Homosexuality not foreign—Kabwila-Kapasula
A University of Malawi’s Chancellor College lecturer Dr Jessie Kabwila-Kapasula has condemned the misconception that homosexuality is a foreign culture in Malawi.
She says there are many people in the country who are involved in the practice.
She was speaking on Monday in Mzuzu during a two-day meeting the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) and the Centre for the Development of the People (Cedep) called for civil society organisations (CSOs) drawn from the Northern Region.
Kabwila-Kapasula said she based her argument on research on same sex people who liked each other, but have never been outside the country.
“These people have never been outside the country and one wonders how they copied homosexuality from foreigners. This clearly shows that it has been here all along, only that the country is in denial,†she said.
Kabwila-Kapasula also criticised the determination of who is a man or a woman in a homosexual relationship describing it as irrelevant.
“A relationship is more than sex and to ask who is a man or a woman is missing the point,†she said, describing gender as a social construction.
Fatima Zulu from College of Medicine said men who sleep with fellow men are many.
Zulu called for the provision of health messages, care and treatment to homosexuals to win the battle against HIV.
“Male-to-male sexual contact has consistently shown to be an important contributing factor to the HIV epidemic. Yet, most African MSM [men having sex with men] have no safe access to relevant HIV and Aids information and services,†said Zulu.
