People who identify as LGBTI in Malawi live in fear
By Michelle Chifamba, Malawi – Twenty-nine year old Chisomo Chundu* (not real name), from the low-income township of Ndirande, Blantyre said.
According to Chundu, in Malawi people who identify as gays, lesbians or transgender live in fear of stigma, violence and discrimination. This discrimination extends to access rights such as health care. Chundu lamented “ If you get assaulted, you can’t even report the case to the police because you will be criminalised for being gay, lesbian or transgender instead of accessing justice. At the hospital you cannot get even basic health care treatment”.
Chundu is a transgender woman and as a result she is viewed by society as a curse, demonic and needs to be exorcised or a disability that has to be cured. She expresses that “at one point my parents took me to a faith healer who said I had a mermaid spirit because I was half woman, half man,” Chundu said.
Malawi is a member of the international community committed towards adhering to universally accepted human rights standards, as included in its Constitution.
Section 20(1) of the Constitution, provides that Discrimination of persons in any form is prohibited and all persons are, under any law, guaranteed equal and effective protection against discrimination on grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, nationality, ethnic or social origin, disability, property, birth or other status.
In 2015, the Malawian government accepted that LGBTI people should have access to health and security- but human rights activists in Malawi said the policies were not implemented on the ground.
Thirty-year-old Philip Gundani a voluntary peer educator at a clinic in Mbayane, says they witness a number of cases of violence, stigma and discrimination directed towards the LGBTI people in Malawi.
Gundani says, “The challenges of accessing health care services, education, legal services and the enjoyment of safety and security affect the LGBTI community. There is a lot that needs to be done to address the key challenges that they face.”
“Gender based violence experienced by transgender people is high in this country. They are raped, physically assaulted and threatened but remain silent because their identity is seen as taboo. There are cultures that take men through the transformation process from being a boy to a man and boys who are seen as feminine are used as women to teach other boys how to have sex with a woman,” Gundani said.
A 2018 Human Rights Watch Report- Let Posterity Judge: Violence and Discrimination against LGBTI people in Malawi, states that LGBTI people face routine violence and discrimination in almost all aspects of their daily lives.
Police often physically assault, arbitrarily arrest and detain them, in some cases without due process or legal basis, at other times as punishment for simply exercising basic rights, including seeking treatment in health institutions, read the HRW report.
The Lesbian, Intersex, Transgender and other Extensions (LITE), a non- governmental organisation that is based in Lilongwe, was founded by Lawrence Phiri Chipili, transgender man has its focus on trying to address the key challenges that are faced by the LGBTI community in Malawi.
According to LITE, founder Chipili, although society is ignorant about the existence of LGBTI people- transgender people exist and there is need for a comprehensive approach to address issues that affect the LGBTI community.
“We did a survey in some rural and low-income communities and discovered that many of the LGBTI community are raped by close relatives as a way of ‘correctional’ rape. Some are beaten by their parents as a ‘corrective’ measure forcing them to change the way they express themselves,” said Chipili.
Minority Rights group Centre for Development for People said they are campaigning for an end to the discrimination and hostility towards the LGBTI community in Malawi.
The organisation says it has been working with various organisations including the church and health institutions providing training to health workers on LGBTI rights.
Rodney Chalera, CEDEP Advocacy Manager said people need to be educated about the rights of the LGBTI community.
Chalera said, “People need to be educated about LGBTI people, if we openly talk about it we can find a solution- because not talking about it does not mean gays, lesbians and transgender people do not exist.”
“Religious beliefs and the affiliation of health workers at health institutions have been the contribution towards discrimination, stigma and violence against the LGBTI community,” he said.
Towards the 2019 elections, opposition political parties had a debate over the rights of the LGBTI community and the need to change the laws that criminalise same-sex conduct between adults.
During the pre-election debate, Frank Mwenifumbo of the United Democratic Front said the issue of LGBTI is a foreign phenomenon which does not exist in the Malawian culture and tradition.
“Although Human Rights are a fundamental component of democracy, Malawi type of democracy must include our culture, norms and beliefs and that excludes the LGBTI rights,” said Mwenifundo.
