HATED FOR BEING DIFFERENT

The same country that gave the world Idi Amin has once again dug deep to give you Yoweri Museveni. Idi Amin is remembered as being a brutal and murderous military dictator, there are no words yet to immortalise Museveni. 

The less said about The Ethics and Integrity Minister Reverend Simon Lokodo the better. Which wing in hell is reserved for Reverends who say that child rape is better than homosexuality?
If you haven’t had the chance to have a look at the shocking anti-gay Bill you should google it. Not only have they criminalised a sexual preference by saying it is punishable by life imprisonment but there is a provision which reads, “A person who ‘keeps a house, room, set of rooms, or place of any kind for purposes of homosexuality’ also faces seven years’ imprisonment.” Ugandans cannot even have gay people under their roofs lest they be found guilty of keeping a set of rooms for the purposes of homosexuality. Gay people should basically be banished to a far away land where they are not Museveni’s problem.

Look I am by no means the patron saint of a lawless land ask anyone, I am intolerant of many things; like unintelligent people and basically all human beings. But I still find it ridiculous to entertain and practice racism, homophobia, sexism and any other type of segregation that the person on the receiving end of my disdain has no control over.
Being obnoxiously heterosexual myself I cannot debate the merits of homosexuality being the way people were born. Being fiercely determined to have a say in the course of my life, however, I understand the power of choice and the detriments of stifling it. Does Uganda have no white friends? They need to ask around about what happens when the oppressed grow weary of being oppressed. Can a constitution that provides for freedom of expression be superseded by a law that undermines it in people’s personal lives? Man, I have questions.

Decency

I don’t know if I currently have the spiritual maturity to even discuss the ETHICS AND INTEGRITY minister. Yes, I shouted that and shook my head and stamped my feet as I typed that. Where in the history of language and decency has it ever been okay to justify child rape for the sake of demonising something that you do not believe in?

As if that were not enough that same country’s Anti-pornography Bill has veered so far off course that it attempts to dictate what is appropriate attire for women. Remember when you guys were ready to bear arms for the right to bare thighs when our miniskirts were facing extinction? You needed to calm down and save all your energy to join hands with our Ugandan comrades because the anti-pornography Bill is looking to criminalise the wearing of miniskirts. Again, what is freedom of expression? 

The spirit is clearly not weary enough if I did not keel over and quit breathing when I read that some chap in Limpopo is giving cash prizes to virgins. This is his innovative idea to preserve the chastity of girls. He is not just shooting in the dark though; he is the founder of SA Virgin Girls Awards, an event someone somewhere with accreditation superpowers gave the greenlight.

“This is to encourage young girls to keep their virginity so that together we can eradicate the chances of being infected with sexually transmitted illnesses” My eyes glazed over because from that logic the fact that I am a woman makes me predisposed to being an STI host and unless I keep my virginity the rate of STIs will increase. Why is it a woman’s duty to ensure that STIs are kept in check? KEEP MY VIRGINITY FOR WHO? WHO IS TELLING MEN TO KEEP THEIR VIRGINITY? 

Are we going to discuss the way it is a bigger crime in most African countries to terminate a pregnancy you know you cannot handle than it is to divorce yourself entirely from the maintenance of a child you are also responsible for creating? Have I ranted for too long? Do I still have any male friends?

Look, I am in no way promoting promiscuity I just wonder why the world (read: men) are so fearful of living in a world where a woman is in full control of her life and the way she chooses to live it.
Why does the world hate women? Why are men, who love referring to us as the weaker sex always determined in waging unsolicited wars against us?

I wonder how mind blowing it would be to actively go about constructing the type of world you want to live in, and for people to let you. I am black, I am a woman, I have an inappropriate sense of humour and inflated opinion of self – the way the world is set up I should not amount to nothing. But watch.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: