African gay laws

In this article, LGBTQ rights journalist Rob Salerno, an editor for RightsAfrica and Erasing 76 Crimes, surveys the status of same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights in Africa. Among a suite of draconian prohibitions on LGBT organization and expression, the law would criminalize lesbianism for the first time.

Home West Africa East Africa. A bill that passed parliament seeking to overturn a Supreme Court ruling requiring the government to recognize foreign same-sex marriages for immigration purposes and which would also criminalize LGBT expression remaining unsigned by the President Geingob, who died in February, and his successor President Mbumba.

Newer Post. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Several African countries have enacted anti-gay laws that criminalize same-sex relationships and LGBTQ+ identities, often rooted in colonial-era legislation and conservative cultural or religious norms.

While the bill was upheld by the Constitutional Court, a fresh challenge was filed with the Supreme Court. It's already illegal to be gay in Uganda. Map of LGBT Rights in Africa — BLUE: Same-sex marriage is legal and discrimination based on sexual orientation prohibited.

Older Post. [a] There are an estimated fifty million Africans who are non-heterosexual. Zimbabwe: Parliament passed a bill to end the death penalty and it was signed into law on December Everyone on death row will be re-sentenced.

Rob Salerno 4 January 8, am. Nearly half of countries worldwide where homosexuality is outlawed are in Africa. This is a trouble spot to watch out for, but there does appear to be a fairly strong Supreme Court as a bulwark against the worst legislative impulses.

[1] As of Septemberhomosexuality is outlawed in 32 of the 54 African states recognised by the United Nations. Nations such as Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya impose severe penalties, including imprisonment or even the death penalty in extreme cases, for individuals found guilty of same-sex conduct.

Anti gay laws Africa

Non-necessary Non-necessary. Part of the opposition to this comes from hoteliers, who run a good business charging unmarried couples extra for discretion when they want to share a room which is otherwise illegal. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Africa are generally lacking, especially in comparison to much of the Americas, Europe and Oceania.

Gabon: The country passed a new constitution by referendum, which incidentally includes a ban on same-sex marriage. A new President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah takes office in March; she has previously campaigned in support of the law, but has not specifically said she would sign it.

Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger: These three former French colonies with Muslim majorities never had laws that criminalized gay sex, even as social attitudes were widely unaccepting.

LGBTQ rights in Africa

Mauritius: The country reached an agreement with the UK to regain control of the British Indian Ocean Territoryalthough the agreement may be scuttled by the newly elected Mauritian government. Lesotho: Parliament passed an updated Labour Act that bans employment discrimination against LGBT people and people living with HIV, and mandates equal pay for equal work for men and women.

Morocco: A proposed revision and liberalization of the penal code has still not advanced, as the religious opposition rallies against it. But Uganda's anti-gay laws have. Here are some that have legalized same-sex relationships in the last decade.

A trading bloc? In November, a court awarded damages to 20 people who were detained on suspicion of homosexuality during the COVID era. Legal rights are diminishing for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people across the African continent.

That looks like its going to end, as all three have been taken over by military coups in recent years driven in part by antipathy toward France and the West, and with sympathies toward Russia. If you're found to have had a same-sex relationship, you can expect to spend seven years in prison.

Necessary Necessary. Photo courtesy of SamePass. [2] In Eswatini, Ghana, Sierra Leone.