Despite the slow-growing acceptance of the homosexual community around the world, more than half of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa have anti-gay laws. However, watchdogs say that others have moved towards legal tolerance.

 

Every year, across the globe, the month of June sees various events held to recognise the influence of LGBT people around the world. The month-long celebration, called Pride Month, is also an opportunity to peacefully protest. Pride month is also a great time to raise political awareness of current issues facing the community.

 

Twenty-eight out of 49 countries have laws penalising same-s*x relationships, according to Neela Ghoshal. Goshal is a Human Rights Watch (HRW) specialist in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.

 

In Mauritania, Sudan and northern Nigeria, the death penalty is on the books in sharia. However, there have been no known executions in recent times.

 

In southern Somalia, gay men are believed to have been put to death in the territory ruled by the Al Shabaab jihadist group. On the other hand, Angola, Mozambique and Seychelles have scrapped anti-gay laws in recent years.

 

Last month, Kenya’s high court caused widespread dismay when it refused to scrap laws criminalising gay s*x.

 

Nigeria, Chad and Burundi have introduced or toughened legislation.

 

Many of the anti-gay laws date from the colonial area. Also, in Nigeria for instance, a large percentage of the population is in support of the anti-gay law.

 

These laws can be perilous even in countries where they are not implemented. Their existence on the statute books entrenches stigma and encourages harassment.

 

 

AFP provides a snapshot of the legal situation in Africa. Take a look at an overview of the anti-gay laws in Africa below.

 

An overview of anti-gay laws in Africa

Angola

In January, the country scrapped a notorious “vices against nature” provision in its penal code. It made the refusal to employ or provide services to someone on the grounds of their s****l orientation liable to a jail term of up to two years.

 

Chad

Chad approved a law in May 2017 to punish “same-s*x s****l relations” with between three months’ and two years’ jail and a fine ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 FCFA (76 to 760 euros, $85 to $850).

 

Botswana

On June 11, the High Court will rule on a case brought by campaign group Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana, challenging the constitutionality of a law punishing same-s*x conduct.

 

Gabon

The first gay traditional wedding was conducted in 2013. However, the couple was immediately arrested following an outcry. The pair were eventually released, and the marriage overturned on technical grounds.

 

Lesotho

In 2012, Lesotho approved a penal code which scrapped a common-law regime under which it criminalised sodomy. Its government initiated a process in 2016 to legalise same-s*x marriage, although the law is making little headway in parliament.

 

Malawi

The nation still debates the legal status of homosexuality. In 2012, the government ordered a moratorium on arrests and prosecutions for consensual homosexual acts between adults. In 2016, the High Court suspended the moratorium pending a judicial review by the Constitutional Court.

 

Mozambique

In 2015, Mozambique swept away Portuguese colonial laws dating back to 1886 that punished anyone “who habitually engages in vices against nature.” No known prosecutions under those laws occurred after Mozambique gained independence in 1975.

 

Mali

Mali has no anti-homosexuality law, but conservative Islamic groups last December successfully campaigned against a Dutch-funded schoolbook on s****l education, maintaining that it promoted homosexuality.

 

 

Nigeria

The Nigerian government introduced a law in 2014 that provides for up to 14 years in jail for same-s*x cohabitation and any “public show of same-s*x amorous relationship”. In the north, sharia makes homosexuality punishable by death in theory.

 

South Africa

In 2006, South Africa became the sole African nation to allow gay marriage. The country subsequently became a haven for African homosexuals who flee persecution at home or travel to the country to marry before returning home.

 

Tanzania

A conviction for having “carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature” can lead to 30 years in jail or more in Tanzania. Political rhetoric against homosexuality increased since President John Magufuli came into power in 2015. It has also seen the expelling of foreign gay rights activists. Also, last October, the regional commissioner of Dar es Salaam, the country’s economic capital, threatened to arrest homosexuals.

 

Uganda

Defying Western criticism, President Yoweri Museveni in February 2014 signed an Anti-Homosexual Bill that hiked the penalty for same-s*x relations from seven years to life, and extended punishments to people found guilty of “promoting” homosexuality. However, the courts annulled it six months later, in what activists hailed as a victory.

 

Zambia

Homosexuality is widely reviled. Same-s*x relationships can draw sentences of between a year and 14 years in jail. Earlier this year, TV regulators ordered a new locally-produced reality show, “Lusaka Hustle,” off the air on the grounds that it promoted a gay lifestyle.