Tiwonge Chimbalanga, left, and Steven Monjeza unseen, are led from court in Blantyre, Malawi, Thursday May 20, 2010 after a judge sentenced the couple to the maximum 14 years in prison for unnatural acts and gross indecency under Malawi's anti-gay legislation. The harsh sentence had been expected in this conservative southern African country after the same judge convicted the two this week under laws dating from the colonial era.Alex Ntonya/The Associated Press
The jailing of a Malawi gay couple for celebrating their engagement has been rightly condemned by Canada - and is a devastating reminder of just how far many African countries have yet to go on human rights.
It is wrong to single out homosexuals, to undermine their dignity and to violate their privacy, and laws that permit this must be repealed.
Criminalizing gay sex also drives it underground, making it harder to curb the spread of HIV in Africa, where homosexuality remains illegal in 37 countries. In Malawi, nearly one million people - an estimated 12 per cent of the population - are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
In handing out a maximum sentence to Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, the Malawi judge called the couple an affront to the country's moral code. Their crime was to hold a symbolic ceremony at a hotel in December, committing publicly to marriage - an act of sufficient gravity to merit a conviction for "unnatural acts and gross indecency" and 14 years' hard labour in prison.
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon was quick to denounce the case, which has become a flashpoint for human-rights advocates - including the pop singer Madonna - who fear it could lead to even more homophobia.
"We will be following this case," said Mr. Cannon. "Canada has a great reputation internationally because we stand up for human rights, and speak out on things that need to be denounced."
The issue of homosexuality is complicated for Africans, some of whom see same-sex liaisons as a Western import - and resent foreigners' intrusion into what they see as a domestic issue. The criminalization of homosexuality dates back to the British colonial era when legislators outlawed "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal."
It is now the West's duty to speak out against these discriminatory laws. Malawi relies on donors for 40 per cent of its development budget; if it violates the rights of minority groups, it could be shunned, though so far no donor has withdrawn aid.
Ironically, Malawi - a recent invitee to the G8/G20 summit - is seen as one of the nations leading Africa's democratic renaissance. But with democracy comes respect for human rights - even if the evolution is a long and painful one.
While Canada decriminalized homosexuality in 1969 - and legalized same-sex marriage in 2003 - anti-sodomy laws remained on the books in the U.S. until 1986. Those laws continued in 13 states until 2003, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck them down.
Feeding the cancer of discrimination will not help Malawi in any way - it is only by establishing equal rights for all that this impoverished country can truly transform itself.