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21. The Complex Ties between Poverty and Exclusion

Author:
Michelle Nicholasen and Lucie White
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
To what extent does poverty contribute to social exclusion? How can the exclusion of particular groups be reduced? These were just two of the questions scholars addressed at the Social Inclusion and Poverty Eradication Workshop on November 17–18, 2016, a two-day event co-sponsored by the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, the Center for European Studies, and the Comparative Research Programme on Poverty (CROP). The conference was convened by Weatherhead Center Director Michèle Lamont, Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies and professor of sociology and of African and African American studies at Harvard University; and Hilary Silver, professor of sociology and urban studies and professor of public policy at Brown University. Though the related challenges of poverty and exclusion have been exhaustively studied individually, their mutual interplay, in their socioeconomic and historical contexts, have rarely been mapped in a nuanced way. As Lamont and Silver emphasized in their remarks, only by subtle analysis of these interactions can responsive strategies be designed to alleviate the impacts of either factor. Lamont addressed the theme of intersection by calling for the reintroduction of the concept of “culture” into the study of poverty and social exclusion. Supporting this frame, keynote speaker Vijayendra Rao, lead economist for the World Bank’s Development Research Group, emphasized working within a local culture to help citizens arrive at their own solutions for more social engagement.
Topic:
Poverty, Culture, World Bank, Discrimination, Socioeconomics, and Exclusion
Political Geography:
Global Focus

22. Canaries in the Coal Mines: An analysis of spaces for LGBTI activism in Malawi

Author:
Philip Browne
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Other Foundation
Abstract:
The question of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) rights continues to be a point of struggle and strife, extending from the depths of Malawi’s political history. Since its independence in 1964, the twenty eight- year dictatorship of Kamuzu Banda enforced a strict national Christian morality which has been sustained to the present day. The experiences and challenges facing LGBTI people in Malawi are shaped by laws, policies and practices that are informed by prevailing social, religious and cultural norms, that in turn shape public discourse around sexual minorities as contrary to Malawi’s culture and morality. The public debate on homosexuality has been complex, unpredictable and contested, and provides a snapshot of the difficulties LGBTI people face. Anti-homosexuality discourse has largely been driven by religious and cultural chauvinism.
Topic:
Human Rights, LGBT+, Exclusion, and Activism
Political Geography:
Africa and Malawi

23. Canaries in the Coal Mines: An analysis of spaces for LGBTI activism in Namibia

Author:
Finn Reagan
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Other Foundation
Abstract:
Namibia has experienced visible and tangible change on LGBTI human rights issues in recent years with a marked move away from the homophobia expressed by then head of state, Sam Nujoma, following independence. LGBTI people continue to experience severe levels of marginalization and social exclusion but are also clearly poised to make significant advances in the coming few years if a coherent national strategy can be consolidated by existing LGBTI organizations and their allies. Some sectors (such as health) have made significantly more gains than others (such as religion and education), and there has been a sea change of evolving public attitudes towards non-normative sexualities and genders. This broad shifting in social attitudes is due to several factors, including the efforts of LGBTI organizations. Since the early successes of the Rainbow Project, there is support for strategizing for progressive social change for LGBTI people within broader civil society. Allies in key state posts could be successfully engaged with for substantial change.
Topic:
Human Rights, LGBT+, Exclusion, and Activism
Political Geography:
Africa and Namibia

24. Canaries in the Coal Mines: An analysis of spaces for LGBTI activism in Swaziland

Author:
Wendy Kessman
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Other Foundation
Abstract:
The recognition of the human rights of LGBTI people in Swaziland is still in its infancy. The LGBTI movement, born from a need to address social isolation and violence against LGBTI people, is currently in the midst of a reflective process of learning from past mistakes, and healing from losses, old and new.
Topic:
Human Rights, LGBT+, Exclusion, and Activism
Political Geography:
Africa and Swaziland

25. Canaries in the Coal Mines: An analysis of spaces for LGBTI activism in southern Africa

Author:
Mark Gevisser
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Other Foundation
Abstract:
Like coal miners used caged canary birds, whose death was a warning sign of toxic gases in the mine tunnels, homosexual women and men, and transgender and intersex people in southern Africa are at the coalface of the multiple dangers in many of our societies today. How our societies treat lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people is symptomatic of the dangers facing all people who are excluded in some way or another in our societies, by those who have a grip on social, economic, and political power. To assess the depth and nature of social exclusion of LGBTI people across southern Africa and better understand how LGBTI groups are organizing to transform that reality, the Other Foundation commissioned studies of ten countries in southern Africa: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe participated in the development of the studies.
Topic:
Human Rights, LGBT+, Exclusion, and Activism
Political Geography:
Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Swaziland, Namibia, Mauritius, Botswana, Lesotho, and Southern Africa

26. Canaries in the Coal Mines: An analysis of spaces for LGBTI activism in Zimbabwe

Author:
Tabona Shoko and Lilly Phiri
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Other Foundation
Abstract:
Zimbabwe’s history, colonial and postcolonial, has been violent and fraught with human rights infractions, including economic crises that have left the country and its people stripped of resources. In this fraught context, the violation of the human rights of sexual minorities who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex (LGBTI) is unsurprising.
Topic:
Human Rights, LGBT+, Exclusion, and Activism
Political Geography:
Africa and Zimbabwe

27. Canaries in the Coal Mines: An analysis of spaces for LGBTI activism in Lesotho

Author:
Glenda Muzenda and Wendy Kessman
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Other Foundation
Abstract:
The quest to realizing LGBTI human rights in Lesotho has been marked by a mix of unique local successes, and challenges that are common to other countries in the region, painting a somewhat fragmented picture. Through engaging with rural communities, using media to spark conversations and change mindsets, to public health entry points linked to HIV/AIDS ‘key population’ funding, and supportive religious groups, the agenda for the full realization of LGBTI human rights has increased in profile across spaces in Lesotho.
Topic:
Human Rights, Media, LGBT+, Public Health, Exclusion, and Activism
Political Geography:
Africa and Lesotho

28. Canaries in the Coal Mines: An analysis of spaces for LGBTI activism in Botswana

Author:
Glenda Muzenda
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Other Foundation
Abstract:
Botswana is no exception to dominant narratives against LGBTI human rights in Africa. The 2016 Afrobarometer report on Tolerance in Africa confirmed these views.1 Of citizens surveyed, only 43% said they would like, or would not mind, having a homosexual neighbour. Notwithstanding data showing current attitudes to LGBTI human rights as largely negative, the percentage of those not opposed to having homosexuals as neighbours, also points to a relatively high degree of acceptance by citizens in a country where same-sex sexual conduct is criminalized based on colonial-era British laws. The original law applied only to male persons, but in 1998 the government extended the ambit of the law to include women.
Topic:
Human Rights, LGBT+, Exclusion, and Activism
Political Geography:
Africa and Botswana

29. Canaries in the Coal Mines: An analysis of spaces for LGBTI activism in Zambia

Author:
Lilly Phiri
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Other Foundation
Abstract:
This review provides an insight on the extent to which the human rights of lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people are respected and upheld in Zambia. It considers the socio-cultural and political realities in which LGBTI people find themselves, and the ways in which LGBTI groups and individuals manage to function in a homophobic context.
Topic:
Human Rights, LGBT+, Exclusion, and Activism
Political Geography:
Africa and Zambia

30. Canaries in the Coal Mines: An analysis of spaces for LGBTI activism in Angola

Author:
Tahila Pimental
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Other Foundation
Abstract:
This overview of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) groups and allies in Angola looks at how LGBTI and civil society organizations (CSOs) work to advance the human rights of LGBTI people. It also provides an insight into the country context, including the legal environment, socio-cultural realities, the extent to which LGBTI people are in/excluded from society; and how this affects the human rights of LGBTI people.
Topic:
Human Rights, LGBT+, Exclusion, Civil Society Organizations, and Activism
Political Geography:
Africa and Angola