Homofobia

BBC News edisi Kamis, 20 Mei 2010 memuat berita mengenai pasangan sejenis (laki-laki) yang dihukum oleh pemerintah Malawi karena dianggap melakukan tindakan tidak senonoh (tunangan). Berikut adalah beritanya:

A judge in Malawi has imposed a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison with hard labour on a gay couple convicted of gross indecency and unnatural acts. The judge said he wanted to protect the public from "people like you".

Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, have been in jail since they were arrested in December after holding an engagement ceremony. The case has sparked international condemnation and a debate about homosexuality in the country. The British government, Malawi's largest donor, expressed its "dismay" at the sentences, but has not withdrawn aid.

'Horrendous example'

The US state department, meanwhile, said the case was "a step backwards in the protection of human rights in Malawi".

Handing down sentence in the commercial capital, Blantyre, Judge Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa told the pair: "I will give you a scaring sentence so that the public be protected from people like you, so that we are not tempted to emulate this horrendous example."

The judge said the pair - whom he convicted on Tuesday - had shown no remorse. "We are sitting here to represent the Malawi society, which I do not believe is ready at this point in time to see its sons getting married to other sons or conducting engagement ceremonies," said the judge.

The BBC's Raphael Tenthani in Blantyre says Monjeza, who is unemployed, broke down in tears while Chimbalanga remained calm. "I am not worried," Chimbalanga, a hotel janitor, told reporters as he was led away.

Defence lawyer Mauya Msuku told the BBC that they would appeal. The courtroom was packed, and hundreds of people gathered outside the building. Some shouted abuse as the couple were taken back to jail. There were shouts of "You got what you deserve!" and "Fourteen years is not enough, they should get 50!"

Mr Msuku had argued for a lighter sentence, pointing out that the pair's actions had not victimised anyone. "Here are two consenting adults doing their thing in private. Nobody will be threatened or offended if they are released into society," he said on Tuesday.

'Prisoners of conscience'

Gift Trapence, from the Centre for Development of People (Cedep), a human rights group, described it as a sad day for Malawi. "How can they get 14 years simply for loving one another?" he asked. "Even if they are jailed for 20 years you can't change their sexuality. Michelle Kagari, deputy Africa director of Amnesty International, called the sentence "an outrage", reports the AP news agency. She described the pair as "prisoners of conscience" and said Amnesty would continue to campaign for them to be freed.

UK gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell pointed out that the laws under which the pair were convicted were introduced during British colonial rule. "These laws are a foreign imposition. They are not African," he said. He described the sentence as "brutal" and more severe than for rapists, armed robbers and killers.

The men had denied the charges and their lawyers said their constitutional rights had been violated. Cedep and the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) have been urging Malawi's authorities to relax the country's stance on homosexuals. Our reporter says the government has come under pressure from Western donors over the issue.

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“Perasaan” yang timbul segera setelah membaca berita di atas adalah sangat memprihatinkan. Sangat memprihatinkan karena manusia tega “menghakimi” sesamanya dengan menggunakan tolok ukur yang sangat sempit dan dangkal. Sempit dan dangkal karena tidak didasarkan pada argumen-argumen yang lebih mengutamakan nilai kemanusiaan.

Setidaknya ada dua dasar yang biasa digunakan manusia setiap kali menilai sesamanya, yakni: agama/kepercayaan dan/atau popularitas. Pertama, dasar yang digunakan sebagian besar orang adalah agama/kepercayaan karena mereka beranggapan bahwa agama/kepercayaan yang dianutnya memberikan jawaban yang pasti terhadap semua pertanyaan yang ada dalam benaknya. Hal ini termasuk tolok ukur yang digunakan sebagaian besar orang beragama, di mana “kitab suci”, tradisi, ajaran-ajaran para pemuka agama, dan dogma selalu digunakan sebagai tolok ukur untuk menilai setiap hal yang ada dalam alam semesta. Namun, semua hal tersebut seringkali malah menimbulkan masalah. Artinya, saat tolok ukur agama/kepercayaan digunakan, maka ada pihak lain yang merasa dirugikan karena mengalami ketidakadilan. Jika demikian, tolok ukur agama, yang seharusnya “membawa” manusia pada “kebahagiaan” atau ketenteraman.

Dasar kedua yang biasa digunakan orang adalah “kadar” kepopuleran pandangan yang dianutnya. Artinya, jika pandangan yang dipercayanya banyak dianut oleh orang lain, maka ia berkesimpulan bahwa pandangannya tersebut benar, dan pandangan yang bertolak belakang dengan pandangannya itu salah. Hal inilah yang seringkali ditemukan, misalnya mengenai pandangan homoseksualitas dan lesbian; apakah homoseksualitas dan lesbian benar atau salah. Jika mengacu pada dasar ke-2, maka homoseksualitas dan lesbian adalah salah karena jauh lebih banyak orang yang menyatakan bahwa hal tersebut salah (misalnya, dengan didukung oleh pandangan pertama, yakni agama). Pandangan ini seringkali juga didukung oleh pernyataan bahwa sesuatu itu salah jika segelintir orang yang mengalami atau melakukannya. Tentu, dalam konteks homoseksualitas dan lesbian, tolok ukur ini salah karena tidak ada kaitan antara tindakan seseorang (pilihan orang) dengan “nilai” yang dianut dalam pandangan yang dianutnya.

Dengan demikian, jelas, kedua dasar di atas telah melahirkan ketidakadilan, khususnya terhadap mereka yang minoritas. Kelompok minoritas seringkali tidak berdaya karena sudah langsung dianggap sebagai kaum yang lebih lemah. Kelompok minoritas “kalah” karena jumlah yang lebih sedikit dibandingkan kelompok mayoritas. Dan yang pasti, polarisasi antara kelompok mayoritas dan minoritas telah menghasilkan sikap homofobia yang menggiring manusia ke arah yang tidak manusiawi.