'Just the beginning': Queer Ghanaians say anti-LGBT law strands them in fearful limbo

Record ID: 1819215

  • Title: 'Just the beginning': Queer Ghanaians say anti-LGBT law strands them in fearful limbo
  • Date: 18th April 2024
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF LGBTQ ACTIVIST AND MUSICIAN, EMMANUEL OWUSU-BONSU, SINGING
  • Embargoed: 2nd May 2024 07:56
  • Keywords: Accra Ho africa belief christianity emerging freedoms fundamental gay gender ghana islam issues lesbian lgbtq liberties markets queer religion rights sexuality social society transgender west
  • Location: ACCRA & HO, GHANA
  • City: ACCRA & HO, GHANA
  • Country: Ghana
  • Topics: Africa,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA006110427032024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: FACES OF INTERVIEWEES IN VIDEO ARE NOT SHOWN AS REQUESTED BY SOURCE TO PROTECT THEIR IDENTITIES
    Ghana's LGBTQ community is living in more fear than ever, even as the West African country's president has refused to sign a harsh bill, which would further restrict their rights, until the top court has decided on cases challenging it.
    Kwame, a gay man, struggles to see after an attack by neighbours in 2021 over his sexuality left him partially blind.
    "Nowadays, you just have to be very careful for yourself," said the 30-year-old, removing his oversized spectacles to reveal his blinded eye.
    "You can understand how this bill is just going to be - this is just the beginning."
    In February, the Ghana's parliament unanimously passed a bill that would intensify the suppression of LGBTQ rights and those accused of promoting lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender identities.
    While gay sex is already punishable by up to three years in jail, the new law sets a prison sentence of up to five years for the "wilful promotion, sponsorship, or support of LGBTQ activities".
    The bill requires President Nana Akufo-Addo's signature to become law.
    Already forced to live about 65 km (40 miles) away from his partner for safety reasons, Kwame said that signing the anti-LGBTQ bill, seen as one of the harshest on the continent, into law would empower vigilantes and lynch mobs.
    "I don't think there is any future in this Ghana," he said. "We have to find some way just to fly out."
    The couple said that their best option to stay safe is to get out of Ghana before the president signs the bill.
    But, with financial constraints stopping them from leaving, they have to continue hiding their sexuality from their families and friends.
    Culturally conservative and homophobic, homosexuality is seen as a spiritual problem in Ghana. Gay men or those suspected of being gay are nicknamed 'Kojo Besia', a derogatory Akan dialect term to describe a man whose acts or behaviours are considered feminine.
    Getting a job and accommodation are challenges for those who identify openly as LGBTQ as they are ostracised. Hostility and violence are widespread, although few of such incidents make it to the courts.
    In mid-2021, a coalition of Christian, Muslim and traditional leaders backed eight MPs to sponsor the anti-LGBTQ bill in parliament.
    Ghana's finance ministry warned after its passage that the bill could jeopardise $3.8 billion of World Bank funding and derail a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan package.
    Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu, the spokesperson of Ghana's Chief Imam, said Ghanaian Muslims consider LGBTQ people to be "abominations", and that it was wrong for the West to restrict aid on their behalf.
    Sam Nartey George, an MP and lead advocate for the bill, told Reuters, without evidence, that the finance ministry's comments were written by LGBTQ activists he considers to be "a bunch of criminals who are after the innocence of our children."
    Claims that LGBTQ people pose a danger to children, which are not supported by evidence, are commonly made around the world by people campaigning against gay and transgender rights.
    "It's a real struggle, I will not deny that," Suleman, Kwame's partner said. "We're all important, so if you are important then I am important. That's one way I try to keep myself sane in all of this insanity."
    Beyond taking a toll on LGBTQ people, the bill has also caused a political and constitutional row.
    Ghana's Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin told MPs on March 20 that the president's refusal to act on the bill until legal challenges against it were resolved was unconstitutional, and that parliament would stop approving new ministerial appointments.
    While the political row rumbles on, many LGBTQ Ghanaians are planning for life under the law.
    "It's almost like everyone in Ghana is about to be given a gun... and can point it at anyone and just say, 'Gay, gay, gay, gay, gay' and they'll be taking you away," said musician Emmanuel Owusu-Bonsu, an LGBTQ activist who doesn’t identify as such. "It's scary."
    (Production: Thiam Ndiaga, Ngouda Dione, Cooper Inveen)
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