VOA标准英语2010年-Malawians Debate Legalizing Gay Marria

Rights campaigners say current laws against gays are a violation¹ of human rights

Lameck Masina | Blantyre, Malawi 19 February 2010

In late December, two gay men held an engagement ceremony – and were promptly² arrested. The event prompted a public debate over the legalization of homosexuality.

Sections 153 and 156 of the country’s penal³ code outlaw⁴ sexual intercourse⁵ between people of the same sex.  But some human rights campaigners argue that the laws contravene⁶ the constitution and international conventions that guarantee equality and non-discrimination regardless of sexual orientation⁷.

Section 20 of the Malawi Constitution says discrimination against persons in any form is prohibited and all persons are guaranteed equal and effective protection against discrimination because of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, nationality, ethnic⁸ or social origin, disability, property, birth or other status.

Crispin Sibande, a human rights lawyer for the Malawi Human Rights Commission, says he thinks the phrase “other status” includes sexual orientation.  He also describes the penal code as inconsistent with the Constitution, which deplores⁹ any form of discrimination.

Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza are taken into custody¹⁰ after celebrating their engagement

“We have to change the law," he says, "mainly [to] conform to our penal code. When we allow homosexuals to come out in the open, we promote their right to health.  We will make sure these people are accessing health services in terms of going through HIV testing and accessing treatment [if they are HIV-positive].

"They should be able to go the hospital and get treatment without being worried about whether the doctor will ask how [they] got this infection.” 

Human rights law vs. tradition

But traditional leaders say allowing homosexuality would violate the country’s traditional values, which regard the practice as a taboo¹¹.  But Sibande says as long as gay people live without violating other people’s rights, there is nothing wrong.

"I don’t think that is correct," he says.  "I will give an example: in Malawi it was a taboo for a woman to put on trousers.  It was a taboo for a woman to put on a miniskirt.  But over the time we have debated these things and we have moved [away] from that.

"Now, homosexuals, in my understanding, are not demanding any extra rights.  We are simply saying the same rights that everybody is enjoying; let those rights [be] enjoyed by them.  Let them be accepted in…society.”

Malawi’s main religions are Islam and Christianity and in both religions same sex marriage is a sin.

Some religious leaders, like Apostle Felix Zalimba, the leader of the All for Jesus church, say homosexuality is immoral¹² and that two people of the same sex can’t have sex and be accepted in society.

“It is the question of saying what the Bible," explains Zalimba.  "The Bible is very explicit¹³ that homosexuality is not only a sin but also an abomination.”

Undule Mwakasungura is the executive director of the local NGO Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation¹⁴.

“We strongly need to consider the human rights and freedom of gay people," says Mwakasungura, "so that they can enjoy the rights to equality before the law, and this should be done through amending¹⁵ our laws to accommodate groups such as gays. HIV-aids cannot be achieved without recognizing the groups such as the gay citizens.”

Ambokile Salimu, a legal expert,  says "there are two alternatives to end this debate: referring the matter to the constitutional court or by holding a referendum - a broader approach to how the nation would address itself to the question of whether to legalize it or not, [where] people would vote on the issue.”

Several international rights groups have also added their voices to the debate.  Amnesty International has accused the country of failing to respect international treaties it has ratified¹⁶, including the International Covenant¹⁷ on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and People's Rights.

Government officials have responded by saying Malawi is a sovereign state with its own laws and values.  They say they did not realize that signing such agreements would also mean protecting the rights of gay people.

Ambivalence¹⁸ over public disclosure

The existence of homosexuals in the country is not in dispute, though their exact numbers are not known.  In 2009, an online newspaper, Nyasatimes, reported on the formation of an association called the Malawi Gay Rights Movement.

But Malawi has long been hostile to gays.  In 2005, the Anglican Church in Malawi rejected the appointment of a British vicar, Rev¹⁹. Nicholas Henderson, as the bishop-elect of the Lake Malawi diocese.  The church said it based its decision on his support for gay rights.

In this atmosphere, it is difficult to find anyone to publicly admit to being a homosexual in Malawi. They fear they will be ostracized²⁰ at work and among family and friends.  Many (gays) say they would rather have people assume without certainty that they are gay than confirm it themselves.

Most Malawians say that even if the law is repealed²¹ it will take a very long time for gays to be accepted because social attitudes are so slow to change.
 

1 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

2 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

3 penal   

adj.刑罚的；刑法上的

参考例句：

• I hope you're familiar with penal code.我希望你们熟悉本州法律规则。
• He underwent nineteen years of penal servitude for theft.他因犯了大窃案受过十九年的苦刑。

4 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

5 intercourse   

n.性交；交流，交往，交际

参考例句：

• The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
• There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

6 contravene   

v.违反，违背，反驳，反对

参考例句：

• The moves contravene the peace plan agreed by both sides.这些举措违反了双方同意的和平方案。
• He said the article did not contravene the industry's code of conduct.他说这一条款并未违反行业的行为准则。

7 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 deplores   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He often deplores his past sins. 他经常痛悔自己过去的罪恶。 来自辞典例句
• Regretting the lack of spontaneity and real sensuousness in other contemporary poets, he deplores in Tennyson. 他对于和他同时代的诗人缺乏自发性和真实的敏感，感到惋惜，他对坦尼森感到悲痛。 来自辞典例句

10 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

11 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

12 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

13 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

14 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

15 amending   

改良，修改，修订( amend的现在分词 )； 改良，修改，修订( amend的第三人称单数 )( amends的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Amending acts in 1933,1934, and 1935 attempted to help honest debtors rehabilitate themselves. 一九三三年，一九三四年和一九三五年通过的修正案是为了帮助诚实的债务人恢复自己的地位。
• Two ways were used about the error-amending of contour curve. 采用两种方法对凸轮轮廓曲线进行了修正。

16 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

17 covenant   

n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约

参考例句：

• They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
• The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。

18 ambivalence   

n.矛盾心理

参考例句：

• She viewed her daughter's education with ambivalence.她看待女儿的教育问题态度矛盾。
• She felt a certain ambivalence towards him.她对他的态度有些矛盾。

19 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

20 ostracized   

v.放逐( ostracize的过去式和过去分词 )；流放；摈弃；排斥

参考例句：

• He was ostracized by his colleagues for refusing to support the strike. 他因拒绝支持罢工而受到同事的排斥。
• The family were ostracized by the neighborhood. 邻居们都不理睬那一家人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

21 repealed   

撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Labour Party repealed the Act. 工党废除了那项法令。
• The legislature repealed the unpopular Rent Act. 立法机关废除了不得人心的租借法案。