How could the next Pope influence global LGBTQ+ rights?
This week, we start in Zimbabwe where traditional healers are resisting government control. Next, we travel to Northern Nigeria where victims of insurgence and insecurity where victims of conflict focus on survival and forgiveness over justice. Finally, we stop in the Vatican where concerns grow about the next pope’s impact on LGBTQ rights.
But first, in Kenya, plans for a Pan-African Conference on Family Values at the Boma Hotel in Nairobi have sparked a wave of criticism from local LGBTQ advocacy groups.
The Kenya Red Cross Society, which co-owns the Boma Hotel, is being called out for hosting the event, as it will feature guest speakers associated with organisations that have been criticized globally for undermining LGBTQ rights.
Local rights groups, like Upinde Advocates for Inclusion and the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya, argue that by hosting this event, the Red Cross is going against its commitment to protect marginalised communities and putting the safety of LGBTQ individuals, women, and people living with HIV at risk.
In response, these groups have launched an online petition calling for the Red Cross to cancel the event, denouncing it as a cover for promoting harmful policies that fuel discrimination and hate.
On the other hand, groups like CitizenGo are defending the conference, claiming it’s about upholding traditional family values. With tensions rising, many are watching closely to see how the Kenya Red Cross will respond to the growing criticism.
Don’t Miss These Stories
BBC
The mother and children trapped between two conflicts
The New Humanitarian
“I am going to Saudi Arabia, or my grave”: The exodus of Ethiopia’s frustrated youth
Top Picks This Week
‘No respect for our ancestors’: Traditional healers in Zimbabwe resist regularisation of practice
In Stoneridge, a relatively new suburb in Harare, a building stands out. In the yard is a hut with thatched roofing, an unusual occurrence in urban areas. In this hut, Loriet Magunje, a spirit medium and traditional healer, treats and consults with her patients. But this is just her ‘office’, she does not stay here.
On a regular afternoon, Magunje arrives at her work premises in a car and is met by a small group of women and men sitting on the veranda of an asbestos-roofing building opposite the hut, eagerly waiting to see her. In the driveway is another group of young men and women in traditional dance gear.
As she arrives, the group in traditional dance gear scurries to fetch their instruments. A few minutes later, they join Magunje, who is now also dressed in traditional gear, in the hut, singing along with her. This ritual is done before she speaks to anybody.
Can infusing western education revive northern Nigeria’s Almajiranci system?
In January 2018, Malam Na’ibi, a 47-year-old Gbagyi man from Niger State in northern Nigeria, started travelling with a plan.
Malam Na’ibi, who owns an Almajiri school in Minna, the state capital, decided to travel to the hometowns of each Almajirai parent to ask permission to enroll them in other schools providing Western education.
Armed with nothing but an analogy, he tried to convince the parents.
“I told them: we all have two hands. Your child is holding the knowledge of the Qur’an in his right hand. He’s meant to hold western knowledge in the left hand,” he says. “We, as Muslims, eat with only our right hand. Shall we then say, because of that, we will cut off the left hand? No. Your child’s future prospects will be bigger if both hands are equipped.”
His tour was mildly successful, as ten of the parents granted their permission and let him enrol the students at nursery and primary schools, even though they were all overgrown for their classes. They sent him the fees periodically.
What’s Happening Around the World
The Guardian
Trump is jailing immigrant families again. A mother, father and teen tell of ‘anguish on a daily basis’
LGBTQ Nation
My first hook-up called me ‘a pity f**k.’ Disabled queers are so much more
HumAngle
What Justice Looks Like for Displaced People in Northern Nigeria
The first terror attack Falmata Ibrahim witnessed was in 2015; ten years later, the painful event still haunts her. Rain poured heavily that day in her town, Yawuri, Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. The community has now been abandoned due to the insurgency in the region.
A Quick Read Before You Go
Context
How could the next Pope influence global LGBTQ+ rights?
As cardinals prepare to choose a new leader for the Catholic Church after the death of Pope Francis, LGBTQ+ faithful have praised the legacy left by a progressive pontiff who redefined relations with the community.
Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday aged 88, met with trans women, urged the church to seek forgiveness from gay people, and allowed priests to bless same-sex couples, although he did not approve of same-sex relations or marriage equality.
A new pope will be chosen by cardinals during a secret meeting or conclave expected to start between May 6 and May 11.
Here’s how the decision could impact global LGBTQ+ rights.