Tsitsi Tiripano: Fighting for lesbian and gay rights in Zimbabwe

TSITSI TIRIPANO: FIGHTING FOR LESBIAN AND GAY RIGHTS IN ZIMBABWE

* pseudonym

Tsitsi Tiripano was fifteen when she was forced into marriage to a man 40 years her elder. She was his second wife and the marriage was arranged by her christian father. After being married for only one year and nine months and pregnant with her second son, Tiripano ran away from her rural hometown to the city and moved in with her lesbian lover. Her family and husband looked for her but never found her in the city. In 1992, Tsitsi joined an organization called Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) and has been an activist fighting for the rights and recognition of gays and lesbians in Zimbabwe ever since. In 1998, she was honored by Amnesty International as a global human rights defender during their campaign commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations Adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She is currently speaking around the United States with Amnesty International about GALZ and the issues surrounding Gay and Lesbian people in Zimbabwe.

In 1996, Zimbabwe's President Mugabe publicly stated that he believed gays and lesbians were "lower than pigs and perverts" and therefore have "no rights". Homophobia and persecution of gays and lesbians now had official presidential support. According to Amnesty International's Outfront program, a program designed to confront human rights violations of gays and lesbians throughout the world, President Mugabe also reacted to US criticism of Zimbabwe's treatment of gays and lesbians. In 1998 he is quoted as saying, "Let the Americans keep their sodomy, bestiality, stupid and foolish ways to themselves. Let them be gays in the USA and Europe. But in Zimbabwe, gays shall remain a very sad people forever." Under this political climate, GALZ and activist Tsisti Tiripano have been subjected to state-sanctioned abuse, attack and persecution. Yet as my interview with Tsitsi reveals, GALZ has continued to expand their programs and offer support for gays and lesbians in Zimbabwe as well as act as a model for other groups in other regions of Africa who may still be afraid to come out due to public governmental and church hostility.

Tsitsi begins this interview by explaining an explosive incident that occurred at the 1996 Zimbabwe International Book Fair. Tsitsi was volunteering at the GALZ stand when they were attacked and their literature burned-- the police took no action. Also during this incident Tsitsi's picture was taken and given to the press and published side by side with anti-lesbian and anti-gay articles.

oob: Can you tell me about your experience in Zimbabwe as a lesbian?

TT: First I can say that Zimbabwe is not the most dangerous country anywhere in the world to be lesbian or gay, it's only that they are more vocally homophobic. I can you tell you that as my story goes it was in 1996 when Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) decided to participate in the Zimbabwe International Book Fair. Many organizations spent much time trying to revoke the book ban and also the press addressed the issue about three days before the book fair. So many people were so very curious and they came to see the GALZ stand. It was 7th August when I was doing volunteer work at the fair when students from Marondera (a local high school) were amongst the mob. They took my photos and went back to Ngundera (Tsitsi's hometown). So it was Saturday morning when I get back from the book fair and there were a lot of people in my lodging screaming "down with homosexuality".

oob: Is there a state or government ban on homosexuality in Zimbabwe?

TT: After the President said that all gays and lesbians are pigs and perverts people began to attack us for being gays and lesbians. Because in Zimbabwe some people strongly attach to the ruling party, so most of the people learn to understand their President and they do what their president wants, so each and everyone was against gays and lesbians because of President Mugabe.

oob: What is the current climate in Zimbabwe, what is happening right now?

TT: People are now starting to understand and they are seeing that lesbian and gay people are human beings. I can say that people are now starting to understand; in 1995, 1996, 1997, nothing was pertaining to gay people, it is only because of important [legal] cases involving gay men in the gay community [that some things have changed].

oob: I read your biography which said you were married and that it was an arranged marriage, can you say more about this and explain how you got out of the marriage?

TT: I can say in Zimbabwe that Christianity and culture work together. My family is a Christian family and my father, well the only thing I can say is he forced me because I can't say it was love because if someone says "this is your husband and you are being wed tomorrow morning" it was a forced marriage. [We] didn't even love each other. One day my father came in and said this is your husband and we are going to have the ceremony tomorrow morning and that was that. And he was my husband for a year and 9 months, then I ran away. I ran away when I was pregnant with my second son and I ran away from the rurals to the city where I was staying with my partner and later I was involved with GALZ.