Two cruel variants of homophobia: Zambia and Indonesia
Late last month, two nations thousands of miles apart displayed two examples of the ongoing damage that homophobia wreaks: the arrest of a 13-year-old in Zambia and whippings in Indonesia.
In Indonesia on Jan. 28, the enforcers of strict sharia law in Aceh province imposed a punishment of nearly 80 lashes each against two men convicted of engaging in gay sex. Conservative Muslim authorities in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, regularly order people to be whipped if they violate strict sharia laws against homosexuality, adultery, drinking alcohol and meeting members of the opposite sex.
Also on Jan. 28, four other people in Banda Aceh were whipped 17 to 40 times for drinking and for unchaperoned visits with the opposite sex.
In Zambia, a local news site reported on a homophobic police reaction to an inappropriate and reportedly non-consensual sexual encounter between two boys on Jan. 27.
The homosexual sex was described with the outdated phrase “against the order of nature”. No further information was available about what occurred after the boy’s arrest.
Police arrest boy aged 13 for having sex with a 10-year-old boy against the order of nature
A 13-year-old boy of Kitwe has been arrested for having sex with a 10-year-old boy against the order of nature.
Copperbelt Police Commissioner Elias Chushi said the incident happened [Jan. 27] in a stream near the 16 feet area in Kitwe.
Mr Chushi said two female passerbys witnessed the act. …
He said some children disclosed that the suspect has been abusing them for some time now….
“Medical report forms issued and victims escorted to Kitwe Teaching Hospital for medical examinations. The suspect has since been arrested,” he said.
Two Indonesian men flogged in Aceh province for having gay sex
BANDA ACEH (AFP) – A gay couple were flogged in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province Thursday (Jan 28), justice officials said, in a public spectacle lambasted by human rights groups.
The two men were whipped nearly 80 times each for having gay sex, which is outlawed in Aceh province under local Islamic law.
The pair, who were not identified, winced in pain and pleaded for the whipping to stop, as a masked officer beat their backs with a rattan stick.
The punishment was briefly halted and the men, both in their twenties, were allowed a drink of water before it continued.
The mother of one man fainted at the sight of her son being whipped.
“Islamic syariah enforcement is final, no matter who it is, and even visitors must respect local norms,” public order official Heru Triwijanarko told AFP.
The men were arrested in November at a rental home where a landlord found them half-naked in their room.
Gay sex is not illegal elsewhere in Indonesia and Aceh is the only region in the world’s biggest Muslim nation that imposes syariah law.
In Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, public flogging is a common punishment for a range of offences that include gambling, drinking alcohol and adultery.
Four others were whipped between 17 and 40 times on the same day over allegations they drank alcohol or met with members of the opposite sex.
Human rights groups slam public caning as cruel, and Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has called for it to end.
But it has strong support among Aceh’s population.
The region started using religious law after it was granted special autonomy in 2001, an attempt by the central government to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.
Related articles:
- This site’s archive of articles about Zambia.
- This site’s archive of articles about Indonesia.
Local context:
- Anti-gay laws, arrests and imprisonment in Zambia
- Anti-gay laws, arrests and imprisonment in Indonesia
Wider context:
