LGBTQI vs. Human Rights in Cameroon

Cameroon is failing to protect the people that are a part of their community which includes people that are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex. There has been increased violence and abuse against LGBTQI people in Cameroon. 

In 2016, The penal code criminalized consensual same-sex sexual activity for both men and women. There is a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine. However, the human rights violation did not start in 2016. The first penal code was enacted in 1965 and it did not criminalize homosexuality. However, In 1972 an amendment was passed that same-sex sexual activity is illegal. Despite the Committee against Torture’s Concluding Observations in 2017, calling for the decriminalization of consensual same-sex relations, the Republic of Cameroon continues to criminalize consensual relations between same-sex. 

Human rights watch stated that security forces have arbitrarily arrested, beaten, and threatened at least 24 people, including a 17-year-old boy, for alleged consensual same-sex conduct and gender nonconformity, since February 2021,  At least one of them was forced to undergo an HIV test and anal examination. In 2022, Government forces and armed groups committed human rights abuses, including unlawful killings and the detainment of many. They arrested 6 people and detained 11. It was alleged that there was consensual same-sex conduct as well as gender nonconformity. Gender nonconformity is a term given to people who do not follow others' stereotypes of how they should look or act based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Human rights watch indicated that there was a crowd of at least 8-10 men armed with machetes, knives, sticks, and more who attacked a group of LGBTQI. 

An example of a human rights violation that occurred in Cameroon consists of two transgender women named Shakiro and Patricia who were charged with homosexuality-related offenses. They were in a restaurant when they were attacked for wearing women's clothing and not carrying identification. The attackers beat them for about 30 minutes and stripped them naked while recording the whole thing. They were stripped naked because the attackers wanted to prove that they weren't women but instead men regardless of what they identified as. Shakiro stated that "I was stripped naked and hit everywhere on my body by several people, “I was kicked and slapped. I had to play dead – it was the only way to survive.” A police report was filed against the attackers however,  discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) is institutionalized.

Shakiro and Patricia without the presence of their lawyers were forced to sign statements they were not allowed to read, and they were beaten and threatened. Their detention conditions were extremely poor. They were constantly insulted by prison guards and other inmates because of their sexual orientation. They were chained up upon arrival at New Bell prison. They were being held with many men in small cells. Shakiro is in a cell with about 70 men, while Patricia is in another cell with about 50 men. Holding them with men is problematic, they had stated they would prefer to stay with women. They had stated that the male inmates would always verbally assault them, saying horrible things like that they belong in hell and that they are faggots. This is a human rights violation. Human rights violations consist of torture, arbitrary arrest, degrading, and discrimination. They went through all of this. They are human and should be treated like it. They should not have been imprisoned in the first place. 

Gendarmes arrested Njeuken Loic (known as “Shakiro”) and Mouthe Roland (known as “Patricia”), two transgender women.

Government officials in Cameroon defended the criminalization of consensual same-sex activity by claiming that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights permit countries to limit freedoms in the interests of preserving public order and that individuals have a duty to preserve African values and morals.

Regardless of this inhumane treatment against the LGBTQ, not much has changed. Identifying as LGBTQI in Cameroon is still a crime. Though they state they are rectifying laws on gender equality, the government had stated that "they still find it a criminal offense and that doing it publicly is bad and will have punishable offenses." It is believed that the Cameroonian government and others justify the

unlawful killings and human rights abuses through the use of the bible. 70 percent of the population in Cameroon is Christian. It was stated "For Christians, we know that a relationship is supposed to be between a man and a woman and not people of the same gender. In addition, Blaise Chamango, director of Human is Right, a Cameroonian NGO said the police use the penal code to justify the arbitrary arrest of LGBTQI. Overall,  Religion plays a significant role because in Cameroon religion "is strongly against the LGBTQI community. 

https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/11/cameroon-rising-violence-against-lgbti-people

https://www.washingtonblade.com/2023/01/24/report-documents-continued-persecution-of-lgbtq-intersex-people-in-cameroon/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOI_VekUW20

Drag Queens in the Classroom Teach Inclusion and Fun, Offering a World of Imagination

 

As a fellow gay, the queer community in the United States is being ambushed. Countrywide, there are restrictions and regulations being put in place demanding schools neglect the education of LGBTQ+ identities. Trans kids struggle with having teachers and coaches mandate what sports team seems suitable for them to play on or not. Particularly, spaces that incorporate kid-oriented pride events including drag queens, and other queer bodies drastically have to deal with tragic encounters and assaults. 

Drag queens shined when in 2009 the show RuPaul DragRace aired and immediately was a hit sensation and gave notice to a lot of talent that was not celebrated. I actually just started watching the show not too long ago and I am hooked! I’m also friends with a good amount of drag queens and they are the best, however, extreme conservatives threaten at aimed events that preach about creativity and inclusion. The queens are looked at by these extremists in such a way that legislation needed to be put in place to prohibit young teens from attending such fun and innocent shows. 

The authoritarianism enforces keeping the status quo instead of considering the artistic side of drag and their performances bringing to life people's imaginations and creativities, it is a supposed “war on imagination.” In 2015, Drag Queen Story Hour was birthed and provided opportunities for drag queens to read to children expressing that they can become anyone they want to be promoting imagination, play, self-expression, and improvisation that is developed in early childhood. From the drag queen herself, Miss Hot Mess supports that these ideas of creativity and stepping outside of their comfort zone offer a platform for these voices to be heard and echoed.  

I am always a person that likes a challenge and oh boy life is constantly challenging me, however, there seems to be a part of me that enjoys breaking the walls that are formed of what is socially acceptable and correct. That’s exactly what drag does! It is a vehicle that bulldozers over the challenging structures of power to dictate the lives of individuals and the material conditions and normalize identities that extend past sex and gender norms. Schools that provide knowledge about LGBTQ+  education, improve student engagement, and connection, and reduce feelings of alienation.

Drag presents a world outside of what we know just like their performances. We step into a whole new world that doesn't even seem like it could exist as this gives a wide horizon for children to learn about themselves and their modes of relating to others. Drag just gives the world the sparkle it misses and if the world could take a piece of advice people would be driven by pleasure, feeling good, enjoyment, and taking care of people and making sure people's needs are met because everyone should feel included and be an additive to life, not a substitute.

article: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/drag-queens-in-the-classroom