A Ghanaian urt on Tuday nied bail to 21 gay rights activists arrted nearly three weeks ago for what police scribed as an unlawful gatherg, their lawyer said.
Contents:
- EXPLAER: WHAT MAK GHANA’S ANTI-GAY BILL SO EXTREME?
- GAY ACTIVISTS GHANA MAND RELEASE OF 21 PEOPLE ARRTED AT LGBTQI NFERENCE
EXPLAER: WHAT MAK GHANA’S ANTI-GAY BILL SO EXTREME?
They are the rult of a liberate plan to strip away the digny and rights of gay, lbian, bisexual, trans, queer and tersex Ghanaians. While there has always been stutnalized homophobia Ghana, this year marks the first time that the state and the clergy have worked together to sponsor a bill to crimalize the existence of LGBTQI people. The draft bill would impose prison sentenc for beg LGBTQI, for advotg for gay rights, as well as for providg health servic and support for LGBTQI the early 2000s, Ghana has been hailed as a bean of eedom and mocracy Ai, boastg a robt public sphere and a relatively ee media system.
The new state retaed elements of Brish lonizatn s laws, cludg anti-gay statut. Many Ghanaian stutns have upheld heterosexual and cisgenr norms — om polici schools to the media, to relign, to efforts to embed homophobia Ghana’s tn, relig, health and polil stutns have ramped up recent years. Relig stutns have been the biggt opn lears and sponsors of homophobic disurse the public sphere.
GAY ACTIVISTS GHANA MAND RELEASE OF 21 PEOPLE ARRTED AT LGBTQI NFERENCE
Groups such as the Natnal Coaln for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Fay Valu, which is supported by whe-supremacist and Amerin Christian-right groups such as the World Congrs of Fai, piggyback off existg patriarchal valu to promote anti-gay rhetoric. It is therefore unsurprisg that this is the group after which today’s anti-LGBTQI bill is relign occupi an tegral part of everyday life Ghana mak the pronouncements by relig stutns alarmg and embolns homophob to attack LGBTQI people.
In 2012, Ghana’s then-print, John Atta Mills, ed his posn not only to promote homophobia but to openly support relig stutns and anizatns their efforts to humanize LGBTQI Ghanaians. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon nmned the wispread discrimatn agast gay, bisexual and trans people many Ain lears embrace homophobia enuraged the untry. More recently, 2019, efforts by the Edutn Service to troduce a prehensive sexualy tn policy the primary school curriculum was thwarted by var relig groups spearhead by the Natnal Coaln for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Fay 2018, then-Speaker of Parliament Mike Ocquaye openly endorsed homophobia Ghana and disavowed the ia that a human rights agenda required regnn of LGBTQI news reports om 2014 to 2016 revealed not only that all the stutns are workg together to entrench homophobia but that the media is plic perpetuatg harmful narrativ about expandg genr and sexual exprsns.
Lettg homophobia fter across Ghana’s stutns has embolned homophobic attus while layg the foundatn for Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagb to prent himself as the champn of the anti-LGBTQI bill that is beg sponsored by some members of Ghana’s Parliament. Ghana proscrib same-sex relatnships and tolerance and vlence agast lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people has remaed rife among Ghana’s populatn, Human Rights Watch said. The untry is one of more than 30 untri Ai where same-sex relatnships are agast the law, acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA).