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Malawi: Update on Engaged Gay Couple on Trial

Monday, January 25th, 2010

In Malawi, two men who dared to go public with their relationship by holding a traditional “marriage” ceremony are on trial for indecency, and face 14 years in jail. “It’s so scary,” one gay man, who didn’t want to be identified, told Sky News in the city of Blantyre, where the trial is taking place.

“We are not feeling free and are worried about being arrested. It is the first case to be brought under Malawi’s longstanding legislation banning homosexuality in years.

The rise of US style evangelist preachers has contributed to a hardening of attitudes in the tiny southern African state.

Full Story from Sky News
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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Posted in engaged, gay couple, Gay Marriage, malawi, marriage equality, prison, same sex marriage, trial | No Responses »

Malawi: Update on Gay Couple Imprisoned After Engagement

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

The traditional engagement ceremony of two men on Dec. 26, 2009 has created controversy in conservative Malawi. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were arrested two days after their engagement and remain in police custody, facing long jail terms.

A traditional engagement in Malawi counts as a civil marriage and is recognised as such throughout the country. Chimbalanga and Monjeza are the first gay couple to declare their sexual orientation in this manner. The couple is facing charges of “gross indecency” and buggery for “having carnal knowledge against the order of nature”, offences under Malawi’s colonial-era penal code.



Arrest condemned: Following their arrest, local human rights activists, civil society organisations and international human rights organisations condemned the government. Amnesty International criticised the arrest and called for the immediate and unconditional release of the couple from police custody. Amnesty accuses Malawi of criminalising homosexuality, gender identity and the couple’s legitimate exercise of their rights.

Full Story from IPS

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in arrested, engaged, gay couple, Gay Marriage, malawi, marriage equality, prison, same sex marriage | No Responses »

Malawi: Engaged Couple May Be "Tested" To See if They Had Sex

Friday, January 1st, 2010

The first gay couple to marry in Malawi face a humiliating medical examination aimed at proving they have had sexual relations, it emerged today. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza could be sentenced to 14 years in prison if found guilty of “unnatural practices between males”.

Gay rights campaigners reacted angrily to the men’s treatment and warned that a renewed trend of homophobia was sweeping Africa.

Chimbalanga, 20, and 26-year-old Monjeza made history when they committed to marriage at a symbolic ceremony last weekend – the first same-sex couple to do so in the southern African state, in which homosexual acts are illegal.

Full Story from The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/01/malawi-gay-couple-married-test

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in arrested, engaged, gay couple, Gay Marriage, intercourse, malawi, medical exam, sex | No Responses »