I don’t consider myself a lesbian, but I am a humanist (and an HIV-activist) and I was utterly shocked when I read today that three homosexual HIV-activists had been arrested in Uganda and may be facing a sentence of life in prison.
For what crime you may ask? The answer is to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS and thereby save human lives!
The three activists (two women and one man) had sneaked into a global AIDS-conference and were handing out flyers about homosexual’s rights to HIV-prevention such as "Homosexuals in Uganda also need protection against HIV" and "From 1983 until 2008 the expenditure for HIV-prevention for homosexuals in Uganda was nil shillings".
In Uganda this activity (handing out flyers) is considered "promotion of homosexuality" according to the Ugandan police chief. And homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and even an attempt to engage in a homosexual act is punished with up to seven years in prison. In my opinion this is absolutely appalling. How can a country dictate who you love and show your affection to? And how can they potentially send people to prison for advocating for HIV-protection and human rights?
According to the International Gay and Lesbian Association it is forbidden to be homosexual in 38 African countries.
The AIDS-conference in Uganda was arranged by the UN, USA and the World Bank. There were 1.700 participants from 70 countries.