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Recognition of same-sex unions in Zambia

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Marriage

Recognized

Civil unions or registered partnerships but not marriage
Minimal recognition
See also
Notes
  1. ^ a b Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
  2. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
  3. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
  4. ^ a b Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations of the US. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
  5. ^ Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights in Israel. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
  6. ^ a b c d e The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
  7. ^ A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.
  8. ^ Guardianship agreements confer some limited legal benefits in China, including decisions about medical and personal care.
  9. ^ Hong Kong provides inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
  10. ^ Indian courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
  11. ^ Most Japanese cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
  12. ^ Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse provide residency rights in Namibia.
  13. ^ Romania provides hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.
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Zambia does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions. The Marriage Act does not provide for the recognition of same-sex marriage.

Historical recognition of same-sex relationships

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While many modern-day Zambian cultures historically practiced polygamy, there are no records of same-sex marriages as understood from a Western perspective being performed in those cultures. However, there is evidence for identities and behaviours that may be placed on the LGBT spectrum.[1] Luvale culture traditionally recognized "powerful diviner and medicine men" known as jimbandaa, who were "reputed to gain [their] powers by ritual sodomy".[2][3][4] The jimbandaa "dress[ed], [sat], and [spoke] like women, and married men just as if they were women".[5][2][6] This practice gradually disappeared with modernization and the introduction of Western culture and homophobia to Zambia during colonisation.[7]

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Same-sex sexual activity legal
  Same-sex marriage
  Limited recognition (foreign residency rights)
  No recognition of same-sex couples
Same-sex sexual activity illegal
  Prison but not enforced
  Prison
  Death penalty on books but not enforced
  Enforced death penalty

Background

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Same-sex sexual relations are outlawed in Zambia under a colonial-era law inherited when Zambia was a protectorate of the British Empire. This law, which Zambia retained upon independence, stipulates a penalty of fourteen years' imprisonment for consensual, private sexual relations between people of the same sex, and has resulted in numerous arrests and imprisonments.[8] LGBT rights are greatly restricted in the country, with gays and lesbians experiencing severe societal and legal discrimination.[9]

Restrictions

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The Marriage Act, 1918 (Chapter 50)[a] does not expressly forbid same-sex marriages and does not contain a definition of marriage. However, it generally refers to married spouses as "husband" and "wife". This law arguably showed Zambia anticipated recognising only opposite-sex marriages.[10] In 2006, Home Affairs Minister Ronnie Shikapwasha said that Zambia would "never" legalise same-sex marriage, calling it a "sin" that goes against the country's Christian values.[11]

In February 2010, the Zambian National Constitutional Conference (NCC), a forum established in 2007 to debate, examine, and adopt proposals to amend the Constitution of Zambia, unanimously agreed to adopt a clause to expressly forbid marriage between people of the same sex. The forum proposed to add a provision that "a person who is eighteen years of age or older has the right to freely choose a spouse of the opposite sex and marry" to the Constitution. The measure was supported by Minister for the Southern Province Daniel Munkombwe, who incorrectly stated that homosexuality did not exist among non-human animals. Foreign Minister Kabinga Pande also expressed support for the clause, stating, "I think let's adopt this clause in view of what's happening in the world. We have people in some other countries that think that same sex marriage is a right. If we are not clear on this one, the same situation could come down to this country some day. It's a very progressive clause that I urge all to support."[12] However, the most recent modifications to the Constitution, which were assented by President Edgar Lungu on 5 January 2016, did not contain this clause. The Constitution does not contain any provision on marriage and does not explicitly forbid marriages between people of the same sex,[13] unlike neighbouring Zimbabwe's constitution.

Religious performance

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The Catholic Church opposes same-sex marriage and does not allow its priests to officiate at such marriages. In December 2023, the Holy See published Fiducia supplicans, a declaration allowing Catholic priests to bless couples who are not considered to be married according to church teaching, including the blessing of same-sex couples.[14] The Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops issued the following statement on 20 December, "In order to avoid any pastoral confusion and ambiguity as well as not to break the law of our country which forbids same sex unions and activities, and while listening to our cultural heritage which does not accept same sex relationships, the Conference guides that the declaration from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith of December 18th 2023 concerning the blessing of same-sex couples be taken as for further reflection and not for implementation in Zambia."[15][16]

The Church of the Province of Central Africa, part of the Anglican Communion, holds that "marriage, by divine institution, is a lifelong and exclusive union and partnership between one man and one woman".[17] The Reformed Church in Zambia (RCZ) has not taken a stance on same-sex marriage, but the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, which the RCZ was founded from, has a complex history on the issue and voted in favour of blessing same-sex unions in 2015.[18]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ In some regional languages of Zambia:

References

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  1. ^ Spurlin, William J. (2006). Imperialism Within the Margins: Queer Representation and the Politics of Culture in Southern Africa. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781403983664.
  2. ^ a b "Boy-Wives and Female Husbands". www.willsworld.org. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  3. ^ Murray, Stephen. "Homosexuality in "Traditional" Sub-Saharan Africa and Contemporary South Africa" (PDF). Semgai. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  4. ^ Epprecht, Marc (2013). "Glossary of Terms and Acronyms". McGill-Queen's University Press. doi:10.1515/9780773588783-002.
  5. ^ Donnella, Leah (12 May 2017). "Picturing Queer Africans In The Diaspora". NPR.
  6. ^ "Homosexuality in Perspective: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the International Debate on Homosexuality in Uganda" (PDF). Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  7. ^ Okwenna, Chrysogonus (2021). "Homosexuality in Traditional Africa". Obademi Awolowo University Press.
  8. ^ ILGA (December 2020). State-Sponsored Homophobia - 2020 global legislation overview update (PDF) (Report). p. 125. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  9. ^ Reid & Meerkotter, G. & A. (4 August 2015). "Africa Ruling Move LGBT Rights Forward". Jurist. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Marriage Act" (PDF). Parliament of Zambia. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  11. ^ "Zambia will never legalise gay marriages-gov't". African Veil. 10 December 2006. Archived from the original on 17 September 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
  12. ^ Chanda, Ernest (18 February 2010). "NCC to adopt clause that forbids same sex marriage". The Post. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012.
  13. ^ "Constitution of Zambia (Amendment), 2016" (PDF). Parliament of Zambia. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  14. ^ Flynn, JD (2023-12-22). "Is the 'false narrative' narrative a false narrative?". The Pillar. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  15. ^ Coppen, Luke (19 December 2023). "'Fiducia supplicans': Who's saying what?". The Pillar.
  16. ^ "In Nigeria and Much of Africa, Catholic Same-Sex Couples See No Blessings Soon". U.S. News. 29 December 2023.
  17. ^ "The Church of the Province of Central Africa vs. The Diocesan Trustees for the Diocese of Harare". Law Portal Zimbabwe. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  18. ^ "Dutch Reformed Church to recognise gay marriage". enca. 10 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
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