Keith Goddard
PN How does GALZ struggle for equal rights for LGBT people in Zimbabwe?
KG Recently, with the introduction of repressive legislation coupled with rising poverty and unemployment, GALZ has concentrated on assisting its members and embedding itself in the broader human rights movement in Zimbabwe.
We have various services for members: the Women's Scholarship Programmes; Skills for Life, providing vocational training for our members; and Positive Image, an access-to-affordable-…
Over the past three years, one of the most frequently asked questions in Zimbabwe (and often asked of me by my 79-year old mother) has been “why are they not taking to the streets and doing something about the situation?” My reply has generally been “who do you mean by they and why are you not on the streets yourself?” But then I am not either!
Many people explain away their inaction by claiming they are not part of the critical mass (in other…
The Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) started in 1990 and rose to international prominence in 1995 when it applied to attend the Zimbabwe International Book Fair which had as its theme that year “Human Rights and Justice”. The government banned the group's appearance and, at the opening of the fair, President Mugabe, uttered the first in a long line of vitriolic attacks on gays and lesbians which include the famous epithet, gays are “worse than dogs and pigs”. GALZ stood its ground and…
