Queer Malawi : untold stories>>

P. Watson

A unique and groundbreaking new book offering vivid portraits of the lives of gay men and women in Malawi is launched in South Africa by Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA) and the Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP). The accounts in the book portray the joys of love and the heartache of rejection, the dangers posed by homophobia and hatred in communities, and the sublime comfort of close friends and relatives. The twelve life stories are "intended to invoke compassion and support for the rights of African LGBTI people to live freely and harmoniously alongside their heterosexual counterparts in Malawi and beyond her borders". Dr. Patricia Watson, an expert in oral history practice in South Africa, designed and facilitated oral history workshops in Malawi during which most of the 12 participants' experiences were recounted, recorded and translated into English. Watson then worked with the transcripts to compose stories that were as close to the authors' own words as was grammatically possible. The inspiring experiences in Queer Malawi are complemented by striking and intimate photographs of the 12 participants by the renowned and award winning lesbian photographer Zanele Muholi who agreed to do portraits of each of the authors.