When I was living in the mountains I got a special friend. She was living in another village, and I passed her house when I was going to church every month. One day she saw me and said, ‘What is your name?’
I told her I was ’M’atsepo Nthunya. So she said, ‘I always see you passing here. Today I want to talk to you. I want you to be my motsoalle .’ This is a name we have in Sesotho for a very special friend. She says, ‘I love you.’
Thus begins the twelfth chapter titled “When A Woman Loves A Woman” of Mpho 'M'atsepo Nthunya’s “Singing away the hunger : the autobiography of an African woman”. In it, she describes the Sotho practice of women forming intimate relationships with each other. These relationships used to be sanctioned and celebrated, even by their husbands.
Each time I hear people vehemently declaring that same-sex relationships are “unAfrican”, I have to take a deep breath and remind myself of the centuries of dedicated, intentional indoctrination it took to plant the seed of prejudice into people’s hearts, and nurture them into orchards of bitter-sour fruit. Reason why I wholeheartedly welcome Pope Francis’ declaration permitting Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples. It is a step in the right direction. I hope the Catholic faithful and clergy on the African continent who care about love and human dignity will work the spirit of this declaration in the soil of people’s hearts so these orchards might bear sweeter fruit. And if anyone says same-sex unions are “unAfrican”, send them this podcast episode!
Woman-loving Woman