APA-Blantyre (Malawi) Thousands of Malawians marched in Blantyre and other parts of the country on Thursday in church-led demonstrations against same-sex relationships.
Led by the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), Evangelical Association of Malawi and the Malawi Council of Churches, there was heavy presence of security forces as placard-carrying protesters marched in Blantyre in defence of marriage and the family.
Similar protests took place in other parts of the country, including the capital Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba.
Organisers said the marches are not meant to stigmatise or harm those propagating same-sex relationships, “but to show them the right way.”
“As Africans and deeply religious people, in spite of our poverty, we must stand up in defiant defence of the family and culture even when we are under severe pressure from the rich but virtually pagan societies which sadly appear to push us back to the path of colonisation after the foundation fathers of our nation won bloody battles against all forms of colonization,” ECM said in a statement.
The marchers were expected to hand over petitions expressing their displeasure to President Lazarus Chakwera and other government officials.
The marches are the latest of a series of actions by African countries to show their disgust over same-sex relationships.
It comes in the wake of the recent passing of anti-gay legislation by Uganda while Ghana’s parliament this month passed a bill that criminalises advocacy for gay rights and proposes jail terms for those that identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
Same-sex relations are illegal in 32 of Africa’s 55 countries.
JN/APA