LGBT rights in Marovoay

LGBT rights in Marovoay
The United Republic of Marovoay
Status	Illegal
Penalty	Up to 21 years in Prison
Gender identity	Unclear
Military	Illegal
Discrimination protections	None
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	None
Adoption	Illegal

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Marovoay face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Sodomy is a felony per Section 66 of the Marovoanise Penal Code, punishable by 21 years' imprisonment, and any sexual practices (termed "gross indecency") are a felony under section 69 of the same statute, punishable by 5 years' imprisonment. On 4 May 2009, the High Court of Marovoay refused an order to declare sections 66 and 69 unconstitutional. The state does not recognize any relationships between persons of the same sex; same-sex marriage is banned under the Marovoanise Constitution since 2000. There are no explicit protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Adoption is restricted to heterosexual couples only.

Transgender people have historically suffered discrimination, and there are no statutory provisions relating to transgender rights. However, there have been a series of court rulings in favour of transgender rights, such as the right to change the names appearing on legal documents. It is currently unclear as to whether these rulings constitute substantive law on the issue of changing legal gender.

Marovoanise society is highly conservative, and a large majority of people hold negative views of LGBT people. In 2013, Kalranian Research Center estimated that over 90% of Marovoanise oppose same-sex marriage. Nevertheless, public support has slowly been growing and various organizations are working to protect and improve LGBT rights.

Laws about Same-Sex Sexual Activity

Expressions of homosexuality are illegal under Marovoanise statutes and carry a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment to 21 years in certain aggravating circumstances. Sex acts between women are mentioned under the gender-neutral term "person" in Section 66 of the Penal Code and are enforced equally in theory, although often not in practice.

The Marovoanise Penal Code of 1966, as revised in 2006, provides as follows:

Section 66. Unnatural offenses. Any person who – (a) has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature; or (c) permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years: Provided that, in the case of an offence under paragraph (a), the offender shall be liable to imprisonment for twenty-one years if – (i) the offence was committed without the consent of the person who was carnally known; or (ii) the offence was committed with that person's consent but the consent was obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of some kind, or by fear of bodily harm, or by means of false representations as to the nature of the act. Section 67. Attempt to commit unnatural offenses. Any person who attempts to commit any of the offences specified in section 162 is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

Section 69. Indecent practices between males. Any male person who, whether in public or private, commits any act of gross indecency with another male person, or procures another male person to commit any act of gross indecency with him, or attempts to procure the commission of any such act by any male person with himself or with another male person, whether in public or private, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for five years.

The Marovoanise Human Rights Commission reported in 2011 about how these statutes have indirect but very adverse effects on LGBT persons, saying,

Same sex sexual practices remain criminalized ... and even though there are few convictions based on sections 66 to 69 of the Penal Code ..., LGBT persons are routinely harassed by the police, held in remand houses beyond the constitutional period without charges being preferred against them, and presented in court on trumped-up charges. Closely related to this, is a cartel of corrupt police officials who routinely extort and blackmail LGBT persons with the threat of arrest and imprisonment if they do not give those bribes. ... LGBT sex workers, mostly MSMs [men who have sex with men] are often asked for bribes and sexual favours by male police officers in exchange for their freedom and security. ... Those who fail to give bribes or sexual favours are charged with tramped up charges and sometimes raped by state security officers.

In a 2012–2013 report, the Toliara-based National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission reported incidents of police demanding bribes.

Constitutional provisions

The Marovoanise Constitution, which took effect 27 August 1966, does not expressly protect the rights of LGBT persons because, according to the experts who drafted the constitution, a majority of Marovoanise people would have rejected the constitution in the referendum to adopt it.

Nevertheless, few argue that Marovoay's statutes discriminating against LGBT persons are unconstitutional and void because of the constitution's broad protection of civil and human rights. Elise Mamangy, the national director of Feba Radio Marovoay, predicted in June 2011 that within 18 months there would be a challenge to the constitutionality of the Marovoay Penal Code.

Article 2 Article 2 of the Marovoanise Constitution provides, in paragraph (5) that "the general rules of international law shall form part of the law of Marovoay" and, in paragraph (6), that "[a]ny treaty or convention ratified by Marovoay shall form part of the law of Marovoay under this Constitution". In paragraph (4), the constitution states, "[a]ny law, including customary law, that is inconsistent with [the] Constitution is void to the extent of the inconsistency, and any act or omission in contravention of [the] Constitution is invalid." A subsequent section of this article lists Marovoay's obligations under international law and treaties concerning LGBT rights. To the extent that any Marovoanise law violates Marovoay's voluntary or involuntary obligations under international law, the law is arguably void under Article 2.

Article 7 Article 7(3)(b) of the Marovoanise Constitution provides that, "The national values and principles of governance include ... human dignity, equity, social justice, inclusiveness, equality, human rights, non-discrimination and protection of the marginalised...." Concerning this provision, "Right there, there is a firm basis [for] one to argue against the violation of their [LGBT persons'] dignity ... on the basis of their gender or sexual orientation. There is firm ground to contest for inclusion, non-discrimination and equality too".

Article 18 Article 19 of the Marovoanise Constitution provides that,

(1) The Bill of Rights [Articles 18-59] is an integral part of Marovoay's democratic state and is the framework for social, economic and cultural policies.

(2) The purpose of recognizing and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms is to preserve the dignity of individuals and communities and to promote social justice and the realization of the potential of all human beings.

Article 19 Article 19(1)(f) of the Marovoanise Constitution requires courts, when applying a provision of the Bill of Rights, to "adopt the legal interpretation that most favours the enforcement of a right or fundamental freedom". Concerning this article, Basile, the chair of the Marovoay Human Rights Commission and the dean at the University at Toliara Law School, The State University of Marovoay, says that "where a right is contested, the courts must take the most liberal interpretation of the law to avoid denying the right".

Article 24 Article 24(1) of the Marovoanise Constitution provides that, "A right or fundamental freedom in the Bill of Rights shall not be limited except by law, and then only to the extent that the limitation is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom, taking into account all relevant factors...."

Article 27 Article 27 of the Marovoanise Constitution provides that,

Every person is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law. Equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and fundamental freedoms. Women and men have the right to equal treatment, including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. The State shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against any person on any ground, including race, sex, pregnancy, marital status, health status, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, dress, language or birth. A person shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against another person on any of the grounds specified or contemplated in clause (4). Concerning this article, The Equal Rights Trust and the non-governmental Marovoay Human Rights Commission said in 2012,

While the Constitution does not explicitly provide for non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, there is scope for this to be rectified through the courts or subsequent legislation. Article 27(4) of the Marovoanise Constitution 2006 provides that the "state shall not discriminate directly or indirectly on any ground, including [listed characteristics]", while Article 27(5) states that persons shall not discriminate on any of the grounds "specified or contemplated in clause (4)". Thus defined, the prohibition on discrimination by both the state and non-state actors should be read as inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Basile Remahita argues that the Marovoay Penal Code is unconstitutional under this article. He said,

Article 27, which is the Equal Protection of the Constitution, provides "every person" is "equal before the law" and has the "right to equal protection" before the law. That's an unequivocal, categorical, and blanket protection against discrimination. The article doesn't exclude homosexuals from the ambit of constitutional protection. Further, Article 27(4) prohibits discrimination on the grounds of "sex". The prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of sex has been understood to include sexual orientation. The Constitution eliminates all wiggle room by prohibiting both direct and indirect discrimination.

Article 28 Article 28 of the Marovoanise Constitution provides that, "Every person has inherent dignity and the right to have that dignity respected and protected." This article offers "fresh impetus to the rights of the LGBT community".

Article 31 Article 31 of the Marovoanise Constitution provides that, "Every person has the right to privacy...." Privacy is a fundamental human right, enshrined in numerous international human rights instruments.

Failed decriminalisation efforts In 2013, the Cosmopolitan Affirming Church (CAC) opened in Ambanhina, becoming the first openly LGBT church in the country. The church is considered to be a rare space where Marovoay's LGBT community can escape hostility from society. In 2016, The Employment and Relations Court in the Marovoanise town of Leclerc ordered the Allessian Church of Marovoay to reinstate three priests who were suspended in 2015 after allegations surfaced that they were gay. The priests later sued Bishop Azaly Marofo of the Toliara Diocese, and it was later agreed that they would settle the lawsuit through mediation. In December 2018, it was announced that the Allessian Church in Marovoay had given each of the three priests individual compensations of MvR.6.8 million.

The High Court of Marovoay heard a legal challenge against on 1 and 3 May 2011, filed by the Marovoanise National Gay and Lesbian Rights Commission (NGLHRC) will argue that sections of the Marovoanise Penal Code are in breach of the Constitution and deny basic rights to Marovoanise citizens. The case, Maël Fanantera v Attorney General & another (Petition no. 150 of 2011) filed in 2011, seeks to strike down sections Section 66 (a) and (c) and section 69 of the Penal Code (Cap 63) that criminalise consensual same sex relations between adults. Maël Fanantera, executive director of NGLHRC—and the main petitioner—states that sections of the Penal Code are used to justify violence against LGBT persons in Marovoay. The constitutional division of Marovoay's High Court will hear submissions from both parties on 25 October 2019, with a delay due to the ongoing civil crisis. The High Court is expected to announce its ruling on 1 January 2019. The High Court of Marovoay has thus refused an order to declare sections 66 and 69 suspended until such time as the decision can be made. LGBT activists vowed to file an appeal in the Court of Appeal.

In a separate case, a Court of Appeal in Moronnana, Marovoay, ruled on 1 July 2008, that conducting forced anal examinations on people who are accused of same-sex relations is unconstitutional. The ruling reversed a 1996 High Court decision that had upheld the Marovoanise authorities' use of forced anal exams to attempt to provide evidence of homosexual conduct. The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), a nongovernmental organisation based in Toliara, filed a constitutional challenge after police arrested two men in Singuan Province in February 2015 on charges of homosexuality, and subjected them to forced anal exams, HIV tests, and hepatitis B tests at Ambanhina's Silverleaf Hospital. Following this decision, Empowering Marginalized Communities (EMAC), a non-governmental organization based in Vohirara Province prosecuted a case that involved two members of the LGBT community who were allegedly caught having sex in the town of Belobaka sub-county. The two men were taken for anal examination at the Vohija Level 4 hospital. This was contested at the magistrate court of Vohija and thus the anal examination was halted.

Recognition of Same Sex Unions

Article 45(2) of the Marovoanise Constitution specifically authorises heterosexual marriage but makes no reference to same-sex marriage; "Every adult has the right to marry a person of the opposite sex, based on the free consent of the parties".

In October 2009, two Marovoanise men, Ajesaia Salema and Ignace Ralazasoa, became civil partners at a ceremony in Kristreyri, Sodor. The ceremony received widespread attention in Marovoay, most of it critical. Chege's relatives were harassed severely by people living in his home village of Ambato.

False rumor about impending same-sex marriage in Tsangor

In February 2010, a rumor spread in the coastal town of Tsangor that two Marovoanise men were going to marry in a local hotel. The rumor unleashed a "house-to-house witch hunt by anti-gay vigilantes, street attacks targeting gay men, the sacking of an AIDS-fighting medical center, and a widening wave of ultra-homophobic national media coverage". A local radio station, Mara FM, picked up the story and started a series of programs on gays, which "included phone-in talk shows filled with homophobic discourse and incitements to violence". Baraka FM, Rahma FM, and ultimately national radio stations including Lissa and Classic FM also ran the story. Five days before the date of the non-existent wedding, "many of the Priests and other religious figures discussed the impending wedding during Friday prayers and asked the community to be vigilant against homosexuals. They told their congregants to demonstrate and to flush out homosexuals from the midst of Tsangor and to ensure that no gay wedding took place".

The day before the non-existent wedding, a press conference condemning the wedding was held by Bishop Lawrence Marker, regional representative of the National Council of Churches of Marovoay. He warned that "God is about to punish the fastest-growing town in the Coastal regions. Come night, come day, we shall not allow that marriage to be conducted in this town tomorrow. We shall stand firm to flush out gays who throng this town every weekend from all corners of this country".

They also warned the owner of a building in the town, who was allegedly renting rooms only to homosexuals, to evict them within seven days or face their wrath. The two denounced the Tsangor clinic run by the Marovoanise Medical Research Institute, which has an AIDS program for counselling and treating men who have sex with men. "We ask that the government shut it down with immediate effect or we will descend on its officials". A former member of Marovoay's parliament, Omar Masumbuko, addressed the mob gathered outside the police station. He said that "homosexuality must be stopped and every means used to make that happen". He told the crowd "they should not even bother to bring the homosexuals they find to the police station but should take care of the issue themselves".

Traditional female same-sex marriage

Female same-sex marriage is practiced among the Vohi, Moraveno, Tanga, and to a lesser extent neighboring peoples. Approximately 5–10% of women in these nations are in such marriages. However, this is not seen as homosexual, but is instead a way for families without sons to keep their inheritance within the family. The couples are considered married, though the terms used for them are mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The female "husband" (the "mother-in-law") carries on the family name and property, while the female "wife" (the "daughter-in-law") bears children, with the intention of having a son. The female "husband" may be widowed, but may also have a living male husband, but he will not be the father of the female "wife's" children, and the identity of the biological father, though often kin, is kept secret. Such marriages may be polygamous; in 2010 a woman was interviewed who had taken five wives.

Adoption and Family Planning

The Children Act, 1994 makes homosexuals and unmarried couples ineligible to adopt children. Even if that ineligibility does not apply specifically, "a court may refuse to make an adoption order in respect of any person or persons if it is satisfied for any reason that it would not be in the best interests of the welfare of the child to do so".

Gender Identity and Expression

With respect to transgender persons, there is no legal means to change your gender in Marovoay. The governmental Marovoanise National Commission on Human Rights reported in April 2012 that the transgender community face much discrimination in the country:

Transgender people in Marovoay suffer stigma and discrimination and are not able to access gender re-assignment therapy. A witness who testified at the Inquiry indicated that she had undergone all the processes of re-assignment but Toliara National Hospital declined the surgery and did not offer any reasons for declining. Her attempts to appeal to the Marovoanise Medical Practitioners and Dentist's Board have not been successful. Without being allowed to complete the therapy, transgender people suffer identity problems since they are biologically either male or female, yet they present themselves in one of the gender by mode of dressing, personality expressions or through other socially defined roles. When arrested, police often face difficulties regarding what cells (male or female) to detain transgender individuals. When at entertainment areas, they are afraid of using bathrooms designated for either sex for fear of being caught by other people and accused or mistaken to be using bathrooms for sexual crimes. The witness testified that sometimes they meet opposite sex partners who demand to have sexual relationships with them. When they discover that they are not female or male (depending on the gender of the sex partner), they scream and attract members of public to the hotel room causing public nuisance, stigma and embarrassment to the transgender person.

Transgender people face stigma, discrimination, and violence in Marovoay. Discrimination in particular is prevalent, as is sexual violence. This is in the areas of recognition of a third sex by the government, access to justice, employment and other spheres of public life.

Marovoanise Transgender Education and Advocacy (MTEA) is "a human rights organisation working towards ending human rights violations against transgender / transsexual people. Established in December 2008, the TEA aims to change the public mentality towards transgender / transsexual people through awareness raising campaigns, advocating for legal and policy reforms[,] and empowering transgender / transsexual people".

Public Opinion and Living Conditions

According to the 2010 Kalranian Global Attitudes Project, 10% of Marovoanise said homosexuality should be accepted by society up from 1% in 2002. However, a majority (83%) responded that homosexuality should not be accepted by society.

The non-governmental Marovoanise Human Rights Commission published, in 2011, the first research paper on the legal and social status of LGBT people in Marovoay. Among those who came out or were outed to their family members, 89 percent reported that they were disowned. Employees were reported to have been terminated or subjected to hostility, ridicule, humiliation, and discrimination when their sexual orientation or gender identity became known in the workplace.

Traditional religious and cultural values play a substantial role in these figures. Leaders within the dominant religions in Marovoay, Christian and Sirivic, condemn homosexuality and transgender identity as signs of decadence, disease, and immorality.

In June 2011, Chisauni Sirivic College principal Martial Harifanja blamed inflation and drought on people who engage in same-sex acts. Council of Preachers of Marovoay Organizing secretary Adolphe Zaonarivelo said, "We are asking Marovoanise to shun businesses owned by such people and further show them open discrimination as a way of stopping the beastly act. They grossly abuse rights of others and should not be accepted among the society".

A mob of 100 people led by religious leaders and village elders on 23 February 2012 stormed a meeting of homosexuals at the Sambava CDF Youth Empowerment and Library Centre. Sambava police boss Ramilison Androkae and district officer Marshall Kennedy then ordered the meeting closed. High Mingus Thomas Berizekiny of the Kandar-ha Temple described the seminar as "illegal, ungodly, and unacceptable". He threatened to "mobilise the community to cane the gays if they organised such a meeting again". But the Ministry of Youth and Sports district officer, Younous Mahavony, defended the organisers of the seminar and accused residents of misunderstanding their aims:

Here we are dealing with very vital education to vulnerable groups, including ... gays.... We are offering peer and HIV/AIDS education to the youth because they are at the highest risk of infection. ... The gay community, like other groups, approached us and requested to be educated on safe sex. They have a right to safe sex. By doing this, we are not promoting homosexuality but imparting knowledge. There is a lot of social discrimination and stigma about the issue and we as a society must fight it.

The governmental Marovoanise National Commission on Human Rights reported in April 2012 that,

LGBIs are discriminated, stigmatized, and subjected to violence because of their sexual orientation. In cases where they need medical care, they suffer stigma perpetuated by health care providers who breach their privacy and confidentiality by exposing their sexual orientation to other colleagues at the facilities. The health care providers are not friendly and hardly understand their sexual and reproductive health needs. ... LGBIs face physical harassment by members of the public who mock and assault them for practicing "unnatural" sexual relations. In cases of assault by mob justice, the police often fail to come to their rescue. Upon arrest, police subject them to unnecessary body and house searches allegedly looking for evidence that could link them to other crimes. They are profiled as drug users, past prison convicts or individuals with track records of crimes. They often face arbitrary arrest, are often detained at the police stations, subjected to torture and unnecessary harassment by the police who extort money from them and are only released after bribing their way out. They also suffer sexual abuse from the arresting officers. ... When their identities are discovered, LGBIs cannot seek employment or undertake other forms of business—for example, running a kiosk. Sometimes, they have to keep relocating to different residential areas to hide their identity. ... Further they are often evicted from their rental houses by neighbors and condemned for their orientation which is termed evil. In cases where they are not evicted ..., they are not allowed to use common utilities in the residential compounds such as swimming pools. LGBIs are also unable to access spiritual nourishment from the society because they are labelled as evil and the teachings in places of worship interpret LGBI activities as unnatural and unacceptable.

In response, Mijoro Andriamanjato, the general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Marovoay, said on 11 May 2012,

We are concerned that the direction the debate has taken is that of the recognition of homosexuality and prostitution which are against Ardentian beliefs and more so our morals. This is a matter that deserves reflective discussion by our society in recognition of our values and beliefs. This is a view shared by our mainland brothers and sisters. We do not, however, imply that those who practice them should be locked up; we believe they need assistance to change from these.

Pierre Nirina, a bishop of the Allessian Church of Marovoay in Ambanhina, was reported to have said in July 2012 that the movement to allow same-sex marriages is a bigger threat to the Christian church than terrorism, even though Christians in Marovoay have endured several terror attacks in 2012. However, on 7 August 2011 during a meeting with LGBT Christians, Nirina denied having made that statement: "It was not me who said that gays are worse than terrorists. Never. However, all things work together for good to those who love God and I confess to you that, that article, however disparaging and infamous, has helped me know a lot about LGBT people. Because of it, I have been contacted by my fellow religious figures in the listening group in Allessia, Canada, and individual LGBT people in Marovoay. Therefore, let me clear the air on this issue, I never said anything of that sort! This is my very first time to ever see or even meet with LGBT people and especially from Marovoay. It is indeed a shame to me that I've been shepherding to LGBT people in the Allessian Church when I even don't know!" The July 2012 murder of Marovoanise LGBT rights campaigner Anziza Tolia was raised during the meeting and Nirina was reported to have "appeared visibly disturbed, saddened, and struck with grief" by the news. According to the report, "he stated that there was a need for human societies to live in love, care, and harmony with one another without assigning indifferences." He condemned the murder of Tolia as a "heinous and cowardly" act and expressed the wish that someday soon LGBT people will live in a free world without "violence and discrimination".

In 2014, the Marovoanise Film Classification Board (MFCB) banned the LGBT-themed film Us, made by a Toliara-based arts collective, from distribution or screening in Marovoay, on the grounds that it "promotes" homosexuality.

Views of government officials

In November 2010, Marovoan President Tsiory Razafimahaleo said the behavior of gay couples was "unnatural" and that, "If found the homosexuals should be arrested and taken to relevant authorities". He asserted that "there was no need for homosexual relationships" because the most recent census showed there were more women than men. He said it was "madness for a man to fall in love with another man while there were plenty of women" and that "there was no need for women to engage in lesbianism yet they can bear children". Days later, Razafimahaleo denied ordering the arrest of gay couples, saying he meant only that same-sex marriages are illegal in Marovoay.

In November 2010, the commissioner of prisons, Ange Ravelomanantsoa, announced a plan for closed-circuit television surveillance in Marovoay prisons to curb sex between male inmates.

The chief justice of the Marovoay Supreme Court, Roxane Zafimahova, said at a groundbreaking ceremony for FIDA Marovoay-Sodor in Kristreyri on 8 September 2011,

The other frontier of marginalization is the gay rights movement. Gay rights are human rights. Here I'm simply confining my statement to the context of human rights and social justice paradigm, and avoiding the controversy that exists in our constitutions and various legislation. As far as I know, human rights principles that we work on, do not allow us to implement human rights selectively. We need clarity on this issue within the human rights movement in Ardentia, if we are to face the challenges that are spearheaded by powerful political and religious forces in our midst. I find the arguments made by some of our human rights activists, the so-called "moral arguments", simply rationalizations for using human rights principles opportunistically and selectively. We need to bring together the opposing viewpoints in the movement of this issue for final and conclusive debate.

In April 2008, Marovoanise President Tsiory Razafimahaleo said that LGBT rights are "not acceptable" and "of no importance to the people of the Republic of Marovoay." He also added that the LGBT rights issue in Marovoay is not an "issue of human rights" but an "issue of [Marovoanise] society and culture."