Update on Malawi Couple

June 22, 2010

After a few weeks off, I’m trying to get back on the blogging horse. I need to begin by wrapping up a story I kind of left hanging a few weeks ago.

Last post, I talked about the Malawi couple that had been jailed, convicted, and then pardoned by their government. Tiwonge Chimbalanga (known as ‘Aunt Tiwo’) had gone missing and there wasn’t much word on her husband, Steven Monjeza.

Since then (several weeks ago, actually), a story surfaced that answered some of the questions.

The good news is that Aunt Tiwo turned up and nothing was said about her disappearance. Either the source I cited had bad information or (more likely) she had just gone underground for a few days to process this ordeal.

Meanwhile, Steven has succumbed to the intense pressure from his government, family, friends, and culture. He has rather suddenly announced that he is scheduled to marry a woman. Whether money is involved in this arrangement is anybody’s guess. Regardless, Steven is doing his best ex-gay impression to regain his place in society.

Oh, and he says that this whole gay thing is false. He was kidnapped by some sneaky homosexuals who got him liquored up and made him do sex in orgies and whatnot, but he’s not gay. I want to be mad at Steven, but I can’t help but understand his decision, offensive as it is. The pressure to conform was intense, and he’s just trying to survive.

Aunt Tiwo only found out about the upcoming sham marriage through the press, by the way. She seems to be taking it in stride, at least publicly.

Is this the end of Aunt Tiwo and Steven’s story? I can’t help but feel that another shoe is waiting to drop, and I’m hoping it’s not a deadly one. Looking past the couple and their relationship, it’ll be interesting and perhaps a bit scary to discover the effect of this ordeal on the LGBT community in Malawi.

One thing’s for sure: It’s getting harder and harder, even on an international scale, to put people back in the closet. Even when they do retreat, is anyone even fooled by their slap-dash gunpoint retractions?