4. Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill

With the political debates broadcast across the American nation, I find it hard not to remember the impact that the 2008 Proposition 8 campaign had on America. Will there be another nasty separation in our nation with these new political candidates?

Proposition 8 put into effect that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Of this same likeness, there is a law in Uganda that penalizes homosexual behavior and activity with jail time. In 2009, anti-homosexual extremists proposed a new legislation that would increase the penalty of these acts to life-time incarceration and even death. The proposed bill is officially known as the "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" but is also referred to as the "Kill the Gays Bill."

Since homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, the 2009 bill added extreme punishment for the behavior. It acts against homosexuality with minors or disabled persons and has added penalty if the accused has HIV/AIDS. Relatives or friends who fail to report the homosexual activities of a person can also receive jail time.

Homosexuality is seen as an abomination or "un-African" by a good majority of other African countries, but Uganda is the most infamously known country to attack the rights of homosexuals.

Parliament building in Kampala, Uganda

Since Uganda heavily relies on foreign aid (approximately 30 percent of their budget comes from foreign aid), there have been an increasing number of countries threatening to withdraw aid if this anti-homosexuality bill were to pass. With full knowledge of that fact, Ugandan citizens continue to rally in the streets and protest against homosexuality. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni received increasing pressure to pass the bill from Ugandan activists but equal pressure from foreign influencers to silence the bill.

The legislation has been pushed aside and parliament meetings as recent as May 2011 have adjourned without voting on the bill. Uganda still receives the aid it needs to function as a country since the bill has yet to be decided on.

When I arrived in Uganda in May 2010, I had not actually heard about this bill. In my research of the country this bill apparently became invisible to me. Upon my arrival, we had a team meeting where we were informed of how intensely anti-gay the country was. Being a liberal minded free-thinker, I asked a trusted partner about the issue a month after being in Uganda. After a long moment of quiet contemplation, he looked at me and said, "We just do not like that. It is not ok. We do not talk about it here either. It is not a safe matter." Reprimanded, I did not press the issue any further during my stay.

Boys at the HOPE Orphanage

After seeing what Prop 8 could do to a country that is largely considered to be educated and open-minded, it is easy to see how another anti-homosexuality legislation can destroy a country that is considered to be "third-world."

http://www.thegrio.com/opinion/homophobia-in-africa-raises-questions-about-foreign-aid.php

Without the education and tolerance that we are supposed to have in America for all people, Uganda is bound to have civil distress over an issue such as this. But then why did that same distress come to America? What type of culture are we creating for our children to grow up in? One of tolerance and peace...or one of disdain and discrimination?

It's shocking to see the similarities between two countries that seem so vastly different, isn't it?