I just caught the news and heard about the case in Malawi of a gay couple being given 14 years in prison for 'unnatural acts'. I'm a ball of contradictions on this one - Firstly, I think that it's abhorrent that this case even went to court - all my liberal sensibilities are offended. But...
Should I expect Malawi to take the views of the liberal west on this? Isn't this how we got into this mess in the first place - a colonial mindset that says 'we know best'. It has the potential to disenfranchise and alienate. There is a paternalism in our approach to Africa which I think needs addressing.
So what do I do? Do I condemn the Malawian's as ignorant 'natives' that need educating by the west...Or do I accept the judgement, hoping that one day they become more tolerant, but in doing so allowing the human rights of millions of Gay Malawians to be violated?
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