African Malawi } Will Review Laws Banning Homosexuality
Posted by: Bridgette P. LaVictoire
In response to public opinion and the fact that their aid is threatened with being cut, the African nation of Malawi has announced that they will review laws banning homosexuality. This move comes as the United States has announced that it will cut aid to nations that do not decriminalize homosexuality. Currently, Malawi gets about $200 million a year in aid, most of which goes to healthcare.
Ephraim Chiume, the justice minister, said that the nation was going to review provisions of the penal code relating to “indecent practices and unnatural acts.” He told one site “In view of the sentiments from the general public and in response to public opinion regarding certain laws, the government wishes to announce to the Malawi nation that it is submitting the relevant laws and provisions of laws to the law commission for review.”
Britain has already suspended part of their aid program to Malawi.
Recently, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told diplomats at the UN in Geneva that “Gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights.” She insisted that a country’s cultural or religious traditions were not excuse for discrimination and informed them that “being gay is not a western invention. It is a human reality.”
Via The Guardian
Via The Guardian
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