A gay Ugandan man has told how he was subjected to torturous anal examinations to prove his sexuality, in a country notorious for its violent homophobia. The man, named Mukasa, said he was woken by a mob banging spoons on metal cooking pots, while shouting “out with the homos” and “the homos are in there” Uganda is one of 36 countries in Africa where homosexuality is illegal and one of eight countries globally where Human Rights Watch has evidence of forced anal examinations to prove homosexuality. The vicious punishment is just the latest example of forced anal examinations, tracked by Human Rights Watch, in the east African country. Kampala police spokesman Emilian Kayima denied the use of forced anal examinations to prove homosexuality. “If any gay person claims they have been tortured or forced to undergo anal examination, they need to come forward with evidence stating when and where it happened instead of running to the press to make baseless claims.” The anal examination practice is used as an HIV prevention method, but Ugandan lawyer Nicholas Opiyo says it is a form of discrimination and abuse. Uganda abandoned an infamous “Kill the Gays” bill in 2014 because its first draft included the death penalty for gay sex, after worldwide outrage and threats foreign aid would be withdrawn. Homosexuality was banned in Uganda in 1952 and offenders can be sentenced to life in prison.
This is horrifying and sickening. Religious fundamentalism is terrifying no matter the religion. Christianity, for instance, the one being used to justify these horrible acts in Uganda. This just goes to show, that there is no "religion of peace" or "religion of violence" as many conservatives in the United States tend to believe. There are only peaceful people, and violent people. Religion is merely a tool to justify their actions. The idea of religious fundamentalists tearing people from there own homes to prove their innocence with an arbitrary test sounds exactly like the witch trials, many of which also used religion as a basis for prosecuting and killing gay people.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/uganda-gay-men-tortured-police-sodomised-beaten-a7395856.html
Amen Austin. This is sickening and tragic that things like this and this mentality still exists. It's unbelievable that people are still using religion to justify their inhumane actions and unprecedented bigotry. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete-Linnea Soderlund