The veteran gay rights activist Peter Tatchell’s written another piece for The Guardian newspaper, this time he’s charging the Commonwealth of being the home of homophobia.
The detailed feature claims the anti-gay laws and discrimination is the poisonous legacy of British colonialism.
The Commonwealth secretary-general, Kamalesh Sharma. Photograph: Richard Drew/AP
Today is "Idaho" – the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. In countries all over the world, there are events calling for the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality and equal human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Idaho is supported by dozens of governments, including the UK, and by many international government institutions, from the United Nations to the European Union. But the Commonwealth is not lending its support, nor are most Commonwealth countries. They want nothing to do with LGBT rights.
The Commonwealth is a bastion of global homophobia, often bucking the worldwide trend towards sexual orientation equality, with increased state-sanctioned threats and repression in Malawi, Uganda, Gambia, Malaysia, Cameroon and Nigeria. The 54 Commonwealth member states comprise one quarter of the UN membership and one third of all humanity. Of these Commonwealth countries, 46 still criminalise same-sex relations in all circumstances, with penalties including 25 years' jail in Trinidad and Tobago and 20 years plus flogging in Malaysia. Several countries stipulate life imprisonment: Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Uganda, Tanzania and Bangladesh. These 46 homophobic Commonwealth countries account for more than half of the 76 countries in the world that still have a total prohibition on homosexuality, Nearly all the Commonwealth's anti-gay laws are the poisonous legacy of British colonialism. They were originally imposed by the British government in the 19th century, during the period of colonial rule – and never repealed when the former colonies won their freedom. The post-independence leaders retained the homophobic mindset of their colonial masters. Today, many of their countrymen and women absurdly proclaim that the legal proscription of homosexuality is an authentic expression of indigenous national culture and tradition.
Read the full story - guardian.co.uk
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