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Gender, Tsungai Chekerwa-Machokoto
I am a Christian and my father was a pastor. I’m not advocating for homosexuality. Let’s just be real with ourselves about the reality of the existence of homosexuality within us. Some people don’t even know the signs that can show them that their children are gay

THE topic of lesbians, gays, transsexuals and bisexuals (LGTB) is a very difficult one in Zimbabwe. This is because we are largely religious and so it goes against the very core of our beliefs.

We are also a very conservative country, or maybe we used to be quite conservative. We used to call affairs adultery but now we have named affairs “small houses” and young women now have “blessers”.

Homosexuality also goes against our tradition, culture and practices. Maybe these are the reasons why people choose to pretend that it is not happening for their own sanity. It is unfortunate that in reality, people are actually living double lives because they are gay. I don’t know the reason for people’s sexual orientation but with the spread of homosexuality, I think it is high time people talk about it. I understand that being gay is classified as being taboo but we still need to talk about it.

The reality is that homosexuals do not come from out of space. They come from within the society. They come from respectable families who are also struggling to even think that one of their own is gay. These families suffer the same stigmatisation that they suffer and even more because it is neither their choice nor their preference. The situation is really sad and complicated.

I have met a certain woman who thinks she is cursed because her son is gay. Society has made her think she is one of the reasons why her son is the way he is. Her son had to move away from their place of residence and moved in with other gays because they are “his family”. I’ll keep emphasising that homosexuality is very real and should be unpacked in the society to figure out a way forward.

The trend in the media at the moment is extremely “tolerant” of homosexuality. There are all sorts of fashion trends that are unisex. Have you ever wondered why clothes are being made for both sexes? Satellite television shows we pay for every month are very gay friendly. They show gay couples kissing, holding hands and being obviously intimate. We are addicted to these television shows and they show during prime time, socialising our children to that as well. So why do we pretend to act surprised when we see these things around us?

People wonder why homosexuality is really a taboo in Zimbabwe. Well, the Zimbabwean government has made it a criminal offence for two people of the same sex to hold hands, hug, or kiss. The “sexual deviancy” law is one of 15 additions to Zimbabwe’s Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act quietly passed in Parliament. The sections involving gays and lesbians are part of an overhaul of the country’s sodomy laws. It is a criminal offence to be gay in our country. What does that mean however to the families from which those people belong?

My take is that we should bear with the families that have to deal with that. We have universal human rights that are ours by virtue of being human.

One of those rights is the right to freedom of expression. This right can be claimed by homosexuals. The other right is the right to dignity.

I told my boss I was writing about this topic and she said, “Oh please! That’s disgusting, find another topic”. That is the response that one would get upon hearing the word “homosexual”.

That’s what I want to clarify. I’m not saying we should encourage homosexuality. I’m saying that we should talk about it because it’s happening.

Talking about it will help us to see the intensity of the situation and deal with it. We are encouraged to discuss sexual issues with our children.

It’s not telling them how to turn a man on, or how to get a woman into bed. No. We are discussing the morality issues attached to sex before marriage, the risk of diseases, the consequences of teen pregnancies and how they ruin people’s lives. The same thing happened with HIV/Aids.

People didn’t want to talk about it regardless of the rate at which it was spreading. Now people talk about condoms and testing but it took a long time to get here.

This is the same that should happen with homosexuality. We should talk about it and discourage the children from doing it. Tell them about why it’s a taboo. Tell them about how it can curse the generations to come and how it’s offensive to God. These are but a few of the reasons that I hear from people after they get over trying to get rid of the discussion.

I am a Christian and my father was a pastor. I’m not advocating for homosexuality. Let’s just be real with ourselves about the reality of the existence of homosexuality within us. Some people don’t even know the signs that can show them that their children are gay.

The obsessive love for clothes meant for the opposite sex. The love of boys’ clothes that is not reasonably normal. The talking using hands with girlish expressions. Love for chick flicks when one is a man. There are so many ways to tell.

People argue about the significance of talking                   about it. They say that gays say they were born that way and it’s hard to convince them against it. This is why I said it is a very difficult topic but we still should talk about it.

I know how people feel about this, especially Zimbabwean conservatives. But we have gays on our screens every day and even on cartoons so not only are we lying to ourselves that homosexuality doesn’t exist, we are lying to our children and we need to rectify that.