News - Gay men and women are hoping for an end to years of "hysterical homophobia" in Zimbabwe, fuelled by the country's own president.

President Robert Mugabe has encouraged a climate of hostility by describing homosexuality as a western import. His opponents in the Movement for Democratic Change are however more supportive of gay rights. This raises hope that Zimbabwe's constitution could follow South Africa's, which was the first country in the world to specifically outlaw discrimination based on the grounds of sexual preference. Currently, sexual acts between men are against the law, and there is no legal reference to women.

"People are very fearful to come out to their parents for fear of being chucked out of home, or of even letting their friends know," said Keith Goddard - director of GALZ (Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe). "The broader network that we're in contact with are people who are very hidden and very scared."

"Now, with the new constitutional review, we are pushing again for sexual orientation," and there is a strong hope of realising the campaign: "The National Aids Council has moved forward enormously from its original policy, and in its strategic plan for 2006-10 it specifically calls for the decriminalisation of homosexuality because punitive measures have simply driven the community underground and make this hidden population difficult to reach."

He added: "I think we can use it on the grounds of health and HIV/Aids interventions to try and argue the issue. Arguing it on religious or moral grounds is not going to get it anywhere. We live in hope. I think we've probably got a 50:50 chance."

Mr Goddard has previously tried twice before to get sexual orientation included in the constitution. In the absence of gay bars and nightclubs, GALZ, which has about 400 members, is the main meeting place to meet up. But being gay in Zimbabwe is still not something to be proud of. For years, the only mention of homosexuality in the media was in negative reports of criminal cases. Today though with help South African soap operas being screened on Zimbabwean TV, many of which now feature positive gay role models, it is hoped that homosexuality will become more accepted. Even so, for a public figure to come out as gay would be "political suicide" and at present civil partnerships are "not even on the gaydar screen".