When preparing a Global Gaze post, I usually look through the international news for an event or topic which is relevant within multiple countries around the world. In the last couple of weeks a region, rather than an event or theme, seemed to dominate the international press when it comes to LGBT issues: sub-Saharan Africa.

On many Western blogs, word of negative news coming out of Africa regarding gay rights can become a platform for espousing racist or xenophobic views which fail to look beyond the sensational headlines and at what is really at the heart of the issues. What follows is a discussion of some of obstacles towards advancing gay rights in sub-Saharan Africa and some of the historical conditions which may be behind current attitudes in the area. This is not meant to in any way condone or explain away the actions of repressive governments or societies; quite on the contrary, such discussions will hopefully aid scholars and activists in furthering the movement for equality and tolerance for sexual minorities all over the continent.

The international press has been reporting some pretty depressing developments coming out of Africa in the last few weeks. At an ex-gay conference in Uganda in the beginning of March, the US-based group Defend the Family International convinced the country’s Minister or Ethics and Integrity to introduce a bill before Parliament which would force Ugandans convicted of homosexuality into ex-gay therapy. About a week later, lawmakers in Burundi pushed to have homosexuality criminalized in the small Great Lakes country. Around the same time, gay rights groups in Nigeria, the most populace country in sub-Saharan Africa, decried governmental efforts to make entering into a gay marriage a crime.

In an article I wrote on gay rights in Africa last year for another publication, I focused on how the region was basically a microcosm for the rest of the world in terms of the types of responses governments can have to their queer citizens, mostly due to the counterpoint made by the formal equality policies adopted by South Africa. Recent news of an increase in the number of South African gangs raping young lesbians in order to “cure” them suggest that such tolerant attitudes have not trickled down into the general population.

So why are such stories so common in this area of the world? While each individual country is obviously unique, each region in the international community has some overarching narratives in terms of the obstacles towards the diffusion of human rights for sexual minorities. In Latin America and the Middle East, for instance, where Catholicism and Islam are so influential, religion plays a particularly large role. In Eastern and Southern Asia, the “Asian Values” debate tends to underlie all discussions of international human rights norms, including gay rights. While religion plays a role in Africa, much of the opposition can be traced to the region’s troubled relationship with the West and rest of the international community, which stems in part from its colonial legacy.

Much of the rationale behind denying human rights to sexual minorities in Africa is that many Africans hold the belief that, despite the existence and tolerance of homosexual acts in traditional pre-colonial African societies, homosexuality is actually a Western import or something brought to the continent by Europeans.  Ironically, the fact that the religious traditions within which some of the most homophobic and sexually prejudicial rhetoric are couched were also imposed by foreigners is rarely mentioned.

Such “un-African” arguments hold particular sway in the region partially because of the nature of post-independence politics in Africa. One of the tactics used to help create a national identity within arbitrary borders drawn largely by foreigners was for charismatic leaders, or “Strong Men”, to rally their citizens against Western neo-colonialism. This is still a popular tactic today as leaders such as Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe regularly attempts to discredit political opponents by referring to them as puppets of the West. This mentality makes the adoption of many types of international human rights norms difficult as they are viewed as being Western in origin and therefore not applicable to the African context. As Jack Mahoney writes in his book The Challenge of Human Rights, this creates an environment where human rights provisions for sexual minorities are seen “as alien to other cultures, so much so that attempting to impose human rights on other, non-Western, countries is tantamount to exercising a form of unwarranted ethical imperialism.”

Finally, another tool for uniting people against a common enemy and distracting citizens from the failings of the state was the scapegoating of homosexuals. By shifting blame for failures onto an “other” and keeping a common enemy in mind, African dictators hoped to maintain power.

So, is the pursuit of gay rights in sub-Saharan Africa a lost cause? Of course not. But there are a few things scholars and activists have pointed to as important to keep in mind when going about this task.

Given the antipathy which some Africans feel towards the West, the push for gay rights should ideally come from the local level as much as possible with support from the international community where appropriate. One thing to keep in mind is that LGBT groups in sub-Saharan Africa, as is the case everywhere else in the world, should actively try to engage Africans of all races, ethnicities and genders.  LGBT civil society groups in countries such as South Africa in the 1990s were often made up almost exclusively of white males, which gave credence to the idea that those who fight for the rights of sexual minorities are merely agents of the West.

While the “African solutions to African problems” movement will have an obvious impact on this struggle, there are important ways in which the international community can help LGBT individuals in Africa. One timely way is for states to support and pass the current UN declaration being sponsored by France which would decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Sub-Saharan Africa is a region of the world where in many countries merely being a sexual minority remains a crime, making it difficult for members of the LGBT community to be visible and active due to the constant threat of imprisonment and even execution. Sources close to President Obama revealed last week that he plans to sign the declaration, which the Bush administration refused to be a party to.

International LGBT groups should continue to remain vigilant as well, as the potential always remains for transnational advocacy. This is the process by which individuals or groups within a country “go over the head” of their own government and appeal to the international community to have a right protected or granted, or even just to draw attention to their plight. This strategy has been effective in the past in countries such as Australia, but it comes with some risk. These actions can result in what is often referred to as “the boomerang effect,” which means that the state, resenting international involvement, actually becomes more aggressively repressive of its citizens than before. If global advocacy groups remain alert and vigilant, hopefully such outcomes can be avoided.

Obviously the preceding is a very brief and reductive look at a very complex region and issue, but hopefully the discourse on the subject will continue to expand. As a region, Africa is often ignored in favor of other parts of the world by the press and politicians, and traditionally excluded groups such as sexual minorities are at an increased risk of being silenced. It’s important as a community to not take our advances for granted and to look out for our brothers and sisters around the world.

Have anything to add to the discussion or know of any ways we can all help advance gay rights in sub-Saharan Africa? Share your thoughts in the comments below!