Of Malawi laws on homosexuality and the Pope’s pronouncement

The Pope’s recent announcement that Catholic priests should be allowed to bless same-sex marriages has sparked controversial  debates especially on  social media platforms including WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook.

There are some Malawians who vehemently hold the view that homosexuality is totally unnatural. Three sources of reference are usually cited  to substantiate this claim.

Firstly, the Bible clearly condemns homosexuality. Leviticus 20 verse 13 says that if a man sleeps with a man as with a woman, they have both committed a detestable act. They must be put to death; their death is their own fault.

Additionally, the genesis of marriage is believed to be between a man and a woman.

Genesis 2 verse 24 says “therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh”

Others argue  that if God wanted to permit homosexuality, he would have created  two men and two women and thereafter blessed the same sex marriages. One wonders if the Pope has privileged powers to override God’s decrees.

Secondly, others condemn homosexuality based on  Malawi’s penal code which criminalises any homosexual encounter.

Section 28 of the Penal code stipulates, “any male person who, whether in public or private, commits any act of gross indecency with another male person, or procures another male person to commit any act of gross indecency with him, or attempts to procure the commission of any such act by any male person with himself or with another male person, whether in public or private, shall be guilty of a felony and shall be liable to imprisonment for five years, with or without corporal punishment”.

Lastly, some Malawians condemn homosexuality based on traditional and cultural beliefs. For instance, people in Malawi who exhibit homosexuality traits are considered as being abnormal.

Then there is another school of thought that efforts must be applied to ensure that homosexuals enjoy  the same human rights as anyone else.

First, proponents of homosexuality argue that there is scientific evidence that sexual orientation is natural. Others argue that since  no one can choose to be a homosexual, criminalising homosexuality is unfair and uncalled for.

In addition, homosexuality relationships have also been observed in many animal species including birds, monkeys and reptiles.

It is also fallacious to insinuate that every sexual encounter in animals including human being results into pro-creation.

Second, proponents of homosexuality argue  that all human beings regardless of their sexual orientation and creed must enjoy all the human rights as enshrined in the country’s constitution.

Some people have even asked pertinent  questions, how many homosexuals have been put to death in Malawi in accordance with the Bible’s decrees?

Why did the Joyce Banda administration suspend the implementation of Malawi’s penal code that criminalizes homosexuality?

These two thought provoking questions substantiate that both the Bible and Malawi penal code may be outdated.

It is still mindboggling to envision  Malawian priests  blessing same-sex marriages while the law of the land does not permit them to do so.

The most proactive approach was for the Pope and the  Roman Catholic at large to lobby the State governments and human rights organizations so that laws are enacted  in favour of the homosexuals.