persistently called for the decriminalisation of homosexuality. This decision is an overwhelming setback for justice and human rights in Malawi, across Africa and around the world. The arrest, prosecution and conviction of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga is an egregious violation of human rights and the Women Won’t Wait campaign calls on the Government of Malawi to release the two men and repeal sections 153 and 156 immediately. We also call for immediate end to the harassment of civil society organisations and human rights defenders working to protect the rights of minority groups in Malawi. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Women Wont Wait campaign is an international coalition of organizations and networks working to promote women's health and human rights in the struggle to address HIV and AIDS and end all forms of violence against women and girls. For more information on the Women Won’t Wait campaign: www.womenwontwait.org Members of WWW: Action Aid; African Women’s Development and Communications Network (FEMNET); Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID); Akina Mama wa Afrika; Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL); Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE); Fundación para Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer (FEIM); GESTOS-Soropositividade, Comunicação & Gênero; International Community of Women Living with HIV&AIDS Southern Africa (ICW-Southern Africa); International Women’s AIDS Caucus; International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC); Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health Network; Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA); Program on International Health and Human Rights, Harvard School of Public Health; SANGRAM; VAMP; and Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA).