Demand Freedom for Imprisoned Gay Couple in Malawi

In a case that's ignited a firestorm of outrage around the world, two gay men in Malawi have been sentenced to 14 years in prison for celebrating their love.

When Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga held an engagement party in December, they were arrested two days later and charged with "unnatural acts" and "gross indecency." As Michael Jones writes over on our Gay Rights blog, their shocking 14-year sentence was handed down last week.

The judge in question seemed quite sure of himself as he issued this unconscionable decision. "Let posterity judge this judgement," he declared. Oh, it will. But in the meantime, the rest of the world has to speak up so decisions like this don't stand — and don't proliferate around the world.

Take action today. Join thousands of Change.org readers in writing to the government of Malawi to demand that the couple be freed immediately.

Criminalization of LGBT people is rampant around the world, particularly in Africa (see Uganda, Senegal and others). The U.S. has hardly been a beacon of better policy: it was only in 2003, after all, that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws criminalizing homosexual acts.

For centuries, criminal justice systems across the globe have been used to punish and ostracize groups that society refuses to accept. Here in the U.S., though we think of our laws as color-blind, in fact, remnants of Jim Crow are still everywhere in the U.S. — from modern-day poll taxes to our unequal criminal justice system to education access. The fight to abolish laws criminalizing LGBT individuals for being who they are likewise won't be won overnight.

But LGBT rights are the civil rights movement of this generation, and as the Malawi case shows, the fight extends far beyond the push for gay marriage in the U.S. It's about equal rights around the world. So speak up today for Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga's freedom — or forever hold your peace.

Photo Credit: Box Turtle Bulletin