In a Post-AHA Uganda; the Anti-HIV Activist must be like a chameleon!

I know HIV Must Not Win. In a Post Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) Uganda, days are different. There are two forms of courts. The community mercurial arbiter and the brick and mortar courts.

At the community level the sentence is lynching, beating, assault, eviction, isolation, disowning, neglect, maiming and rape ( in a 'power-control world' it is called corrective rape). Advocacy or activism that brings to the fore, say,  LGBT issues also brings out the complexities at hand. From jet-set activism, much needed grass root interventions through to animosity. All these are real time activities whose currency, like beauty can only be appreciated by the beholder. In Uganda it is now official and legal to name that act of homosexuality as a crime. It is criminal. In whatever way it is cloaked, homosexuality has been criminalized. There is even another term that has cropped up: 'Gayism.' I am still wrapping my brain around this term. I wonder if it is the litmus for those who are homosexual as opposed to those who are heterosexual. Will it there fore be the reason to treat ( pardon.....mistreat) those who are said to be homosexual? I am in the thinking mode. The institutions that punish and deter the practice have a lee way. Even the scientists who actually did not put a finger on the non-origins of homosexuality ( the scientific paper lit awareness bulbs as well as fiery furore) had to put a redundant line or two somewhere condemning homosexuality.

The highest office of the land in form of the president then assented to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. It became an Act ( Feb 2014). The culprit is an individual who fails the hetero-normative standards in a hetero-normative world. Living in this kind of world that is using its kind of lenses still continues as a hurdle for those who had a hiatus pre-AHA time.

The post-AHA world is different. It will have its own issues. This world made pronouncements of cures, any form of cure. Whether the cures will be reckless or meted out in the name of exorcism a death here or there or a vain act as long as the word homosexuality is mentioned will be dismissed with impunity. Social gatherings are enjoyable, comfort or continue to be a reminder that one is not alone. Those that continue to support self determination of homosexuals are nada! No! Nyet!  A medical doctor who has sworn to treat, without discrimination will have to navigate the Ugandan health-care waters very carefully thanks to the AHA. In a health care world, one may face isolation. One cannot be sure of their life now. Especially for visible allies and those suspected of helping homosexuals. The heterosexual self preservation institutions have gone all the nine yards. The saving grace is that the brick and mortar courts engage in reasoned discourse and may stay a punitive hand. On the other hand the community courts can even evict a suspected homosexual off the land!

 If we still have practices that tear human walls, where will the next battle front against HIV be?