14th October 2022
Boatle
Sello Motseta
Botswana’s predominantly Christian conservative societal attitudes and grudging tolerance to the burgeoning numbers of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer and transgender (LGBTIQ) persons will come under the microscope with a historic open public event.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer and transgender (LGBTIQ) persons will host a Rainbow Pride Festival on the 22nd October 2022 to create greater public awareness and acceptance about the existence of gay persons in Botswana.
Same-sex sexual acts have been legal in Botswana since 11 June 2019 after a unanimous ruling by the High Court of Botswana. Despite an appeal by the government, the ruling was upheld by the Botswana Court of Appeal on 29 November 2021.
“We want people to know more about the LGBTQI community by creating public awareness and encouraging people to accept them,” said Thandie Mabotseng, Assistant Project Manager for Gaborone Pride.
She said, ”We face issues of discrimination at work because people are afraid of what they do not know. People expect us to dress in a certain way and behave in a certain way to solicit their approval.”
Mabotseng stressed that we are diverse and that people should not think we are demon possessed.
“We need acceptance and tolerance,” said Mabotseng.
In recent years, the LGBT community in Botswana has become more visible with the Botswana High Court setting the tone in some societal attitudes. In 2016, it ordered Government to register the main LGBT organisation, LEGABIBO, and in 2017 it ruled that transgender people have a constitutional right to change their legal gender.
In 2019, it struck down colonial-era laws banning homosexuality, and ruled that “sex”, as defined in Section 3 of the Botswana Constitution, should be “generously and purposively interpreted” to include sexual orientation.
Employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has also been banned since 2010, making it one of the few African countries to have such protections for LGBT people.
Katlego Sechele,Programmes Co-ordinator for Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA), said “People are coming out at event and marching. They are accepting themselves. Community also has to accept them.”
She said, “We still have negative perceptions and stereotypes fuelled by cultural norms that perpetuate stigmatisation.”
Botswana’s third National Strategic Framework for HIV/AIDS and the Multi-sectoral Strategy for the Prevention of Non-communicable Diseases is regarded as progressive, encouraging healthcare providers to provide equitable health services to LGBTIQ community.
But some NGO’s complain more needs to be done with many hurdles still remaining barring LGBTIQ community from being allowed to adopting children or legally marrying.
“The right to marry is a basic human right. Not permitting same sex marriages does take away a right to LGBTIQ fundamental rights to association and to family,” said Sechele.
