One afternoon a few months ago, a group of Malawian journalists went to cover a government event in the lakeshore district of Mangochi.
After a busy day upland, the team of local journalists went to the shores of Lake Malawi at Cape Maclear where the cool breeze blowing from the lake provided the much needed coolant for the sweltering heat in the sandy lakeshore location.
But after a while, the breeze was not enough for the day's heat prompting the journalists – the writer included – to run in search of some cold drinks to help provide the body with some liquid coolant to aid the breeze in maintaining the average body temperature.
The search began and after a while, eureka! A place where cool, frozen drinks were being sold was found. But that was not the only discovery.
Scanning through the walls of the drinking joint, pictures of men dressed like females and beautified with feminine ornaments posing with men whose masculinity seemed so intact were spotted. Although the males posing as women had prettified their male faces with makeup, replaced their six packs with some makeshift breasts and covered their hair with wigs, even to the eye of the uninitiated, it was obvious the people in the pictures were gay – or at least acted like some.
Asking around, it was revealed that indeed the picture was taken during a party organized by some foreigners at the club. It was also exposed that some local men and boys around Cape Maclear are engaged in commercial sex work with male tourists patronizing the lakeshore resorts.
Same sex relationships are outlawed in Malawi and as a consequence, talk of such issues is surrounded by so much secrecy, leaving one to deduce from observations than confessions.
The issue of same sex relationships came in the spotlight a few years ago when two men were arrested for holding an engagement to marry in Blantyre.
However, the culprits were later released on a presidential pardon after UN secretary general Ban-Ki Moon intervened and called on the then Malawi leader, Professor Bingu Wa Mutharika to relax same sex laws.
Although the laws were never reviewed, there seem to be some kind of relaxed enforcement. For example, early this year, a woman also came out in the media declaring she was a lesbian but there was no action taken by the law enforcement agencies this time.
"The lack of police action after the revelation only shows that government is trying to lay low to avoid hyping the same sex debate. Especially after UN involvement and public resentment among locals, a mid-point stance is not a strange option," says Dr. Jessie Kabwila, a local rights activist.
Despite emerging evidence that the practice is growing, as explained in the Cape Maclear anecdote above, many people still doubt men have sex with fellow men in Malawi.
"As it grows underground, it is threatening investments we have made in HIV/AIDS prevention.
"There is some likelihood that some of these men are involved in sex with other men for money, but they could as well be involved with women to be seen as conforming members of society. This creates a web that could fuel the spread of HIV thereby jeopardizing our efforts," says Martha Kwataine, Executive Director of the Malawi Health Equity Network (MEHN).
Mrs. Kwataine's remarks resonate with a recommendation by government to also focus on people who engage in same sex in an effort to win in the fight against the further spread of HIV in Malawi.
Population Services International (PSI), a leading global health organization that addresses some of the most serious risks to the health of people in the developing world, already targets homosexuals among the at-risk population.
PSI Malawi's Country Director Sarah Makunganya Gibson says men who have sex with men are a stigmatized population segment in Malawi which prompts most of them to engage in sex with women as well.
"A small study conducted in Blantyre showed that 66 percent males who have sex with males also have sex with women. This increases the risk of further spread of HIV in Malawi," Gibson notes.
She thinks the best thing to do now that it is an open secret that the practice is rampant, is to adapt HIV/AIDS prevention strategies that cater for diverse sexual orientations.
"All promotion on HIV/AIDS prevention is tailored around heterosexual themes. As a result, men who have sex with men perceive no risk involved in having sex with another man," Gibson says.
She added the organization, in addition to providing condoms, also provides lubricants for men who have sex with men in an attempt to lower the risk of HIV/AIDS spread.
CEDEP, a local organization working in fighting for the rights of same-sex rights, is championing health rights for men who have sex with men.
CEDEP's executive director Gift Trapence thinks although government has made a commitment to involve people who are sexually involved with people of the same sex in the fight against further spread of HIV, the mindset of some health care givers still leaves a lot to be desired.
His comments come in the wake of reports that some people, especially men, are not given proper treatment when they go to public health facilities with ailments that are known to develop among men who have sex with fellow men.
"Many health care givers will behave like law enforcers instead of just helping the patient. We have received complaints that some health workers critique the morality of being engaged in the practice or its legality. That's not their jurisdiction," notes Trapence.
However, spokesperson for Malawi's Health ministry Henry Chimbali says government is committed to providing health care to all, without prejudice.
"There is no healthcare centre that inquires about one's sexual orientation prior to administering treatment. We use a public health approach which enables us help just about anyone. This only shows how open our system is – but of course, some individual health care workers still need to improve on their attitudes," says Chimbali.
He explained that as a ministry, they largely depend on other organizations for help in providing specific care for men who have sex with men in an attempt to give the country's HIV/AIDS prevention strategy some impetus.
While many health workers in Malawi- just like many other people- view same sex relationships as devilish, unnatural and a pastime for deviants, other health facilities are offering health care services that could champion the fight against further spread of HIV.
For example, the John Hopkins Hospital in Blantyre has been offering services to men who contracted venereal diseases from fellow men in the last few years.
This is a necessary evil because letting men have sex with men without proper health care support has the potential to dilute gains the country has made so far in its drive to prevent further spread of HIV/AIDS.
Perhaps it is time health workers stepped up their service delivery to ensure that such men are accorded services just like anyone else to ensure that consequences of their sexual activity do not spill over to the larger population.
Meanwhile, evidence suggest that due to secrecy surrounding same sex relations, most men engaged in the act with fellow men are also involved in sexual relations with women to be seen as conforming members of the society. This, no doubt, further stretch the network of HIV spread and undermines efforts to bolster prevention against further spread of HIV in Malawi.—Zodiak Online
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Mallick Mnela is participating in a media fellowship with Panos Institute Southern Africa (PSAf) focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention. This article is part of the fellowship.
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