Ghana anti lgbtq

Ghana’s parliament passes anti-LGBTQ bill

Ghana’s parliament has voted to transfer a controversial bill to severely restrict LGBTQ rights, in a move that has been condemned by rights activists.

A coalition of religious and traditional leaders sponsored the legislation that is favoured by most lawmakers and that passed in parliament on Wednesday.

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The bill would punish those who take part in LGBTQ sexual acts, as well as those who promote the rights of gay, lesbian or other non-conventional sexual or gender identities with time in prison.

The bill, one of the harshest of its thoughtful in Africa, still has to be validated by the president before entering into law, which observers believe is unlikely before a general election in December.

Activist groups possess called the “Human Sexual Rights and Family Values” bill a setback for human rights and urged President Nana Akufo

Ghana pushes anti-LGBTQ+ bill as defense of 'family values'

Lawmakers in Ghana have reintroduced an anti-LGBTQ+ bill that was passed by the country's parliament in February 2024, but not enacted.

The legislation, recognizable as the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, called for prison terms of up to three years for engaging in same-sex sexual relations, and up to five years for those who hire in "willful promotion, sponsorship or help of LGBTQ+ activities."

Ghana's Supreme Court in December rejected two legal bids to block the bill. It ruled that, as outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo had not yet signed the bill into regulation, it could not be declared unconstitutional.

President John Mahama, who took office in January, said he was committed to passing the bill, which had widespread public support in Ghana but was condemned internationally for curtailing LGBTQ+ rights.

Ghana's Queer community living in fear

Abdul-Wadud Mohammed, deputy director of LGBT Rights Ghana, told DW that he grew up in Ghana but left his homeland because he constantly felt "under threat" there. He said he knew by the age of 10 that he was gay.

"I grew up just trying to underst

How Ghana's anti-gay bill impacts the LGBTQ+ community

Mohammed is 27 years old and gay. However, he has yet to come out about his sexuality.

Like many other Queer Ghanaians, he fears going common. That's because Ghana's lawmakers passed a bill in February that gives a jail word of up to 3 years to anyone convicted of identifying as Homosexual, among other things.

Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo is yet to sign the bill into law, as he awaits the outcome of two continuing legal challenges to the proposed law at the country's Supreme Court.

But the proposed legislation is fueling homophobia and violence against those in the West African country's LGBTQ+ community.

"Life has actually changed for the worse for me personally," Mohammed told DW. "The level of fear has increased, the level of isolation has increased."

Ghana's anti-LGBTQ+ bill sparks fear

Bad timing for bill

Ghana's Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill also recommends a maximum five-year jail term for those who form or fund LGBTQ+ groups and up to 10 years for anyone involved in LGBTQ+ advocacy campaigns aimed at children.

Human rights activist Alex Ko

Ghana's incoming president, John Mahama, must weigh whether to approve a strict anti-LGBTQ+ bill passed by parliament, but left unsigned by his predecessor, that could jeopardise billions of dollars of financing from international creditors.

Here's what you require to know.

What does the bill do?

The Human Sexual Rights and Family Beliefs Bill is one of the strictest such measures in Africa.

If it becomes law, LGBTQ+ people in the West African land, already facing discrimination and marginalisation, could also be denied access to jobs, healthcare and housing.

Same-sex relations in Ghana are already punishable by up to three years in jail, but the bill would extend maximum sentences and add a slew of new offences, including recognizing as LGBTQ+, or exhibiting support for gay and transgender rights.

What is the status of the bill?

Ghana's parliament unanimously passed the bill on Feb. 28, but President Nana Akufo-Addo never signed it into law.

Akufo-Addo said he was waiting for the outcome of legal challenges to the bill, but the courts have dismissed three of those and the final case is due to be decided in March.

That means the choice will now be left to Mahama who ghana anti lgbtq

Ghana’s Anti-LGBTQ Bill Clears Supreme Court Hurdle, Threatening Lives

In the leadup to Ghana’s December general elections, candidates tapped into and fomented anti-LGBTQ sentiment in the country. The election campaign emboldened religious groups and other political leaders to express solid opposition to human rights for LGBTQ people. Mahama, who won 56% of the presidential election votes, played down the unsafe legislation as “not an anti-LG… bill, it’s a family values bill.” Mahama has taken a guarded stance on whether he will sign the bill into law.

In March this year, Ghana’s Finance Ministry issued a warning that the legislation posed alarming economic risks. The ministry said that it could threaten $3.8 billion in World Bank funding allocated over six years and told President Akufo-Addo that endorsing the bill would impact the country's overall development.

The advancement of the bill in Ghana accompanies other threats to LGBTQ communities worldwide. Outright International condemns the recent enactment of anti-LGBTQ bills in Bulgaria, Georgia, Mali, Gambia, and other nations. These regressive legislative measures not only infringe upon fundamental hum