Malaysian and Zimbabwean Gays Rebel

Anything goes for political struggles. Unconventional sexual orientation can cause very serious problems in Malaysia, for instance. Prime Minister of Malaysia Mohamad Mahathir fired his deputy and political opponent Anwar Ibrahim for being gay.

Governmental media outlets published the stories that were told by Ibrahim’s 38-year-old step brother. Those stories caused a lot of shock for the local community, especially for the local gay community. They claimed that homosexuality was used as a weapon in political battles. The Malaysian law is basically the Muslim law. Any kind of unnatural sexual practice is strictly prohibited there, including both oral and anal sex. A couple of years ago, everyone was turning a blind eye on those little passions. No Malaysian citizen was put on trial on the allegation of unconventional sexual preference. Malaysian gays appreciated the tolerance of their government and never took part in any political events. That is why, there was no political gay movement in Malaysia.

It should be mentioned here that gay men were feeling alright in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. There were five gay bars in the city and numerous dancefloors. Yet, those Malaysian gays that live in provincial towns are forced to run away from their feelings and lead double lives. The majority of them marry a woman and then start bisexual relationship.

The drama with Vice Premier Anwar Ibrahim got Malaysian gays out of their groove. The 51-year-old politician was sentenced to six years in prison for his love to men. Now he is accused of group homosexual contacts with his step brother and family driver. Anwar is the father of six children. He denies all the charges. If he does not manage to prove his innocence, he is likely to spend 20 years in jail. For the time being, the probe is being very slow, taking into consideration the fact that the mentioned sexual contact took place back in 1992.

The people of Malaysia believe that homosexual allegation became another method of political techniques. Gays decided that they must stand up for their rights. They have already done something: read enlightening lectures, arranged performances in cafes and street shows. Malaysian gay bars are now all crowded. Furthermore, they started kissing and hugging publicly in the streets.

However, the state was not sitting on its hands either. Malaysian courts have already fined 23 drag queens. Judges believe that those men, who wear women’s outfits, insult Islam. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad stated that homosexuality was a pest from the West.

This pest has even reached Africa. African gays and lesbians started gathering together on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital to pray there. The Christian Church rejects them, so they set up their own concept and church community. One of their leaders stated that they wanted to prove everyone that homosexuality and Christianity could go together.

This combination is absolutely unreal in Zimbabwe’s public life. Homosexual contacts are banned by law there. The people of this country think that it is “Western perversion.” President Robert Mugabe even said that gays were worse than pigs. He was shocked to know that his predecessor Kanaan Banana was a fag. The latter denied everything, of course, but the Church decided to strike him out from the list of its parishioners anyway.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwean gays is determined to fight in the endeavor of an official acknowledgement. Moreover, they want to set up their own church. All organizations of the country expressed their protest against such an initiative. They all said that an attempt to mix Christianity and homosexuality was absolutely immoral.