Van Klinken, A orcid.org/0000-0003-2011-5537 (2017) Sexual Orientation, (Anti-)discrimination and Human Rights in a 'Christian Nation': The Politicization of Homosexuality in Zambia. Critical African Studies, 9 (1). pp. 9-31. ISSN 2168-1392
Abstract
Zambia has recently witnessed heated public and political debates over issues of homosexuality and gay or LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) rights. This article explores these debates with particular reference to the new draft constitution and the role of the Human Rights Commission (HRC). Homosexuality and LGBTI rights became heavily politicized during the constitutional review process. Discussions emerged not only about the penal code that prohibits same-sex practices, but also about the anti-discrimination clause in the constitution. The HRC explicitly warned against an inclusive formulation of this clause to prevent it from being applied to sexual orientation. Offering a critical historical and religio-political reconstruction of the politicization of homosexuality in the constitutional review process and examining the ambivalent contribution of the HRC, this article analyses these dynamics in relation to the political imagination of Zambia as a Christian nation. It argues that the ambivalent contribution of the HRC must be understood as a complex negotiation of the moral and religious sensibilities in society, and of popular political and religious rhetoric. However, the analysis also demonstrates how the logic of the Christian nation, and its subsequent moral geography, has begun to be subverted by a marginal yet important counter-narrative.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015 Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Critical African Studies on 24/06/15, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/21681392.2015.1056315 |
Keywords: | Homosexuality; Christianity; pentecostalism; human rights; constitution; anti-discrimination |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > Theology and Religious Studies (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 18 Jun 2015 14:06 |
Last Modified: | 11 Apr 2017 03:44 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/21681392.2015.1056315 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor and Francis |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/21681392.2015.1056315 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:86909 |