Young Gay Couple In Malawi May Get 14 Years Hard Labor For Marrying Each Other

[rawTOP]

This isn't a bad marriage joke about marriage being like a prison sentence - it's the real deal... A gay couple in Malawi (Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20) married each other and now they're being sentenced to 14 years hard labor for "unnatural acts and gross indecency"...

A judge has found a gay couple guilty of unnatural acts and gross indecency after a trial that has sparked worldwide condemnation of Malawi's laws on homosexuality.

Blantyre chief resident magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa issued the ruling yesterday. The couple are facing up to 14 years in prison with hard labour after becoming the first gay couple in Malawi to publicly commit themselves to each other.

Read more...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/18/malawi-gay-couple-jailed

[rawTOP]

Get this, the judge gave them the maximum sentence...

A Malawian court sentenced two gay men to the maximum 14 years in prison after convicting them of "unnatural acts and gross indecency."

"I am giving you a scary sentence so that the public must be protected," Usiwa said. "Malawi society is not ready to see its sons marrying other sons, nor daughters marrying daughters."

Malawi is one of 38 countries in Africa that have laws criminalizing homosexuality, some with the death penalty...

(Source)

Make sure your conservative friends hear about this case... Talking to people and making them understand that people a lot like you are getting thrown in prison just for being themselves does make a difference...

[Belfast-Bottom]

Sadly, these stories coming out of Africa are increasingly common

The BBC had a report yesterday on plans by the Ugandan government to make homosexuality punishable by the death penalty

The irony is that Africa had gay kings and warriors before the arrival of Christian missionaries. Asia too had a long tolerance of LGBT people - until the Christian missionaries arrived. I fight with homophobes on youtube. The defining characteristic of 99% of them is that they use religion to justify their irrational prejudices. Most of them are motivated by religion or at least use it as "justification".

I'm an atheist ( raised a conservative Christian ). It seems clear to me that religion is the greatest threat to our rights as gay people and the greatest obstacle to our progress as a species.

[rawTOP]

Yeah! They were pardoned by the Malawian President!

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2010/05/breaking-malawi-president-pardons.html

[ruralguy7326]

My heart goes out to gay and lesbians folk in these kind of country's. News stories like these ones make me realise just how fortunate many of us really are.

[joerawma]

thank goodness for the pardon, but it does not solve the overall issue.

[Guest Boxir55]

I am glad they got a pardon, they shouldn't have had to endure all that prejudice though. Hope they can still be together.

[Elof]

I don't know if the pardon will make much difference; no community will want them