Same-sex marriage bill divides the nation

The South African parliament this week set the wheels in motion to become the first African country to legalise same-sex marriages, but many feel the will of the majority was ignored.

"South Africa is out of step with the world!" fumed Jo-Ann Downs, deputy president of the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), a faith-based political party, one of the fiercest critics of the controversial Civil Union Bill, which legalises unions between gay and lesbian couples.

The ruling African National Congress (ANC), whose members were also known to be deeply divided on the bill, ensured that the proposed law went through parliament this week by making it mandatory for all its representatives to vote for it.

The bill is in conformance with a Constitutional Court ruling made more than a year ago, ordering parliament to change the law to allow same-sex couples the same status, benefits and responsibilities as heterosexual couples.

The bill has been the subject of many heated debates on phone-in chat shows on radio and television, evoking strong reactions describing the proposed legislation as "undemocratic", "unchristian" and a "moral slippery slope".

Gays and lesbians have become increasingly visible in South Africa, which has one of the most liberal constitutions in the world, making them targets of homophobia, according to rights activists.

Most South Africans are conservative and often hold opinions that disagree with the constitution, which stipulates equal rights and opportunities for all, irrespective of sexual orientation.

Representing the voice of a generally more conventional and often rural South Africa, Phatekile Holomisa, a traditional leader and ANC member of parliament, described the proposed law as "unacceptable". "We are definitely not ready for this - people reacted with anger and indignation at the public hearings on the bill." He added that the conservative section of parliament had "reluctantly" supported the bill.

Two months ago, while the bill was still being debated in parliament, former South African deputy president Jacob Zuma, perceived as a leading contender for the country's presidency, reportedly described same-sex marriages as "a disgrace to the nation and to God" at a public meeting.

He was perceived to be playing to the many dissenting voices in the party, including Patrick Chauke, chair of the parliamentary home affairs committee, which was deliberating the bill.

A scornful Chauke was quoted in the Business Day, a local daily newspaper, as commenting: "you won't find things like this anywhere else in Africa".

Even academics have come out against the proposed legislation. Sehlare Makgetlaneng, head of the southern Africa desk at the Africa Institute of South Africa, a Pretoria-based think-tank, claimed it did not reflect the view of Africans anywhere in the continent. "The bill did not have the approval of the majority - the minority in the society had actually set the wheels in motion for the bill in the 1990s, when the constitution was being written."

He acknowledged the existence of lesbians and gays in African society and the need to protect their rights.

"It has been the case for many years, but it has always been a private matter, they [black gays and lesbians] have never been vocal about [asserting their rights]".

South Africans are willing to accept homosexuality in their midst as long as those who practise it do not flaunt it, and do not pursue the "holy sanctity of a marriage". Raghbeer Kallideen, secretary of the South African Hindu MahaSabha, an umbrella body for Hindu religious organisations, said, "We Hindus are sympathetic to the cause of the lesbians and gays in our society - we are tolerant, but we cannot support the legal recognition of a marriage between them.

For us, a marriage is the union of a man and woman for the purpose of creation."

ACDP deputy president Downs pointed out that her party would not stand for discrimination or harassment of the gay and lesbian community, but could not accord the status of "marriage" to a union between two people of the same sex. "They have the option to legalise their relationship with a contract - why do they need a marriage?"

She said it was "absurd" that a country which did not accord legal recognition to religious marriages, such as between two Muslims, should first provide rights to a minority group.

Religious marriages are not recognised in law - it is the civil proceedings that make the marriage legal.

In an attempt to appease disgruntled members of parliament, South African Deputy President Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula this week said recognition of religious marriages would be considered.

Jonathan Berger, a rights lawyer and board member of the NGO, Lesbian and Gay Equality Project, said there was a degree of disconnectedness between what was approved by parliament and the will of the people - "even in issues like the death penalty, but there were choices made [when the new constitution was enacted in 1997] by our elected representatives and people have to respect it".

There is popular support for reinstating the death penalty, outlawed in the new constitution, based on the belief that it would act as a deterrent against crime.

The ANC has defended its decision to push the same-sex marriage bill, saying that since it had brought the constitution to life, it had a duty to ensure that all its laws were in line with it.

"We cannot provide for equal rights in the constitution and then take it away [by not enacting legislation]," said Smuts Ngonyama, the ANC's spokesman.

He was also dismissive of claims that the proposed law did not reflect the will of the majority. "We are the elected party - 70 percent of South Africans voted for us."

Ngonyama acknowledged that that the proposed law might be too progressive for a largely conservative Africa, "but someone has to show the way and shape the thinking of the continent.

We have to keep up globally; we just need to educate our people".

"Our people are only not politically educated, they are actually very tolerant and understanding," said Mazibuko Jara, a researcher and a board member of the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project, who believes South Africans could come around to accepting the proposed law. "They are just being misled by a right-wing minority."

He urged political leaders to emulate the "progressive" role played by the South African Council of Churches (SACC) in trying to reconcile the conservative members of the ruling elite to the idea of same-sex unions.

In an open letter to parliament, SACC general secretary Eddie Makue said, "There is not a single 'Christian' perspective on marriage. We are alarmed by the widespread misapprehension that those who oppose equal marriage rights speak on behalf of a monolithic 'Christian Church'."

But the situation on the ground is still a reality to be dealt with. "How do you think a woman in rural South Africa will react to her son bringing home a son-in-law?" asked Makgetlaneng.

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