Malawi’s LBGTQ+ community celebrates first Pride parade
28 June 2021
The Malawi Human Rights Commission shared the above/ to right image this weekend, as the LGBTQ+ community in Malawi came together for their first Pride parade on the 26th of June 2021.
The Guardian reported -
"For a few hours over the weekend the streets of Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, were covered in rainbows, as about 50 members of the country’s persecuted LBGTQ+ community took part in the country’s first Pride parade.
The risks to those who took part are high. Homosexuality remains illegal in Malawi, and those who identify as anything other than heterosexual face arrest and imprisonment...
The organisers of Malawi Pride used the parade to deliver a petition addressed to the president calling on the government to repeal laws that criminalise same-sex unions...
Martha Chijozi, who represented the [Malawi Human Rights] commission at the parade, said it was within its mandate to protect the rights of everyone, including those from sexual minorities.
She said she agreed with the Nyasa Rainbow Alliance that the issue of sexual rights should not be the subject of a study or referendum.
“We know there are so many misconceptions about the LGBTI community. They are human beings and deserve rights like any other person. The community suffer a lot of discrimination that’s why we have a specific focus on raising awareness,” she said."
Read the full article here.
You may find more images from the parade on The Guardian's Instagram page here.
