Madonna Tries to Help two Men Sentenced to 14 yrs for being Gay and a Couple


 
Two years ago, Madonna, who is often seen as a role model 
among gay, lesbian, bi and transgender communities, produced 
I Am Because We Are
a touching documentary about the poverty and difficult conditions
 of people living in Malawi and children growing up in a country 
deeply affected by HIV/AIDS. The primary mode of HIV 
transmission is unprotected heterosexual sex and mother
-to-child HIV transmission is the second major mode of
 the desease transmission. 

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Madonna fans of all sexualities around the world, were deeply touched 
by the portrait and images of this desperate country but apparently 
court judges in Malawi are not that concerned by this plague spreading 
through "natural acts" but are more worried of "protecting" the people of 
Malawi from people like Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga,
 20, a couple of men sentenced to 14 years in prison with hard labour
 for simply loving one another in what they define as an "unnatural" way.
"I will give you a scaring sentence so that the public be protected from 
example," said Judge Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwaaccoding to the 
BBC.Michelle Kagari, deputy Africa director of Amnesty International, ca
the sentence "an outrage", reports the AP news agency. She described 
 the pair as "prisoners of conscience" and said Amnesty would continue
 to campaign for them to be freed. 
people like you, so that we are not tempted to emulate this horrendous



Madonna fans on various online boards are having heated 
Madonna should or should not issue a public statement on 

the matter in support of the communities that helped her
becoming what she is today with their continuous support
 over the years.After all she inspired sentiments of respect and
 tollerance with songs such as "In This Life" in which she says 
that "shouldn't matter who you choose to loveThe BBC also 
reports that the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR)
 have been urging authorities to relax the country's stance on
 homosexuals. The government has come under pressure from
 Western donors over the issue. For a poor country, 40% of whose 
development budget depends on donors, such concerns must be 
taken seriously. Reports Matthew Rettenmund (Madonna fan and
 blogger): ..I would say that while Madonna is not the Queen of 
Malawi, her silence (so far—I've heard rumblings a statement 
might happen) is the African elephant in the room. Certainly 
she should think twice before asking her LGBT fans to support her
 Raising Malawi charity, though it could be argued that punishing 
the youth of a country for one draconian law and one outrageously
 barbaric sentence might not be the best plan of attack.
 

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