Gay Rights: Do they have a Place in the Zambian Legal System?

Lungu, Helen (2000) Gay Rights: Do they have a Place in the Zambian Legal System? Masters thesis, University of Zambia.

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Abstract

oday, as much as we might try to ignore it, there exists a group of people with a sexual orientation, which many see as being different from the rest of the community. These people are termed homosexuals if male, and lesbians if women. The determining aspect of the classification of this group of people is that they prefer to have sexual relationships with people of the same sex. These people are very much a part of every community and sometimes, not knowing of them to be of such a nature, we work with them, go to school with them, sit on buses with them, play games with them and even elect them into important offices, be it public or private. In other circumstances, we might be aware of the sexual orientation of these people and simply choose to ignore it. As one Gordon Westwood stated in his book, "some people would prefer to consider a problem to be solved by not recognising it as a problem. This is especially true when the facts are unpalatable. Although we now live in a frank and realistic age, most people prefer to ignore the problem of homosexuality within our society. To many people, it is no more than a subject of innuendoes and cheap sneers. If there is a more serious side to the problem, these people do not seem to be aware of it." What is of great concern in this paper is the general reaction of society not only in Zambia but even the world over, whereby upon discovery of their sexual orientation, homosexuals and lesbians are shunned, condemned and insulted, but mostly suffer discrimination and other forms of ill treatments. Activists of gay rights have branded the discrimination suffered by homosexuals and lesbians as being inconsistent with the principles of human rights. There is, however, a controversy looming over rights if any, of gay persons as different persons and analysts argue against gay rights activists, stating that such notion of rights is not intended for protection under the human rights umbrella. This controversy has already been experienced even in organisations whose main concern is the protection of human rights and as such should already have a guide as to what falls under human rights protection. An example of such an organisation is Amnesty. "For many years the issue was debated, whether Amnesty should work for the release of persons imprisoned or detained for their homosexual identity or orientation or for homosexual acts committed in private and between consenting adults. This issue even threatened to split up the organisation along multicultural lines. While members in Western Europe and North America tended to consider it rather obvious that Amnesty should work for such persons, many people in Asia and Africa as well as some Latin American countries thought otherwise."z Since the controversy surrounding gay rights is present today even in Zambia, it is the aim of this study to highlight basic and underlying concepts of gay rights education, the origins and legal basis, and, whether these rights can have a place in the Zambian legal system. The study is divided into five chapters: Chapter One focuses on what gay rights are, through an insight into the history and legal basis of gay rights. Chapter Two looks at the European system of protection of gay rights and the African system of protection of gay rights. Chapter Three elaborates the Zambian situation concernmg homosexuality and lesbianism. Chapter Four looks at the effect of international laws protecting human rights on Zambia's sodomy laws and whether there is a need for Zambia to reconcile its sodomy laws with international law standards to accommodate gay rights. Chapter Five offers a summary of the entire essay and gives recommendations on how to resolve the controversy surrounding gay rights activities in Zambia today.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
Divisions:	Africana
Depositing User:	Geoffrey Obatsa
Date Deposited:	04 Dec 2018 07:55
Last Modified:	04 Dec 2018 07:55
URI:	http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/8767

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