Ghana gay activists mand release of 21 people arrted at LGBTQ nference | CNN

Contents:

• EXPLAER: WHAT MAK GHANA’S ANTI-GAY BILL SO EXTREME?
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• GAY ACTIVISTS GHANA MAND RELEASE OF 21 PEOPLE ARRTED AT LGBTQI NFERENCE
• ADVOCY GROUPS: ETHPIAN ERNMENT’S ANTI-GAY RHETORIC SPURS ONLE ATTACKS
• ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL

EXPLAER: WHAT MAK GHANA’S ANTI-GAY BILL SO EXTREME?

Her discharge om the ary over her homosexualy had turned her to an Tob/The New York Public LibraryPublished July 19, 2023Updated July 23, 2023Lilli Vcenz, who beme a gay rights activist the hhed, reprsive era before the Stonewall rebelln of 1969, when such a ncept srcely existed, makg a mark as a newspaper edor, documentary filmmaker and psychotherapist voted to L. She was ath, at a re facily, was nfirmed by a niece, Julia Bo, who did not specify a Vcenz’s journey to promence the nascent gay rights movement of the mid-1960s began after a personal llisn wh tolerance.

LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?

In 1963, she was servg the Women’s Army Corps when a roommate outed her as gay, leadg to her discharge after only ne months took that rejectn as an opportuny to beg a fight agast jtice that would gui her for s. Vicenz beme, by most acunts, the first lbian to picket the Whe Hoe support of equal rights for gay people as a member of the Mattache Society of Washgton, an early gay rights prott — the first of s kd, acrdg to the Library of Congrs — and others that followed were small but brought visibily to a movement s fancy. Vcenz beme the first out lbian to appear on the ver of a natnal gay magaze, The Ladr, a publitn produced by the untry’s first lbian-rights group, the Dghters of Bilis, acrdg to a retrospective on her life and reer by Lillian Farman, a historian of lbian and gay her scbbed, all-Amerin looks, Dr.

Vcenz looked like “every mother’s dream dghter, ” as Barbara Gtgs, The Ladr’s edor, put Vcenz also ntributed to the e on the other si of a mera, makg two 16-limeter films that were later hailed as signifint artifacts of the early gay rights first, tled “The Send-Largt Mory, ” documents a Mattache Society prott ont of Inpennce Hall Philalphia on July 4, morn ey, the black-and-whe film, roughly seven mut, seems anythg but seismic.

GAY ACTIVISTS GHANA MAND RELEASE OF 21 PEOPLE ARRTED AT LGBTQI NFERENCE

Farman’s putative hotbed, however, had a policy banng gay people om service, and she was thrown out while trag as a nropsychiatric technician at the Walter Reed ary hospal the 1970s, Dr. It was Washgton — not Bethda, Md., where is we handle rrectnsA versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 20 of the New York edn wh the headle: Lilli Vcenz, a Trailblazer the Gay Rights Movement, Di at 85.

Passg the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu bill would further rce eedoms a untry where gay sex is already punishable wh up to three years jail, crics and activists Odoi, an amic rearcher, filed a lawsu on July 7 challengg the bill's nstutnaly, sayg would impact donor aid and other forms of fancial support. Ghana's Supreme Court on Wednday led her arguments were not sufficiently nvcg to grant an lg cleared the way for the bill, one of the harsht towards the LGBTQ muny Ai, to go through a fal stage of parliamentary approval before beg signed to May, Uganda's Print Yoweri Meveni signed one of the world's tought anti-LGBTQ laws, which spelled out the ath penalty for "aggravated homosexualy"'s bill, backed by relig and tradnal lears, clus jail sentenc of up to 10 years for advotg for LGBTQ rights.

”The “anti-LGBT bill” troduced Ghana last Augt and currently unr review by a parliamentary mtee, would be one of the harsht and most sweepg of such laws current draft of the bill, proposed by opposn MPs and publicly backed by officials Print Nana Akufo-Addo’s ernment and lg New Patrtic party, crimalis gay and queer acts or intifyg as a LGBTQ+ person, punishable by up to five years’ also crimalis any form of advocy for LGBTQ+ people wh up to 10 years prison. Public hysteria over LGBTQ+ people and those advotg for their rights has bee tense over the past 18 Febary last year, a muny centre offerg support for gay and queer people and a place for them to meet was forced to close amid attacks om policians, civil and relig groups and the media. While was not the first ameny of s kd, was the most high profile, as was announced whout the ual discretn that LGBTQ+ rights groups typilly e to operate wh prence of foreign and European diplomats at the openg of the centre was also seen as provotive as is often claimed that gay and queer inty is agast Ain culture and is beg promoted by the Donkor, who found the LGBT+ Rights Ghana group, which opened the centre, said reported attacks had creased, pecially outsi Accra, wh regular raids on spected gathergs of LGBTQ+ people.

ADVOCY GROUPS: ETHPIAN ERNMENT’S ANTI-GAY RHETORIC SPURS ONLE ATTACKS

If passed s current form, rights groups say uld spark a wch-hunt of sexual mori, advocy groups and “alli”, forcg the public to report on their are some of the ma measur, wh excerpts om the bill self:A clampdown on LGBTQ+ intyThe law would crimalise, wh up to five years prison, intifyg as a LGBTQ+ person, havg a gay relatnship or terurse. Image source, Getty ImagIn the latt sign of risg homophobia different Ain untri, a Kenyan opposn MP is leadg a mpaign for parliament to further crimalise the untry's small LGBTQ muny. Gee Peter Kaluma's move after neighbourg Uganda adopted a tough new anti-gay law, rejectg threats by US Print Joe Bin to impose sanctns and travel rtrictns on "anyone volved ser human rights ab".

"We want to prohib everythg to do wh homosexualy, " Mr Kaluma tells me, addg that his bill will be much broar than the legislatn passed by Uganda's parliament and approved by Print Yoweri Meveni May.

The Ugandan law is regard as one of the harsht anti-LGBTQ laws the propos life imprisonment for anyone nvicted of homosexualy, and the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated s, which clu havg gay sex wh someone below the age of 18 or where someone be fected wh a life-long illns such as the other si of the ntent, MPs Ghana earlier this month unanimoly voted favour of amendments to the untry's anti-gay legislatn, phg closer to beg enacted to law.

ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL

Though ls harsh than Uganda's new law, the Promotn of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu Bill propos a three-year prison sentence for anyone who intifi as LGBTQ and a 10-year sentence for anyone who promot homosexualy. Gay sex is already illegal Kenya, but the ernment n also be tolerant of gay people - for example, has given asylum to people om other Ain untri, cludg Uganda, who faced persecutn their home untri bee of their sexual orientatn. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Many Kenyans believe that gay rights are agast their relign - whether Christian or MlimAlthough the meetg Uganda was billed as an attempt to protect the "sovereignty" of Ain stat, was actually -sponsored by an Amerin Christian right-wg anisatn, Fay Watch Internatnal (FWI) Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian prit the Anglin Church and an amic at Boston Universy the US, says Ain untri are beg targeted by FWI and siar US-based anisatns, and that the impact of s lobbyg has been "horrible and humane" parts of Ai, fuellg what he lls "ant homophobia".

"It is one thg to say: 'I don't agree wh you beg gay', but we didn't have the ant one, where policians now are sayg: 'You go to jail for life, you go to jail for talkg about beg gay, you go to jail bee you're livg wh your fellow woman', " Dr Kaoma says.

(Johannburg) – Arbrary arrts and tentn of lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people Ghana, and a proposed dranian anti-LGBT bill are g ser enomic hardship and psychologil strs for LGBT people, Human Rights Watch said today. Introduce legislative and policy measur to prevent, punish, and provi effective remedi for vlence agast lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people on the basis of their real or imputed sexual orientatn and genr inty and ensure their nstutnal rights to equaly and non-discrimatn. Take necsary steps to protect lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people agast all forms of discrimatn, timidatn, and vlence, and amend sectn 104 of the Crimal Offenc Act, 1960, to ensure that sexual relatns between nsentg adults of the same sex are not nsired a mismeanour or punishable by law.

Provi more fancial and technil support to civil society anizatns providg servic to lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people who have suffered vlence, cludg domtic vlence, and discrimatn on the basis of their sexual orientatn and genr inty. Last week, a group of Ghanaian lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and tersex (LGBTI) anizatns filed lawsus agast the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General of Ghana to get jtice for 21 activists unlawfully arrted by the police last year. ACCRA, Nov 11 (Rters) - Supporters and opponents of Ghana's new anti-LGBT bill faced off parliament on Wednday the first public heargs to the proposed legislatn that would make a crime to be gay, bisexual or Ampaw, a lawyer reprentg a aln agast the law, was met wh ocsnal jeers as he told the ssn the Fay Valu bill would be "totalarian" and "unnstutnal" the other si of the argument, Abraham Ofori-Kuragu, a reprentative of Ghana's Pentestal uncil, told the tense gatherg of lawmakers and media the bill reflected the will of most have been no natnal opn polls on the bill, which has been nmned by U.