In the United States of America, Gay marriage is not recognized as a legal union, but many homosexual couples across the nation join together in symbolic wedding ceremonies where they exchange wedding rings as a token of their commitment to each other. Gay rights activists continue to aggressively lobby for increased freedoms, and while the progress for Gay Marriage has been slow, here in America gay couples have one advantage over those in other countries. Homosexual relationships in the United States, while not given a legal recognition, are not criminal acts, and the practitioners will not go to jail.
Unfortunately, this is not the case in the African country of Malawi. Not only is Gay Marriage not allowed, but also homosexual acts are illegal and can carry a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. Last Saturday, the first Malawi gay couple brave enough to attempt a public profession of their love, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza, went through with a traditional wedding ceremony among hundreds of supportive onlookers at the church where the couple first met. The ceremony was actually called chinkhoswe, which is technically an engagement ceremony. Upon hearing the news of the wedding, Malawi Attorney General Jane Ansah declared publically, “The law will have to take its course.”
That it did, after the symbolic wedding both Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were arrested by the Malawi police and charged with gross indecency. Currently both Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza sit in separate jail cells in Blantyre, Malawi’s largest city, awaiting their bail hearing. For protection, the couple has hired attorney Noel Supedi, and it appears that they may need it. The prosecution is asking the court to insist that Chimbalanga and Monjeza submit to a very invasive medical exam to determine if they have in fact broken the law and had sexual relations. The Malawi Constitution prohibits prosecutors from ordering the exam without the consent of the charged parties, and Chimbalanga and Monjeza’s lawyer insists that they will not acquiesce. The couple has declared that they have not had sexual relations, but the prosecutor does not believe this to be true since the two have lived together since August.
The couple has been dating for five months, and even though Tiwonge Chimbalanga is a transgendered female, they are still considered to be a gay couple and violators of the Malawi anti-homosexual law. Tiwonge doesn’t understand this; she says that even if they did have a physical relationship, it would not break the Malawi law, because she is technically no longer a man. Monjeza has reported that this wedding ceremony has caused too much drama and publicity, and he wants to end the relationship and return to his previous girlfriend. The two will be in court this Wednesday, so we will see then what kind of example the Malawi prosecution will like to make of them.