Instead of Fighting Poverty, Ghana is Waging a War on Homosexuality
On the misplaced priorities and homophobia of African governments
Ghana is a shithole country. I would know — I was born and raised here.
Now let me tell you why.
Ever heard of schools under trees? No? You’re very lucky, my friend. Basically, these are schools where children have to sit outside in the open, under trees — if they’re lucky — just so they can learn. They often sit on the floor because they have neither chairs nor tables. They lack teachers and learning materials and may have to walk several miles to get to school.
No, this isn’t a scene from a dystopian novel. It’s the reality in most villages and small towns in Ghana. Even the public schools in the cities, which are relatively more funded, are still subpar.
Public hospitals and clinics don’t have enough beds. Yes, beds. The barest minimum. What else do they lack? I’ll leave that to your imagination.
And what about our roads? To put it mildly, road accidents are an epidemic in Ghana. It’s no wonder Ghanaians are so religious. Given how easy it is to be involved in a road accident, they have no choice but to entrust their protection to the hands of a divine being.
Youth unemployment and underemployment are at an all-time high. And as someone who often experiences this many times a year, it fucking sucks. No really. It sucks the life out of you, plunging you deeper and deeper into a chasm of darkness.
But it’s not just me. It’s almost every single Ghanaian youth. We all feel this iron noose of despair squeezing the very life out of us. Yet, we do whatever we can to survive.
Remember those deplorable roads I talked about? You know, the ones with potholes so large they’re practically portals to an alternate dimension?
Yeah.
It’s pretty common to see young men filling up these potholes with sand and gravel just so they can earn tips from drivers using the roads.
The lack of gainful employment has also made sports gambling very popular among young people. Opportunities for the youth in Ghana are as scarce as Old Testament miracles in the 21st century.
And when we do our best to create opportunities for ourselves, it seems as though everything is conspiring against us… because well, Ghana is a shithole.
Even those who are lucky enough to be employed by the state, and thus have a stable income, might as well be unemployed — they go for months without receiving their salaries. That’s how bad things are.
But you know what’s even sadder? This situation is not unique to Ghana. I might as well be talking about Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Niger, and every other sub-Saharan African country.
This is Africa, baby. We’re all in Hell.
In case you’re wondering, yes, we have governments — many of them democratically formed. So what exactly are they doing to fight poverty on the continent?
Are these leaders, who humbly sought power from us, serving us?
Are they investing in the various sectors of the economy and implementing policies to make us more self-reliant?
This is why we elected them, right?
Well, apparently, no. Not really.
According to African politicians, there’s something far more pressing than combating the deep-seated poverty on the continent. So dreadful is this thing that it takes precedence over the thousand and one ills plaguing us. It is decaying the moral fabric of our society, incurring the wrath of invisible sky daddy, and destroying everyone’s life, or so they say.
So what exactly is this social evil? Corruption, perhaps?
Oh no. Fuck no.
It’s the gays, man. The fucking gays.
Africa has the world’s weakest economies, poorest people, and most useless governments. Yet, nothing makes the African politician more competent than cracking down on homosexuality.
Nope. It’s always the gays.
Homosexuality is criminalized in more than thirty African countries. Earlier this year, Uganda enacted one of the harshest laws against it — the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”, whatever the fuck that means, and twenty years in prison for promoting same-sex relations.
In 2021, eight members of parliament in Ghana championed a so-called anti-gay bill. Fast forward to 2023, all 275 members of parliament unanimously support the bill.
The anti-gay bill criminalizes same-sex relations, being transgender, advocating LGBTQ rights, and publishing content considered pro-LGBTQ or that challenges traditional binary gender identities. Offenders could serve up to ten years in prison.
Ghana’s lawmakers are hoping to make this law official before the year ends.
What does that mean for me, a lesbian writer who publishes pro-LGBTQ content?
Well, all I can say is that if I abruptly stop publishing on Medium, then I have either been imprisoned or killed. Or perhaps I am laying low out of fear for my life, but hopefully it doesn’t come to that.
Violence against LGBTQ folks has increased exponentially ever since the introduction of this anti-gay bill. No one sees us as human, so no one cares if our rights are violated. As far as they’re concerned, we have no rights.
Just this August, Ethiopian law enforcement began cracking down on hotels, bars, and restaurants in Addis Ababa alleged to have gay sexual activity taking place.
Obviously, this is what taxpayers’ money in poor countries should be used for.
What a fucking joke.
But what about the ordinary African? Are they holding their politicians accountable to focus on the real issues that affect them? Are they questioning the misplaced priorities of their leaders?
Excuse me while I laugh.
Politicians get away with this shit because they know very well that the rabid twins of colonization and religion have mind-fucked the majority. All they have to do is bring up God and homosexuality, and accountability goes out the door, absolving them from all the shitty things they put their people through.
Because they have zero leadership skills, all they do is bring up LGBTQ rights to fire up the emotions of the people. Then they add more fuel to the fire by peddling slogans like, “We’re godly people,” “We care about family values,” and other such bullshit.
Let me stop you right there:
We are not godly people and we don’t care about family values.
Africa is the most religious continent on Earth, yet it is the least godly place in this goddamn universe. If Africa is as godly as they claim, it would be the cleanest place ever. Cleanliness is next to godliness, right?
It seems we missed that memo.
Literally and figuratively, my beautiful continent tops the world in filthiness.
Using religion as a cover-up for vile behavior is all too pervasive here — misogyny, pedophilia, homophobia, greed, dishonesty, and so much more. So attuned am I to the religious fuckery that I instantly become wary of anyone who comes to me in the name of God. Nine times out of ten, that person is about to scam me.
African politicians pander to the extreme religiosity of their people to gain power. If they were truly concerned about the moral fabric of our society, they wouldn’t be stealing state funds and hoarding them in their homes for their personal use.
If they genuinely cared about family values, they would put policies in place to strengthen the family… You know, things like creating more jobs so people can support their families without leaving the country in desperation and dying on the way to seek greener pastures.
All bark and no bite, that’s what they are. Well, except when it comes to the war on homosexuality.
Sadly, many ordinary Africans swallow this farce without question. “We may be poor, but at least we’re not degenerates.” This is a direct quote from an African on Twitter. And yes, degeneracy here refers to the acknowledgment of the rights of gay people. It’s a sentiment deeply entrenched in our society.
They would crucify peaceful gay Africans before they go to war with politicians who lie and steal from them.
The very people we’ve elected as our leaders treat us like lepers. They are greedy monsters who only care about themselves and their families. Nothing they do is in our best interest. Nothing.
To make themselves feel better about their incompetence, they go after innocent men and women because of their sexuality. They may fool most people, but some of us see them for the parasites that they are.
And we’re fucking tired of it.
To those Africans wallowing in poverty because of useless politicians, yet are more enraged by what kind of sex people are having in the privacy of their homes, I honestly don’t know what to tell you.
Someday, I hope you get your priorities right and stop letting your so-called leaders play you like a fiddle.
Who am I kidding? We have a long way to go until this ever happens.
Torshie Torto writes fiction, creative nonfiction, and everything in between. If you love her work and want to support it, buy her a coffee. To hear more from her, join her mailing list.
