As I’ve written before, it’s nice to think of the movement towards full equality for sexual minorities around the world as a continuous march forward. Sometimes, however, a country proposes taking such a drastic step backwards, that it prompts not just local LGBT groups to react, but members of the entire international queer community to respond as well.

The latest international gay rights battleground is Uganda, an East African state currently headed by Yoweri kaguta Museveni. The country is ostensibly a Democratic Republic, but Museveni is both the head of state and of government and the country has a history of military rule and restricting the activities of political parties under the guise of combating sectarian violence. Half of the country’s over 32 million residents live under the international poverty line and constant clashes between the rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Ugandan army in the northern part of the country has led to a high degree of political instability in that region along with a plethora of human rights abuses.

And yet, some Ugandan members of parliament feel that sexual minorities are the country’s true problem. That’s why they’ve introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009, a piece of legislation that proposes harsh penalties for LGBT peoples. Uganda is already one of the countries in the international community where homosexuality remains illegal, but this new Bill would allow for the death penalty for a new offense of “aggravated homosexuality,” a crime that includes sex with someone under 18 or who is disabled or in the case of a “serial offender.” Life in prison will be the default sentence for your everyday, run-of-the-mill homo.

With all of the ills facing Uganda at the present, one may wonder why such an over-the-top piece of legislation is being introduced now. Well, you see, election season is coming up in Uganda. As I mentioned in an earlier post about gay rights in sub-Saharan Africa, the targeting of sexual minorities in this part of the world is often used as a diversion to get people’s minds off the real issues they have with the government and scapegoat a group of people within society for the state’s failures. And indeed, Scott Long of Human Rights Watch has pointed out as much: “This draft bill is clearly an attempt to divide and weaken civil society by striking at one of its most marginalised groups. The government may be starting here, but who will be next?”

Many Ugandans living within and outside of the country have decried the government’s actions and have called them out on their behavior. Writing in the opinion section of the UK’s Independent newspaper, Okello Lucima says:

Rationally, one would expect that Ugandans should be more tolerant and accepting of difference and diversity, since they have gone through two or more episodes of tragic violence and persecution based solely on identity, difference, and diversity… Given the state of our social, economic, and political development, homosexuality is the least of our worries and vices in Uganda, than irrational religious dogmas and the cooptation of the church, or one faith, to certify public moralities in a plural society.

Oh, and that brings up another point: the role of religion. Ugandan Anglicans are well known for hosting ex-gay conferences and generally railing against sexual minorities. Characteristically, they have been supportive of the Bill, with the caveat that they recommend life in prison for LGBT people, not the death penalty (why, how very love-thy-neighbor of them, huh?).

This measure is also expected to turn back many advances in terms of health and reproductive freedom, opponents warn. Uganda has long been hailed as one of the rare success stories in terms of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, and the government’s response to the pandemic has been praised by international organizations for years. This Bill could easily undo much of this progress, however. As Dr. Julio Montaner, International AIDS Society President and Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Vancouver, Canada, has said:

The International AIDS Society unequivocally rejects any efforts to criminalize consensual same-sex behavior or HIV status. The legislation stands in direct violation of fundamental human rights and contradicts all evidence of how best to respond to the AIDS epidemic. Instituting a death penalty for homosexuality is a terrifying prospect intended to fuel a culture of fear that will further drive sexual minorities underground and away from vital health information and services, including HIV prevention, treatment and care.

Unsurprisingly, the Bill has provoked a response from both local and international organizations and activists. An interesting development has been noticed among Ugandan activists. Due to the obvious culture of fear and hostility that LGBT Ugandans face, many have turned to the Internet and sites like Facebook to garner support for their cause:

The gay community in Uganda has turned to social media — blogs, twitter, mailing lists and Facebook — in a bid to garner support for its opposition to the anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 that was recently tabled in parliament. Saying that the media is openly biased and anti-gay, the community wants activists and evangelists worldwide to speak out against the “criminal and inhumane” Bill and write to the Association of Evangelicals in Africa.

These tools are being more and more recognized as effective ways to help local communities, as some Middle Eastern activists have noted.

The international community is also becoming involved. The United States, the UK and France have all issued statements against the passage of the bill, and bodies such as the European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights are watching the situation extremely closely.

So what can we do to help? Human Rights Watch is organizing a series of rallies in cities around the world, including New York and right here in DC, in opposition to the Bill. Also, visiting some of the websites created by Ugandans and supporting international organizations working on the ground are some good ways to make a difference. Hopefully, such a brazen attempt to move Uganda backwards will inspire action among many members of the international queer community and will actually result in a stronger, more unified community of activists.