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LGBTQ rights and inclusion amid Botswana’s constitutional review process

All Batswana must be included in debate

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Constitutional review interest group meeting in Kasane, Botswana. (Photo by Raymond Kolanyane)

The Botswana courts are among the very few in Southern Africa that has set a trajectory in realizing and protecting LGBTIQ+ rights. 

In 2016, the Botswana Court of Appeal, in the Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (LEGABIBO) registration case, proclaimed that ā€œmembers of the gay, lesbian and transgender community, although no doubt a small minority, and unacceptable to some on religious or other grounds, form part of the rich diversity of any nation and are fully entitled in Botswana, as in any other progressive state, to the constitutional protection of their dignity.ā€ This remark would go on to set the tone for queer rights in Botswana and the region. 

The presidential promise of advancing together

Commencing the 2018 16 days of activism against violence on women and children campaign, President Mokgweetsi Masisi acknowledged LGBTIQ+ people as vulnerable a group who continue to face stigma and discrimination in Botswana. He went on to say that they need equal protection under the law. This an authentic statement because they do form part of the rich diverse nation of Botswana. In response, the members of the LGBTQI+ community through an open letter thanked him for his words and encouraged him to live up to his call for protection. In 2019 during his election campaign, the president of Botswana promised Batswana a fair and equal constitutional review process that reflects the voices and concerns of all Batswana ā€” regardless of their social, economic and gender status. This coming at a time when his government was fighting for the recriminalization of LGBTIQ+. This appeal by the State was a push for the continuous exclusion of LGBTIQ+ and denying them their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, liberty, privacy, dignity and protection under law. In its sense, being LGBTIQ+ is a political statement and to fully enjoy the privileges that come with the bill of rights as stipulated in the constitution one needs the backing and pledge of allegiance from the government. 

A constitutional review ā€“ a space for all?

In January 2022, President Masisi hadĀ promisedĀ that the constitutional review process would be inclusive of LGBTIQ+ people. This had given hope and a form of relevance and belonging to the LGBTIQ+ community that finally we were being seen by the highest office in the land.Ā Ā This presidential promise had encouraged LGBTIQ+ people to practice their fundamental civic duty and contributing to a better and inclusive nation. The constitutional review process commenced at the anticipation of Batswana, but more anticipated was the LGBTIQ+ community. Would this process be inclusive, and progressive and reflect the diversity of Batswana as promised by the president bearing in mind his consistency and failure to live up to his words or were the LGBTIQ+ community once again a pawn in the political game? A December 2022Ā Afrobarometer reportĀ showed that an increasing number Batswana are losing trust in the presidentā€™s office. This is followed by the recent controversial reports around the president interfering with theĀ judicial systemĀ in the just concludedĀ Bamalete land case. One tends to wonder the legitimacy and question the transparency of the mandate of the Office of the President in ensuring that all Batswana are included and have a fair access to social, economic and legislative practices. In our fight for the realization and promotion of human rights for all, to become true leaders and masters of diversity and inclusion, we must be deliberate and intentional about practicing inclusion from all dimensions.

The bare minimum and reflection of diversity

President Masisi hadĀ appointedĀ the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to review Botswanaā€™s Constitution and spearhead this process. In country ofĀ 2.4 millionĀ people representation matters. The commission of inquiry to tick the gender box have eight females form part of the 19 tasked force team. The rather disappointment that when diversity and representation is addressed, it is only limited to cisgendered male and female. It does not consider the broader gender and sexuality spectrum. Such an essential democratic and civic process needs representation of already marginalized groups, such as young women, people living with disabilities and LGBTIQ+ people. After all, the High Court did state that they [the LGBTIQ+ community] form part of the rich diversity of Botswana. The president, after his promise ensuring inclusion of LGBTIQ+ people in the constitutional review process, made an intentional decision to exclude LGBTIQ+ persons in the commission of enquiry. The Presidential Commission of InquiryĀ task forceĀ had experts from the public workers union, House of Chiefs, Village Development Committee, public health education sector, religious community, advocates for people with disabilities and the attorney generalā€™s office. The setup of the commission contributes to multiple forms of exclusion of sexual and gender minorities; as country that recently decriminalized a group that had been marginalized and vulnerable for decades, the intentional representation of LGBTIQ+ people would have been present in the commission of inquiry.Ā Ā 

The ignorance of considering the law

In 2021, when the Botswana Court of AppealĀ decriminalized consensual same sex-sexual relations, this saw a landmark change and the continuous, infectious trajectory from the 2016 LEGABIBO registration case. This put another stamp of approval of legitimacy by the courts that human rights indeed are for all. The fundamental rights to expression, liberty, privacy and equal protection under the law are to be enjoyed by LGBTIQ+ people. This was now the law as pronounced by the courts. The process of constitutional review failed to live up the law ā€” to protect and include LGBTIQ+ people. Society and its norms are dynamic and evolutionary and transform as a society and the world change. LGBTIQ+ people mobilized one another and collectively entered a setting that from the onset aimed to exclude them. The constitutional review process setting included theĀ KgotlaĀ setting, which for many queer people and women is already an unwelcoming place filled with patriarchal dominance. Galvanized with religious and traditional fundamentalist theĀ KgotlaĀ platform seemed like a deliberate intention to continue excluding women and queer people. In 2021,Ā women who wore pants were turned awayĀ from receiving the COVID-19 vaccinations at theĀ KgotlaĀ spaces. Queer resilience is a powerful thing as this did not discourage LGBTIQ+ people from exercising their democratic rights.Ā LGBTIQ+ showed upĀ and showed cause. If there is one thing to learn from a community who for years have been criminalized and ostracized is that we continue to have hope and that the struggle for true freedom and liberty continues.Ā A luta continua!

The presidential commission of LGBTIQ+ erasure

The commission of inquiry submitted its finalĀ reportĀ with recommendations to the president for consideration. The report was also made available to the public to engage with. The voices captured and recommendations made caused an outcry from the public, civil society organizations and human rights movements. The report displayed the continuation erasure LGBTIQ+ people and goes against the orders of the courts which are now laws and the utterances ofĀ President Masisi. The commission needed to investigate best practices and incorporate these into the recommendations to the president for review. It needed to have identified and differentiated constitutional matters from civic and social matters. The recommendations took little to no human rights-based approach resulting in multiple discriminatory and harmful recommendations that impact various vulnerable and marginalised groups in Botswana. The report was unsafe and lacked inclusive and protective language, this in addition to it already being anti-gender and anti-LGBTIQ+. This goes against the principles and ethics of human rights, body autonomy and doing-no-harm.Ā Ā 

Bradley Fortuin is the LGBTIQ+ Program Officer at the Southern Africa Litigation Center and is social justice activist with over 10 years of experience in program design and strategic management, focusing on developing, implementing, and strengthening LGBTIQ+-led movements. 

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Opinions

DC To Host 1st National TDOV Gala on Easter Sunday

Trans USA National Pageantry and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) will host the 1st AnnualĀ BlossomĀ Gala at Hook Hall.

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The first International Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) celebration was held 15 years ago, with the goal of addressing the major concern that the only well-known trans-centered day was the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which mourned the murders of transgender people but did not acknowledge and celebrate living members of the transgender community. On March 31, Trans USA National Pageantry and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) will host the 1st AnnualĀ BlossomĀ Gala at Hook Hall, which will serve as the culminating event of their TDOV programming in Washington, DC.Ā 

Dylan Drobish (also known as Dylan B. Dickherson White), National Director at Trans USA, offered the following:Ā ā€œIt is our hope that Blossom will serve as a reminder not just of the battle we face every day but also of the beauty, excellence, intellect, and resilience of transgender Americans. We believe that this event is especially important given the increased backlash and violence against our community in the last few years alone, with nearly 500 anti-trans bills under consideration across 41 states as of March. However, Blossomā€”and TDOV itselfā€”is a celebration held in defiance of the idea that trans lives are only worthy of headlines once they have ended.ā€

Preceded by an impactful, inspiring rally at the national mall (11:00 AM to 3:00 PM) featuring Angelica Ross of Pose and AHSBlossom is a fundraising initiative that blends keynote speakers, a Q&A panel discussion with national leaders in the movement for transgender equality, and the artistry of drag with CHERRY BOMB–an all-trans drag showcase headlined by trans icon, activist, and Drag Race pioneer Monica Beverly Hillz. This pivotal event will also serve as the official public launch of the TRANSform the Vote initiative, which aims to inspire transgender people and allies to make their voices heard at the ballot box.

But make no mistake. Blossom is a celebration, and the event organizers have pulled out all the stops to ensure that ticket prices remain accessible without sacrificing the magic of a true gala experience. For truly gram-worthy ā€œpink carpetā€ photos, all attendees are invited to “dress to impress” with their interpretation of a timely theme that celebrates the beauty of coming into one’s own as a visible member of the trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming community.  

The event comes at a pivotal time for both the community and the organizations seeking to protect it: This summer, NCTE will officially merge with Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) to create Advocates for Trans Equality, doubling their ability to lead the next chapter of the transgender rights movement. This November, Trans USA will welcome over 80 representatives from across the country to their national competition, which will for the first time also feature a national conference and exposition solely focused on the trans and non-binary community. While monumental, these 2024 events come with unprecedented challenges, as many major corporations and grant programs refuse to provide funding related to ā€œcontroversial social or political issuesā€, especially in an election year. 

Despite these challenges, celebratory events like Blossom are, unsurprisingly, now more important than ever, with trans lives having been politicized to such a polarizing extent. Drobish, a former Mr. Trans USA himself offered the following: 

ā€œā€˜Narrative identityā€™ refers to the idea that our identities are formed from the internal stories we tell about ourselves (and our interpretation of them). Organizations like Trans USA and NCTE are here to help rewrite the narrative that gets passed down to the next generation of trans and non-binary folks. My message to anyone involved with Trans USA or the movement in general has always been that you are the author of your storyā€”the story that gives your life meaning and purposeā€”and you get to choose how itā€™s told. Are you the hero or the victim? Are you the agent or the object? Are you the one telling your story, or is someone else doing all the talking? Itā€™s 2024, and itā€™s time to take the pen back. Because true visibility isnā€™t about being seen; itā€™s about making others feel seen. Seen enough to BLOSSOM.ā€ 

Tickets for the Blossom gala start at just $15, but VIP guests ($100) will receive access to a premium open bar fromĀ 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, light hors d’oeuvres, and prime seating, in addition to the 20-entertainer showcase with a Drag Race headliner! While doors open at 4:30 PM for the event, advance purchase online is strongly recommended by the organizers, as only a limited number of these VIP tickets are available.

-Dylan Drobish (National Director, Trans USA National Pageantry; Mr. Trans USA 2022, Mr. Freddieā€™s 2019

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Opinions

Attacking Jews is latest Trump outrage

Anyone who supports equality and peace must vote for Biden

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(Washington Blade file photo by Christopher Kane)

Calling out the Jewish community in the United States as Trump did, is both dumb, and anti-Semitic. The Jewish community has been a Democratic constituency for many years, and attacking them wonā€™t get them to vote for him.

It is a difficult time for many Jews in the world today. I being one of them. I am a strong supporter of Israel, but support Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who believes there will never be peace in the Middle East as long as Netanyahu and his government are in control. Israel cannot keep annexing West Bank land, which should be part of a Palestinian state if we can get to a two-state solution. In fact, they must draw back the settlements now there. At the same time, like Schumer, I believe both Netanyahu and Hamas have to go. Being anti-Netanyahu is not being anti-Israel, just as being anti-Trump is not being anti-United States, or wanting Hamas to go, is not being anti-Palestinian. 

Attacking Jews is just one more outrageous thing coming out of Trumpā€™s mouth. He is a notorious sexist, racist, homophobic, pig. He is an old man who canā€™t control his mouth and continues to spout nonsense. His apparently limited brain power is tied up in disgusting views of the world and individuals. He mocks those with disabilities like he did to a New York Times reporter, and mocks President Biden for his stutter. There was a recent column in the Washington Post reminding people Trumpā€™s father had Alzheimerā€™s. I think we may be seeing the disease manifest itself in Trump. 

I have written this election is between two older men. I myself am older, and understand one often forgets a name, a date, or an event. Having just written a memoir, which I hope will be published in May, in its preface I say ā€œthese are dates and events as I remember them.ā€ But as neuroscientist Charan Ranganath recently wrote in the Washington Post, that in no way limits how a person can understand complex issues, or in my case work as a consultant and research and write weekly columns. For a president, especially one who is older, it is important for us to know who is surrounding him or her. I am definitely more secure knowing those who will be around and advising President Biden, versus those around Trump. No one person alone, whatever their age, can handle all the issues facing a president.

Whether you are a Jew supporting Israel, a Muslim supporting the Palestinian people, or someone like me supporting both, you are better off with President Biden. If you support the Palestinian people having their freedom, then Trump must strike fear in your heart, after all, he is the one who moved the American embassy to Jerusalem. 

The idea of electing a man convicted of fraud in his business dealings, found liable for sexually mistreating a woman, and who faces another 88 criminal counts, is ludicrous. It actually says as much about the people who would vote for him, as it does about Trump. A man who brags about taking away the right of women to control their own body, and healthcare, doesnā€™t deserve the vote of any woman. A man who opposes equal rights, affirmative action, and saw good people on both sides in Charlottesville, doesnā€™t deserve the vote of any Black American. A man who opposes any forgiveness of student loans, denies climate change, opposes making community college free, doesnā€™t deserve the vote of any young person. 

It amazes me when people compare how things were four years ago to today, and say they were better then. A time you couldnā€™t find toilet paper on grocery shelves, 1,000 people a day were dying of COVID, the Dow Jones was at 19,000 and today itā€™s at 39,000. The country was hemorrhaging jobs and in the last three years 13 million have been created. Wages are higher and unemployment lower. 

Of course, as President Biden says, we need to do more. He is doing it, Trump didnā€™t. Trump gave a $2 trillion tax cut to the wealthy, increasing the national debt. He pledges to do it again. Biden passed a massive infrastructure bill, now creating thousands of jobs building and repairing bridges and roads, in every state. He passed the Chips and Science Act, recently announcing new chip factories in four states, creating thousands of new construction and manufacturing jobs. Those factories will change the U.S. from an importing country, to a producing one. That is some of the real change Biden has brought about. 

Trump talks big, but never produced; Biden is producing for the American people, and will continue to do so.

Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

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Letter-to-the-Editor

Banning the Rainbow Flag: the latest act of GOP madness

Prohibition included in government spending bill the president signed

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The Progress Pride flag flies in front of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin on July 22, 2022. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

The Republican agenda is an obvious one:Ā Distract from real issues by assaulting the most vulnerable. That’s why they have focused their hatred on the LGBTQ+ community. After years of legislating book bans, curriculum censorship, bathroom restrictions and withholding medically needed gender therapy, their latest act is signature Republican cruelty: For a crucial trillion-dollar budget that would prevent a government shutdown, the GOP slipped in a measure to ban the display of Rainbow Flags at U.S. embassies all over the world.

This is not an act of mere symbolism. In too many countries, being queer is punishable by imprisonment or death. Measures like this give a green light to violence and homophobia both at home and abroad. It places more LGBTQ+ people at tangible risk. It is an outrageous abuse of the political process.

This cynical political maneuver is typical of the GOP, the Party of Destruction. But equally egregious is that President Biden and Democrats approved the budget, knowing the poison pill line item that had already been added.

Now, President Biden vows to repeal the embassy flag ban measure. We will hold him to his vow. Will he expend the political capital necessary to make the repeal happens? We must remember that he and the Congress capitulated to a small group of GOP manipulators and, in this instance, saw the global LGBTQ+ community as expendable.

The Democratic Party positions itself as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community. They must hold their ground. They must represent and defend all of us. Otherwise, an emboldened GOP, led by Trump, will only escalate their merciless attacks on our vulnerable communities.”

Charles Beal is president of the Gilbert Baker Foundation and the Save the Rainbow Flag Campaign.

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