LGBTQ+ Africans will not be silenced, ever!
Get This Straight: We are Humans Too
This is a story about about how 21 human beings were arrested on charges of homosexuality because of who they tend to love and wish to spend the rest of their life with.
“Every person in Ghana, whatever his race, place of origin, political opinion, color, religion, creed or gender shall be entitled to the fundamental human rights and freedoms of the individual contained in this Chapter but subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest”.
The aforementioned quotation is from section 12(2) of Chapter B of the Ghanaian Constitution of 1992 (rev. 1996). The knowledge of this Constitution of Ghana will enable you to understand the discrimination and inequality faced by LGBTQ Ghanaians, and how perpetrators still walk from and are immune to prosecution from the law that is meant to protect against discrimination.
LGBTQ+ Africans like me face widespread discrimination and abuse in West Africa and all over the continent.
On 20 May 2011, a group of young activists numbering 21 persons gathered in a hotel to have a normal conversation like any other people anywhere in the world. They had no intention of hijacking executive powers from the government, they were not rebels planning to attack a major city or set a school on fire, they were not corrupt politicians plotting selfish ways to siphon money meant for public projects.
Instead, these 21 human beings left home hoping to return with knowledge on how to improve their marginalized community, on how to bring attention to human rights violations experienced by LGBTQ Ghanaians. They came together in a peaceful assembly to discuss what the state has failed to take seriously.
On that fateful day, they were all arrested like terrorists, treated as criminals, denied bail four times and spent more than 20 days in detention. They were jailed for more than 20 days despite being citizens and taxpayers of the State of Ghana who had done nothing wrong. They were finally granted bail on June 11, but not until after the authorities had mis-painted the entire story and lied to the general public about an “unlawful assembly.” They claimed these 21 unarmed human beings were trying to promote an LGBTQ+ agenda.
And so what?
Every Ghanaian has the right to assemble in whatever way they want, aside from trying to overthrow the state. That right is not excluded by law to some certain group of people. The Constitution of Ghana and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an agreement Ghana is a signatory to, give every Ghanaian the explicit right to assemble, to include participating in processions and demonstrations.
What has this group of 21 human beings done that goes against the law?
The system has been rigged to suppress the voices of LGBTQ+ people, voices of people who have done nothing wrong to affect the progress of the state. Ghanaian LGBTQ+ laws were enacted by the British in the 1860s and up till this point, nothing has been done to review or address those laws. When it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, Ghanaian authorities say nothing to oppose the remnants of colonial-era laws.
They are a bunch of hypocrites!
The hidden truth about homophobic laws in Africa is the complete misinterpretation of the actual act. This negligence has given society the power to abuse LGBTQ+ people with impunity, and in the process the people have forgotten that all Ghanaians are equal before the law.
In Ghana today, homophobic comments can be heard easily and from those in power. It is not surprising that the Speaker of Parliament in Ghana was heard publicly saying, “LGBTQ pandemic which is worse than COVID 19 must be fought by all”. The Speaker in a real sense is encouraging people to suppress the LGBTQ community by all means. The same speaker has been performing poorly in his functions as a legislator and about his constituency in a very bad shape and with poor road and deplorable structures.
The 21 LGBTQ+ activists may have been released, but their struggle is not yet over. It is the beginning of the end. The victims of the abuse may be traumatized, not knowing when their workshop will again swarm with cops and they will again have to spend days in a cell for nothing. Theirs is just one of millions of stories that don’t make it to the front of newspapers and media. they may not likely have gotten out even for years because some people feel they are different.
The struggle faced by LGBTQ people in Ghana is unnecessary. We are in the 21st century, and most countries in the world claim to be democratic and respect human rights. Ghana is no different. yet the social contract between the government and people is threatened. And it is because we give sovereignty to the government in return for state protection, not oppression.
We are treated as second-class citizens in our own country, and we are regarded as settlers for simply following our hearts. Nevertheless, we keep bouncing back stronger than ever, because we are stronger and special.
