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Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, GALZ, is an organisation established in 1990 in Harare to serve the needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex LGBTI community in Zimbabwe. GALZ’s vision is "a just society that promotes and protects human rights of LGBTI people as equal citizens in Zimbabwe". It exists to promote, represent and protect the rights of LGBTI people, to influence attitudes in society, and to create a network for communication. [1] [2]

GALZ runs a Resource Centre in Harare which provides professional counselling, entertainment and educational activities for members, and is involved in campaigning in broader human rights issues such as access to HIV treatment. [3][4] GALZ was one of the first organisations in Zimbabwe to start HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns and is unique in that it is the only organisation in the country specifically working for the rights of gay and lesbian people. [5] GALZ now also networks extensively with other human rights organisations, womens' movements, AIDS initiatives and regional associates, [2] and has been involved in a number of high-profile campaigns.

It does its work against a background of repression in Zimbabwe: historically the State, the President, and church leaders have encouraged homophobia, and there is a general lack of societal tolerance for sexual or gender difference. As the GALZ website points out, "The problems facing lesbian and gay people are, by and large, the same as those facing Zimbabweans as a whole": oppression, lack of freedom of expression, fear of the state, rampant inflation, increasing poverty, a poor health service, and very high rates of HIV/AIDS. Nevertheless, there is growing tolerance of LGBTI in Zimbabwe especially in the younger urban population. [5]

History

After Zimbabwean independence in 1980, a gay and lesbian social scene grew up in the larger cities. By the late 1980s, moves were afoot to create a formal organization, and GALZ was launched in September 1990. Initially, GALZ had around 70 members, which grew to around 500 in 2000. In recent years, however, numbers have fallen, with many members seeking asylum in less repressive countries. Membership was also initially largely male, white or mixed-race middle-class professionals, but since then the association has grown to represent the broader LGBTI community in ten centres throughout Zimbabwe.[5]

At first, GALZ was primarily Harare-based - in 2004, more than half of the members came from Harare or neighbouring Chitungwiza. The Affinity Group Programme was set up in 2002 to cater for members living outside Harare, who had previously not been able to take full advantage of GALZ services and resources. Since the introduction of the Affinity Group Programme in 2002, membership of GALZ has grown significantly in other urban areas, including Bulawayo, Chipinge, Chitungwiza, Marondera, Masvingo, Mutare, Penhalonga and Victoria Falls. In these rgional groups, the programme offers hands-on experience in proposal writing, financial management and report writing. Training in strategic planning and organisational development is provided through the annual Affinity Group Conference. [6]

GALZ is part of a network of regional organisations in southern and eastern Africa. According to their website, "GALZ has played a significant role in the struggle for LGBTI emancipation in Africa by showing others on the continent that it is indeed possible for lesbian and gay people to organise openly in hostile, homophobic climates." GALZ, along with 21 other groups from 17 African countries, was involved in the All Africa Rights Initiative, launched in Johannesburg in 2004, at the first All Africa Symposium on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights. GALZ has particularly strong links with groups in South Africa: a founding member of the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality (NCGLE), GALZ also works with Behind the Mask and the Gay and Lesbian Archives). GALZ has also collaborated frequently with two Namibian groups, The Rainbow Project (TRP) and Sister Namibia. In the area of HIV/AIDS, GALZ has a longstanding relationship with The Triangle Project and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in South Africa, and is involved in the Pan African Treatment Action Campaign (PATAM).[7] GALZ is also a partner in the Sex Rights African Network, which brings together organisations and individuals to work for Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR).[4]

GALZ is a member of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), and has a relationship with Amnesty International: in 1996, GALZ activist Pollyanna Mangwiro became the first lesbian activist to be adopted as an Amnesty International Human Rights Defender. In 2001, she visited Europe and America on an Amnesty International speakers’ tour. In December 1998, IGLHRC and Amnesty International sent representatives to Harare to support GALZ in its participation in the 8th Summit of the World Council of Churches in Harare. In 2005, GALZ was awarded the IGLHRC Felipa Award for its activities.[8]


Publications

The GALZ Information and Communications Department, which disseminates information to members and the broader public, plays an important role in countering repressive propaganda that excludes lesbian and gay voices in the government-controlled media. [9]The association produces a variety of titles:

  • Sahwira is a collection of coming-out stories in English, Shona and Ndebele by gay lesbian and bisexual people in Zimbabwe (GALZ, Harare 1995, second edition, 2000).
  • An Operational Manual for Gay and Lesbian Organising in Africa consists of PowerPoint slides with information on how to set up and manage an LGBTI organisation (GALZ, Harare, 2004).
  • GALZ contributed the forward and other sections to The All-Africa Symposium on HIV/AIDS & Human Rights Report (2004).
  • Understanding Human Sexuality and Gender (GALZ, Harare, 2005)
  • In 2003, IGLHRC and Human Rights Watch produced More than a Name: State Sponsored Homophobia and Its Consequences in Southern Africa - a report which which GALZ helped compile and featured in.
  • Unspoken Facts, A History of Homosexualities in Africa.[10]
  • The quarterly magazine, the Galzette, contains articles of interest to LGBTI people living in Zimbabwe such as reports on workshops, HIV/AIDS-related information, academic articles relating to homosexuality and the law and short stories by members. The monthly Whazzup newsletter is lighter in content.
  • GALZ regularly compiles small pamphlets and brochures. The association’s annual report comes out in February. There are also occasional special reports on matters relating to sexuality, gender and the law, such as Sexual Orientation and Zimbabwe’s New Constitution: a Case for Inclusion, 1999.

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ a b GALZ on African Book Collective.
  3. ^ GALZ at the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
  4. ^ a b GALZ at Sex Rights Africa
  5. ^ a b c [2]
  6. ^ GALZ: Affinity groups
  7. ^ GALZ:Africa
  8. ^ GALZ:international
  9. ^ GALZ:communications
  10. ^ Unspoken Facts at African Books Collective.

[3] website • The Human Rights Monthly published by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum for which GALZ contributed to the edition on ‘Sexual Rights’ • ‘A Fair Representation: GALZ and the History of the Gay Movement in Zimbabwe’, (Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, Vol. 1 16 (1), The Haworth Press index.htm

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