Rights For All
The mere concept of rights is to unite society in a more
harmonious, inclusive and comprehensive manner. Rights are of course, a means
to which life is promoted, protected and cherished in society. They have some
kind of snowball effect towards each other, thus you may not have one right and
leave out the other.
The Constitution of Swaziland in chapter III (24) affords
Swati citizens the right to freedom of expression etc. Now, this may loosely be
translated as being afforded the ability to present yourself to society as you
deem fit. The issue of concern currently is that of gender expression and
sexual identity. The era we live in has its inhabitants being gender and
sexually expressive. It is true to say that expression has taken many forms and
should be embraced in all its kind.
Depressing
It is very depressing to know that in as much as the
Constitution promotes the expression of individuals; a section of the Common
Law disregards this. This is of course outlined by the Common Law under the
Sodomy Act. It states that same-sex consenting males cannot engage in sexual
relations. This is listed as being un-natural.
The implications of the act are in-fact endless as it tends to create
stigma and discrimination around male couples (continued stigma when accessing
services such as that of health), the micro-aggression, the inability for
individuals to live their lives to the fullest (having to have secretive
relationships) and fears of conviction. The aforementioned are just a few,
imagine the indirect complications this law brings about. The law itself does
not only violate one right but delves into the right to privacy. It implies
that what occurs behind closed doors is no longer private; public knowledge as
some may say.
Change
The time for change is now and this is in-fact true to the
repeal of such oppressive laws. De-criminalization of the Common Law, Sodomy
Act is necessary. These laws are no longer relevant in the countries that first
imposed them.
No comments:
Post a Comment