Namibia: Major win for LGTBQ+ community

5 months ago 19

On a small stage in the garden of a house in the Namibiancapital of Windhoek, half a dozen drag queens are rehearsing for their show the next day — Drag Night Namibia.

Each new pose is cheered on frenetically by the small crowd watching the rehearsal. "The hardest working legs in drag," someone shouts as Aedin Mohrmann does a deep squat. Tonight he's wearing grey sweatpants, but tomorrow he will transform into his drag persona: Atlantis.

These drag performances are a safe space for Namibia's LGTBQ+ community, a place where they can feel free to be themselves.

Singer Elize Ehlers in her house in front of a bookshelf.

"People are changing. I believe that visibility opens more minds," says Lize Ehlers. The well-known Namibian singer is co-director of Drag Night Namibia and offers her home for rehearsals.

Events such as these allow a chance to reach out to people outside of the LGTBQ+ community and engage them in dialogue, says drag queen Aedin Mohrmann. Opening a dialogue is his way of combating queer hostility. Mohrmann, like others in the country's LGTBQ+ community, remains cautious in everyday life. "We simply have to be mindful. Even if it's just going to the shopping center. Just do what you have to do and go out," he told DW.

LGBTQ community under pressure

The LGTBQ+ community is currently celebrating a major success in court. On June 21, 2024, Namibia's high court declared two colonial-era laws which criminalized sexual acts between men, to be unconstitutional.

Life for members of Namibia's LGTBQ+ has become increasingly difficult in recent months.

Aedin Mohrmann in a golden short dress and a blonde wig on stage.

In May 2023, the Namibian supreme court ruled that non-Namibian spouses of same-sex marriages that took place abroad must be given residency rights upon their return to Namibia.

A wave of homophobia followed. "This backlash did not come from the (general) public," Omar van Reenen, a non-binary person who advocates for LGTBQ+ rights, tells DW. "It came from two actors: The government and religious extremists who fanned the flames of hatred."

High-ranking members of the ruling SWAPO party criticized the 2023 ruling. In a statement, the party expressed its "grave disappointment and said it condemned all forms of "immoral and indecent acts." The SWAPO Youth League even referred to the ruling as "foreign cultural imperialism."

Van Reenen sees elements of state-supported homophobia in the actions of the country's politicians, and laments the marginalization of the queer community and the increase in hate crimes.

The last year has seen a number of shockingly violent homophobic crimes.

At the end of April this year, a transgender woman was brutally murdered in an informal settlement of Windhoek. The 30-year-old was found with dozens of stab wounds and her mutilated genitals lying on her chest, according to police.

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Politics united against homosexuality

In response to the Supreme Court's LGTBQ+ friendly ruling in 2023, SWAPO politician Jerry Ekandjo introduced a bill into parliament. It includes an amendment to the Marriage Act of 1961 which defines marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman. It would also criminalize being a witness in a same-sex wedding, and generally promoting same-sex marriages.

The amendment was approved in both chambers of parliament with little protest and has been awaiting the president's signature for months. "I think that the president has not yet signed the law because he knows that it is undemocratic," activist Omar van Reenen speculates.

The upcoming election campaign could also play a role. DW inquiries to Jerry Ekandjo have so far gone unanswered.

Until the laws were overturned on June 21, 2024, sexual acts between two men could be prosecuted. Although convictions were relatively rare, rights campaigners said they have perpetuated discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community and caused gay men to live in fear of arrest.

A major win

The decriminalization of same-sex acts is undeniably a major win for the LGTBQ+ community. Speaking of the ruling, Namibia's high court acknowledged that sexual practices were being criminalized solely on the basis of gender. The lawsuit was brought on by LGBTQ+ activist Friedel Dausab.

Many say the victory in court could mark a turning point for securing the rights of LGTBQ+ people in Namibia. "We need a precedent that we can rely on and that forms the basis for the protection of future generations" activist Omar van Reenen told DW.

For van Reenen, going to the Supreme Court is the next step, and that the court should make a statement about the status of LGBTQ+ rights in Namibia.

Omar van Reenen wearing a pearl necklace and ear rings,with dark hair and a beard. He is sitting in a in a cafe, surrounded by a yellow wall and a window

Drag queen Aedin Mohrmann is now calling for a referendum on the rights of LQTBQ+ people in Namibia, including their right to marry. He feels the public would vote in favor of the LGTBQ+ community. "It would certainly be close, but the majority would vote yes in the end" he told DW. Mohrmann is counting on the country's youth in particular — they understand that a united Namibia would be stronger.

Adapted from a German article by Martina Schwikowski