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.
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 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
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 love" The 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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