Between A Rock and a Hard Place: When LGBTQ Rights and Neocolonialism Intersect
In case you missed it (which you probably did because U.S. media outlets rarely cover Africa), the past two weeks have seen a turbulent battle over LGBTQ rights in Zambia, playing out very publicly between U.S. Ambassador to Zambia, Daniel Foote, and the Zambian government. This started Thursday, November 28, when two men were sentenced to 15 years in prison for homosexual acts. In response, Foote released a statement condemning the ruling, for which he received great backlash. The saga continued last Monday with a press release from the ambassador, which can be read in full here.
Parts of this 17-paragraph statement quite eloquently defend equality, detailing how homophobic attitudes have been damaging to HIV/AIDS efforts ahead of World AIDS Day. But around paragraph five, with the second of no less than seven references to the amount of aid the United States gives Zambia, it takes a turn. Despite Foote’s repeated claim throughout the statement that he knows Zambia can make its own decisions, he reiterates again and again the ways in which “the exceptional yearly assistance from American to Zambian citizens” should buy it influence. To bring aid money into the discussion of LGBTQ rights seems coercive, unjust, threatening, and counterproductive.
The definition of neocolonialism is, “the use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries, especially former dependencies.” Strings-attached aid certainly fits this description, and Foote’s rhetoric sounds a whole lot like it.
There is a significant group of Zambians who do not support homophobia, or the harsh sentencing handed down last week. Many think that 15 years was much too long, even if they are not vocal about it — and these sentences are often quietly pardoned months after they’re handed down. This past week, important conversations have been happening amongst Zambians in the news, on the radio, and on social media.
This is the real work that will bring change to Zambia. It’s the same work that many people in the United States did and continue to do to bring about acceptance for gay rights, a movement that only really gained widespread acceptance within the past decade. Imposing values from the top down, as a foreign institution, with veiled threats regarding financial support, is not the way to fight for equality. Grassroots change is. This diplomatic disaster not only did not help, but likely hurt the effort.
Finally, let’s not forget that it was American and European missionaries who first brought conservative Christian values to the nation. Christianity arrived in the mid-19th century with David Livingstone, and American missionaries have helped keep conservative values alive and well. The West directly contributed to the creation of homophobia and homophobic laws in Zambia, and now, some of us are frustrated that we can’t flip the switch, take it back, and make Zambia more “progressive” on these issues.
Let me be clear: I support the ambassador’s efforts to support equality and LGBTQ rights and am horrified by the threats made against him. But I do not support his method of doing it, in a statement which slowly devolved from a defense of human rights into a rant against corruption, a flexing of American aid, and an airing of grievances like his cancelled Friday meeting.
Aid money is not a pawn to be used to reshape culture in the Global South and enforce Western values. It’s time that we realize this, in humanitarian work, in diplomacy, and in global health. When we give money to support the world’s under-resourced, we do not buy them, neither their hearts nor minds. Equality cannot be bought or forced.
There is a way forward for acceptance of LGBTQ rights in Zambia. But it will have to come from Zambians, from the difficult, dirty, often painful work that it takes to effect all worthwhile change. Not from a press release.
Sarah Anderson is a 2019–2020 Global Health Corps fellow at PATH in Zambia.
Global Health Corps (GHC) is a leadership development organization building the next generation of health equity leaders around the world. All GHC fellows, partners, and supporters are united in a common belief: health is a human right. There is a role for everyone in the movement for health equity. To learn more, visit our website and connect with us on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook.
