Parliament for Ghana don pass one bill wey criminalize LGBT activities for di kontri.
Dis ‘proper human sexual rights and family values bill’, don dey di house of legislature since 2021.
For di law wey some MPs sponsor, pesin wey engage for lgbt activities go go jail.
Pesin wey promote and sponsor LGBTQ+ activities also go go jail.
Di house also receive input from human right groups, civil society organizations, di clergy and oda interest groups.
Despite say dem consider dis input, some pipo tink say di law go abuse di rights of sexual minorities for di kontri.
But one of di MPs wey sponsor di bill, Sam George tok say di law “go fight against di scourge and perversion wey homosexuality don carry come di kontri.”
E tok say “homosexuality neva be human right, na sexual preference.”
Some civil society groups tink say di bill na controversial, wey e don dey criminalize private activities of pipo.
Wetin be some of di provisions of di new bill
Initially, di jail term for pipo wey don dey engage for LGBT activities be up to ten years.
But parliament don amend dat part of di law.
For di new amendment, pesin wey don engage for dis activities go fit go jail for between six months and three years.
Na so pesin wey advertise and promote LGBT activities go enta jail for up to ten years.
Dis advert or promotion go fit be through technology, social media or traditional media.
Also pesin wey sponsor LGBT activities go dey against di law.
Dis dey attract fine of not less dan 750 penalty units (GHC 9,000 or $720) or not more dan 5,000 penalty units wey be (GHC 60,000 or $4,800).
One clause for di law also dey criminalize physical attack on pipo wey dey involve in LGBT activities.
Anoda clause for di law prohibit formation of LGBT groups.
For pesin wey wan do gender reassignment through surgery, na crime for dis new law.
Such pipo also neva go fit adopt pikin for any facility or social welfare agency.
Parliament say dem do extensive engagement for dis law
Di committee for parliament wey consider di bill tok say dem listen to di opinion of all stakeholders.
From di LGBT community, di church, human rights pesin wey dem also visit two kontris wey get similar law.
Di committee tok say dem visit Hungary and France to sabi wetin dey happun for dia afta dem pass dia own lgbt laws.
For dia visit to Hungary, di committee say dem find say di anti LGBT law dey target pikin below 18 years wia adult pipo don dey allowed to engage for same sex relationship.
Despite dis, same sex marriage no dey allowed for dia.
Di key point of di law be say e dey against advertisement, publication and public education of tins wey go make pipo change dia sex and odas.
For di committee report, dem tok say Hungary don be signatory to di United Nations convention on rights of di child, universal declaration on human rights and di EU charter on human rights.
Despite dis, Hungary pass anti-LGBTQ law to protect children and dia cultural values as dem tok say dis treaties no dey prevent dem from protecting dia children.
According to di parliamentary committee, dem find evidence of economic sanctions from di European Union and oda development partners afta dem pass di child protection act for Hungary because dem tok say “na discriminatory and anti-LGBTQ.”
For di committee report, dia visit to France show say di universal declaration on human rights be about promotion of rights of everybody including pipo for di LGBT community.
Di committee find say “all forms of discrimination and violence against any pesin including LGBT pipo, dey inappropriate.”
Despite di legalization of LGBT activities including same sex marriage for France for more dan 10 years, LGBT pipo still dey stigmatized.
Di committee report add say dem no find gist about “negative implications of LGBT activities on health and demography sake of France no do dat kind analysis yet.”
Wetin human rights group tok about dis bill
Since di time di eight MPs sponsor di anti-LGBT bill, some sabi groups like amnesty international and human rights watch tok say na harsh law.
Dem tok say di law go “curtail di rights of pipo for di lgbt community wey e go propagate hate against sexual minorities.”
For di Amnesty international kontri director, Genevieve Partington, say dem go jail LGBT pesin, na bad tin.
“For dis law, di court go fit jail pesin wey chop accuse wrongly say dem be homosexual wia dem go suffer unfairly.”
E also tok say some of di clauses for di law no clear wey e go cause negative tins for pesin wia don dey targeted.
Amnesty international also dey against di part of di bill wey dey allow make pipo report lgbt activities or pipo wey dey engage in dis activities.
“Pipo fit tink say odas na gay sake of how dem dey waka or dia hairstyle. Dis na subjective mata wey go fit lead to di arrest of innocent pipo,” oga Genevieve don tok.
Im explain say amnesty international dey against any law wey go jail pipo or fine odas sake of dem dey live dia normal private life.
Human rights watch don find for 2018 say Ghana get one law wey don criminalize ‘unnatural carnal knowledge’.
Di human rights body tok say dis law dey contribute to di discrimination and violence wey lgbt pesin dey suffer for di kontri since, even before dis new law.
Di commission on human rights and administrative Justice (Chraj) for Ghana don tok say some part of di bill dey unfair.
During di stage wia dem make proposal for di bill, Commissioner Joseph Whittal tok say “di part of di law wey target pipo wey dey sympathize wit di lgbt community”, dey unfair.
Oga Whittal say im outfit dey to “protect and promote di right of everibodi for di kontri,” na so any law wey go curtail dat freedom dey problematic.
Groups wey dey support di new bill
Apart from di eight MPs wey sponsor dis private members’ anti-LGBTQ bill, oda groups dey support di law.
For di Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, di passage of di law be “step in di right direction.”
One statement wey dem release tok say “while di church no dey condemn homosexuals for being homosexuals, we don condemn di act.”
Di Christian Council and di Ghana Pentecostal and charismatic council all don support di new law.
“LGBTQ no dey our culture and family values, so citizens for no accept am.”
Di Christian church groups also tok say “God no dey accept LGBTQ activities.”
Members of di LGBTQ community neva happy about dis law
Since di sponsors of di bill begin dis move, pipo for di lgbt community tok say no be wetin di kontri need.
Afta police raid one lgbt resource center for Accra in February 2021, di MPs begin di private members bill to criminalize dis activities.
For di event to open di facility, representatives from di European union and oda foreign diplomats attend.
LGBTQ+ group, Rights Ghana, tok for social media say even though police close down dia office, di real office dey dia heart and mind.
Di first openly transgender musician for di kontri, Angel Maxin don dey on a campaign against di bill.
“Say pesin be lgbtq neva be sin wia im neva be crime,” di musician tok.
Im also dey use im music to preach love for humanity, weda pesin na lgbt or not.
“Say pesin be lgbtq neva be choice, na identity. E also neva be mental disorder.”
Angel Maxin for im campaign tok say “make parliament kill di bill”.
But as dem don pass di law, Angel dey disappointed.
E mean say im no fit sing im songs wey dey promote lgbt afta dis law.
“Lgbt be wanna culture, we neva go fit sing about am again wit dis law. Our smiles go fade away,” Angel Maxin tok for Instagram.
Angel also tok say some politicians and oda big men dey engage for lgbt activities, na so dem go expose dem too.
“I don dey urge di president day make im neva sign dis bill into law,” im conclude.
Ghana no be di only kontri for Africa wey pass anti lgbt law
At least thirty kontris for Africa don dey criminalize homosexuality.
While some of dis kontris don dey try to soften dis laws odas dey tighten di law wit severe punishment.
For 2017, Chad criminalize same-sex for wetin di international lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex association (ILGA) don describe as “worrying example of legal regression.”
Uganda president Yoweri Museveni don sign di anti-lgbt bill into law for 2023.
Di law dey criminalize same sex, wia e dey include death penalty for pesin wia dem go find guilty of “aggravated homosexuality.”
Uganda im penal code don already dey punish same-sex conduct wit life imprisonment but di new anti-homosexuality act of 2023 dey create more crime.
Im also dey increase di prison sentence for attempted same-sex conduct to ten years.
For May 2019, di high court for Kenya uphold di law wia dey criminalize homosexual acts.
Even though di highest court for di kontri rule say e dey wrong to ban di gay community from registering wetin be rights organization, dem stress say gay sex remain illegal.
Nigeria don alreadi outlaw same-sex relationships. But di conditions of prison term don become wider wia di pubishment don dey harsher, when Nigeria president Goodluck Jonathan pass amendment to di existing law for January 2014.
Oda kontris wia di act dey illegal be Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Liberia, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Zimbabwe.
