“MSM” – Homosexuality in Africa

So yes there are some similarities between America and Africa – like the corny a smile is a smile no matter where you are… Sorry I just threw up in my mouth a little bit… But there is one stark difference I have noticed in Tanzania, not only that homosexuality is illegal here, but it is also widely uncommon especially in lesbians. Instead of calling them gay, in Tanzania they put a much more negative connotation on it by referring to them as “males having sex with males” or MSMs. This term “MSM” makes homosexuality sound like a disease and the sad thing is many believe it is a disease in African nations, including Tanzania. People of homosexual orientation are hugely oppressed here to the point where many, especially lesbians, will never come to terms with their sexuality. It is no one’s fault for this huge overlook of an identity; it is more so the traditional culture of these countries, which is hard to change and to be blunt, nothing something I necessary want to change (that’s my anthropological side coming out). What I do what to change, although I know I myself may not be able to, is things like homosexuality’s status as illegal and the punishments for this “crime” like decapitation or life imprisonment.

My lovely boyfriend, Dominic, participating in the LGBT campaign on our campus.

As someone who retweets any catchy post about LGBT equality, I was heart broken after learning that homosexuality was completely illegal and unheard-of in Tanzania especially in Zanzibar where 99% of the population is Muslim. My political science side of my educational background wanted to protest, but my anthropological mind told me to think twice. Although I think beheading someone because of their sexual orientation is barbaric and a serious human rights violation, the culture that is behind those decisions is sound and something I have been forced to accept. I do not accept their vicious treatment of members of the LGBT community, but in order to provide a cultural relative analysis of Tanzania, and Zanzibar in particular, I have to respect their core beliefs.

After visiting a non-governmental organization in Stone Town, called Zayadesa, I had an epiphany. Talking to the NGO about their work in preventing and education people who are at risk for HIV/AIDS I was inspired but not enraptured. It was not until they began using the abbreviation “MSM” that I finally realized what I wanted to spend my undergraduate years studying. MSM is short for males who have sex with males, which essentially means homosexual males. This negative connotation was coined by the Tanzanian government when they discovered men who were married, but still having sex with other men. This term was then expanded once the government realized that there were males who were not married and having sex with other men. In my opinion, and understandably so, I believe this term is meant to degrade any person of homosexual orientation. Of course the government would want to degrade this identity because it is illegal in most parts of Africa.

At my school, Washington College, every year there is a human rights class which presents their own campaigns for world problems that need to be addressed. This year, one group focused on LGBT rights, which highlighted on some of the world’s largest hidden secrets in oppressing members of the LGBT community. The campaign gathered pictures of about 200 students holding signs describing the many disparities around the world for people carrying the, more common than you think, gay label.