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I never expected that the remote East African country I would serve in as a Peace Corps Volunteer would find itself in the headlines of American news.

Let’s start with the positive. 

Remember the London Olympics?  Remember the last event, the men’s marathon?  Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich took the gold and the whole world got to watch as he received his medal.  Fun fact!  They had to play the National Anthem twice in order for the flag to rise completely. 

Gold!

Let’s continue to the Anti-Pornography Bill.  Commonly known as the mini skirt bill in Uganda this bill forbids women to wear mini-skirts.  "Any attire which exposes intimate parts of the human body, especially areas that are of erotic function is outlawed.  Anything above the knee is outlawed.  If a woman wears a miniskirt, we will arrest her."  The bill also prohibits all pornography and the broadcasting of racy musical performances.  Sorry Ugandans… No more Beyoncé or Madonna.  The government will also have much stricter controls on the citizens Internet usage.  Those who fail to abide face a fine of 10 million Ugandan Shillings, approximately $4,000USD, up to 10 years in jail or both.

On to the more upsetting headlines. 

Yesterday Uganda’s Minister for Ethics & Integrity released a comment stating, “Well, it is men raping girls. Which is natural.” 

Excuse me?!

The article goes on to say that heterosexual rape is “…morally preferable to consensual, homosexual activity.”

Again.  WHAT?!

Statement

This brings me to the next topic. 

The Anti-Gay Bill. 

With Arizona’s name in the spotlight regarding this topic maybe Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill has been put on the back burner in the headlines.

Then again… Maybe not.

I mean shoot!  People have taken to documentaries.  While I have yet to see God Loves Uganda, I understand that it explores the impact that the American evangelical movement has had here, including the promotion of religious bigotry.  I have seen the trailer and listened to a podcast and my conclusion… It sounds terrifying. 

Then there is Call Me Kuchu, which I have seen.  Kuchu is the local word used for people who identify as apart of the LGBT community.  Produced in 2012, the movie shows the battle that David Kato, Uganda’s first openly gay man, has with the media and government to defeat the homophobia that lies within many, if not all, communities throughout the country.  In the meantime a local newspaper publishes the faces and names of gay and lesbian individuals, whom Kato takes to court.  The film had me in tears and with that… I highly recommend it.

BBC, NY Times and Al Jazeera have all put out articles stating that Museveni, Uganda’s President, will officially sign the bill.  This is coming after he condemned the Members of Parliament in early January for passing it without him knowing.  He turned to his scientists for evidence that homosexuality is a socially learned behavior, which they apparently provided evidence for. 

Now I’d like to read those studies. 

Obama then conveyed that if this bill were passed it would complicate our relations with Uganda.  Museveni’s solution?  He will seek advice from us.  BBC. 

Come on USA… Pull through on this one.

A majority of Ugandans are in support of passing the bill.  I have overheard conversations and read a handful of comments that have been posted to the Ambassador’s Facebook page and what they say make me sick.  These have included everything from “Let’s all publicly stone them in town… Even kids can have a chance!” to “Hang them.”

Then there is my Supervisor.  I have decided to not bring up this topic but last week she brought it up to me. 

Here is what she told me.

“Tara, right now there are men and women having sex.  Probably right here in Kitgum.”

“Yes.”

“And here in Kitgum there might be men having sex with men.  Right now.”

“Okay.”

“And guess what?  We do not see either of them because it is behind closed doors and what people do privately is none of our business.”

Exactly!

She went on to state that if the bill is passed and aid is pulled out that HIV-positive individuals would lose access to their free ARVs, currently being given by the United States.  She fears what will happen to all of the work being done to end this fight.  She fears for the future of her country.

I don’t blame her.

In the meantime we will continue to fight the many fights here in the UG.