Why proponents of Ghana’s ‘anti-gay bill’ get so wrong - Ghana Center for Democratic Development

Contents:

• EXPLAER: WHAT MAK GHANA’S ANTI-GAY BILL SO EXTREME?
• HERE ARE THE PENALTI FOR DIVIDUALS FOUND VLATN OF THE ANTI-GAY BILL WHEN IS PASSED
• GHANA: PARLIAMENT PASS AMENDMENTS TO TOUGH ANTI-GAY BILL
• PASSG ANTI-GAY BILL WILL BRG MORE PROBLEMS FOR – INAH FEI
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• GHANA STAMPS LGBTQI+ WH DIFFERG CONVICTNS BY AUDAC ANTI-GAY BILL CONSENS
• GHANA: ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSG 10-YEAR PRISON SENTENC SPARKS OUTRAGE
• I DON’T REGNIZE MY OWN UNTRY ANYMORE GHANA’S NEW ANTI-GAY BILL
• THE NEW ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSED GHANA WILL DTROY LIV

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

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. Shone Apong, a paralegal and advote for mori Ghana, says the bill is an attack on the existence of anyone believed to be gay or queer.

It was put forward by a cross-party group of MPs led by Sam Gee, an opposn MP and one of the most proment anti-gay figur parliament. The Parliament of Ghana passed an extreme anti-gay bill on Wednday, which is set to tighten laws agast members of the LGBTQ+ muny.

Ghana’s 275 members of Parliament unanimoly passed the bill, known as the 2021 Promotn of Appropriate Sexual Rights and Fay Valu bill is set to crimalize the promotn, advocy, fundg and acts of homosexualy. The specifics of the new proposal were not announced but was reported to ‘crimalise the promotn, advocy, fundg and act of homosexualy. ’ ” Member of Parliament for Ngo Prampram, Samuel Nartey Gee, one of the eight legislators backg the bill, claimed that “homosexualy is not a human right.

HERE ARE THE PENALTI FOR DIVIDUALS FOUND VLATN OF THE ANTI-GAY BILL WHEN IS PASSED

“Our ncern is that, accs to HIV servic for lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) people will be severely affected by the anti-LGBTQ bill -– further crimalizg LGBTQI people, anizatns and activi as well as people who support them. ” “When such a homophobic bill is passed, people who have been exposed to HIV, may be disuraged om visg clics for fear of discrimatn and arrts. ” Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagb said the practice of homosexualy, which is strongly abhorred by Ghanaians will not be allowed to take root the untry.

He add: “When the bill is laid before the Hoe (of parliament), you will realize that the foc of the bill which has to do wh voidg (gay) marriag, preventg them om adoptg or fosterg children, the clampdown on platforms and media ho that are gog to do promotn and advocy or ph those materials still rema enforced. The Promotn of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu Bill, 2021 also known as the Anti-Gay Bill has been topil recent days. The Anti-Gay Bill has ma several headl and drawn attentn both domtilly and ternatnally and there has been growg cursy about the potential penalti for dividuals found vlatn of this proposed legislatn.

GHANA: PARLIAMENT PASS AMENDMENTS TO TOUGH ANTI-GAY BILL

The object of the bill is to provi for proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu to proscribe lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer (LGBTQ+) and related activi; to proscribe propaganda of advocy for or promotn of LGBTQ+ and related activi. 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.

PASSG ANTI-GAY BILL WILL BRG MORE PROBLEMS FOR – INAH FEI

It will punish homosexuals wh a three-year prison sentence for intifyg as such, while LGBTQI+ rights advot would face up to ten years prison.

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".

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

"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.

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.

"The bill will propose a total ban on what the Wt lls sex-reassignment prcriptns and procr, and prohib all activi that promote homosexualy, terms of... 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.

GHANA STAMPS LGBTQI+ WH DIFFERG CONVICTNS BY AUDAC ANTI-GAY BILL CONSENS

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.

GHANA: ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSG 10-YEAR PRISON SENTENC SPARKS OUTRAGE

She c a Uned Natns Populatn Fund (UNFPA) manual for out-of-school youths east and southern Ai, sayg promot homosexualy and is too explic. "It sensis children to sex, " she Slater also quot om the manual, cludg l which say that facilators of lsons should have "a ntral, acceptg attu towards homosexualy". Especially when a society or untry’s fah, cultural clatns and moral judgements e out to play, the nvictn is more emphatic, more so wh an anti-gay bill pendg but movg forcefully.

I DON’T REGNIZE MY OWN UNTRY ANYMORE GHANA’S NEW ANTI-GAY BILL

Ben Ahiafor, a Member of Parliament for Akatsi South, durg parliamentary proceedgs on the bill predicted that untri that practice LGBTQ will be extct fifty years, wh another legislator qutng who should give birth for a gay uple to e and adopt if they believe same-sex relatns. Uganda, havg recently passed to law s anti-gay bill, has faced some sanctns om foreign untri, particularly the US, threateng to cut back on aids. Wh Uganda unyieldg, s new law stat that a person who promot homosexualy ms an offense and is liable, on nvictn, to imprisonment for a perd not exceedg twenty years.

On Meveni’s remendatn, the law prcrib rehabilatn for nvicted homosexuals to change their sexual orientatn, even though scientists say so-lled nversn therapy is harmful and effective. Ghana has s own law that when passed, would crimalize, wh up to five years prison, intifyg as a LGBTQ+ person, havg a gay relatnship or terurse.

However, predictg a potential sanctn om foreign powers, Ghana has issued some utn of s own, threateng that bs om untri that will sanctn Ghana risk bearg the nsequenc if actn is taken agast the untry for approvg the anti-gay bill. Draft anti-gay legislatn submted to Ghana’s parliament uld propose up to 10 years jail for LGBTQ+ people as well as groups and dividuals who advote for their rights, exprs sympathy or offer social or medil support, one of the most dranian and sweepg anti-gay laws proposed around the world. In Febary, a muny space offerg support for sexual mori was forced to close amid a backlash om policians, civil and relig groups and the media, and also led to a rise arrts and abe agast people perceived to be gay or Friday, Sam Nartey Gee, an MP who has scribed gay rights as a “perversn” and led a group of lawmakers who drafted the bill, dismissed onle nmnatn of the bill as “unrmed”.

THE NEW ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSED GHANA WILL DTROY LIV

“I have spent all my time as a journalist advotg for gay rights so I n’t believe that we have arrived at this pot where they want to crimalise everythg and everyone cludg the existence of alli, tersex and asexual folks. Marriage would be clearly fed Ghanaian law as beg between a male and pani, onle platforms and acunts which publish rmatn which uld be emed to enurage children to explore any genr or sex outsi of the bary tegori of male and female uld face 10 years January, groups across public life, om policians to journalists, civil and relig lears, have led fierce nmnatn of LGBTQ+ rights and support works ’s ernment promised new laws to prohib pro-gay advocy, amid hysteria over bolr efforts to tablish support for sexual mori.

Prosecutns are rare, yet many gay and queer people have reported experiencg abe by cizens and law enforcement growg clamour for a clampdown on those perceived to be promotg LGBTQ+ rights, 21 people were arrted the cy of Ho March, at a trag event for paralegals and other profsnals workg on supportg vulnerable groups. Gay sex is illegal highly relig and nservative Ghana, but while discrimatn agast LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr) people is mon the Wt Ain natn, no one has ever been prosecuted unr the lonial-era law. The bill, currently beg bated parliament, is wily supported Ghana, where Print Nana Akufo-Addo has publicly said gay marriage will never be allowed while he is power.

More than half the untri sub-Saharan Ain have anti-homosexualy laws, wh some punishg wh ath penalty unr sharia law, although there have been no known morn-day executns, acrdg to Human Rights Watch (HRW).