LEGABIBO registration confirms a tolerant nation

Monitor Editor | Tuesday May 3, 2016 15:23

This is  a first start in organising or establishing a forum through which the rights of this minority group will be debated, discussed and channeled to stakeholders.

While the registration itself does not change any of the existing laws that segregate against people of this social orientation, it nevertheless  remains a key platform through which stakeholders including the lawmakers and policy makes of the land can be invited formerly to get informed about these minority rights issues and possibly act on them. Indeed minority groups like LEGABIBO needs their own unique forum through which they can lobby the powers that be, undertake public awareness or education about their segregated and one of the least understood populations. The registration and recognition of LEGABIBO now paves the way for the organization to start legal battles in the courts of law, to challenge certain contradictory constitutional clauses that continue to segregate against people of same sex orientation despite the  same constitution at the same time declaring that no one in Botswana shall be segregated on the basis of such.

Sexual orientation is one of the  most sensitive topics yet very crucial in our everyday lives. To be mocked  and called names on the basis of your sexual orientation that has been belittled by an otherwise  ignorant society can be a painful experience, the same way as being ridiculed and segregated on the basis of you ethnicity or colour of your race can be hurting to the core.

Human beings by nature are sexual beings whose socializations should not be questioned by  the constitution that seems to trivialize some issues instead of considering them in the context of societal pluralism.Also  we cannot expect the majority that is clearly misguided in their judgements of this particular issue  to  fairly consider legislative changes in favour of the constitutionally and legally marginalized minority groups such as people in same sex relationships. Such considerations and suggestions should be left as the forte of  NGO’s such as LEGABIBO to deal with, as a lobby group, just as the rights of child or the rights of women were considered inspite of the popular myopic traditional believes and practices that never considered women and children as having rights.