As a gay, non-binary person living on the fringes of Accra, Ghana, Edem Brew said they have endured centuries of prejudice, physical attacks, and verbal assaults.
According to Brew, “LGBTQ individuals have to glance over their shoulders constantly.” “And physically, in my life right now, I am also navigating it. Nearly everyone in this nation has grown extremely unkind to us.”
Ghana’s parliament recently made a unanimous decision to pass a proposed anti-LGBTQ legislation that has Brew and other members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community worried.
The controversial bill, which was introduced in 2021, proposes a three-year prison sentence for those who identify as LGBTQ and a five-year term for those who advocate on behalf of LGBTQ persons. The bill could lead to a serious, unprecedented crackdown on LGBTQ activities.
Brew said the act is dehumanizing and backward.
“It is also prohibited from sympathizing with the gay community,” according to the statement. “It is not just banning advocacy. It is also prohibited from sympathizing with the gay community.”
Edem Brew, a gay, non-binary person living in Accra, Ghana
According to Brew, who fears the policy will “open a can” of issues that could lead to the arbitrary detention and confinement of LGBTQ individuals in Ghana, “it is not just banning advocacy, but it also is banning people sympathizing with the gay community.”
With the passage of this act, the global community has issued warnings to the nation to keep its commendable democratic credentials.
However, Ishak Saeed, a person who thinks LGBTQ is a lifestyle choice imported by the West, has received overwhelmingly supportive comments about the policy in Ghana.
Saeed said in his modestly decorated one-bedroom house in Accra that he appreciates that his religion places a premium on peaceful coexistence and emphasizes the value of love. He claimed, however, that homosexuality is forbidden in his religion and that African nations like Ghana should be able to preserve their own cultural principles rather than adhere to Western ones.
“Why do gay people in our country speak out in public? That’s intolerable. They are simply teaching children that it’s acceptable for a man to love a man biologically. That’s where I draw the line, personally. I don’t know how that makes sense to them,” he said.
However, a recent survey found that Ghana’s LGBTQ community believes that the passage of the bill will worsen their situation in a country where many people now claim they do not wish to have gay people as their neighbors.
A homosexual woman who requested anonymity solely because of safety concerns expressed shock and disbelief over Ghana’s parliament’s decision to pass the anti-LGBT bill. She worries that the act will only make things worse for the oppressed, with limited job opportunities, and workplace discrimination.
What violence have we committed by just being ourselves?
Phoebe, a homosexual woman who says she lost her job due to her sexual preference
Because of my LGBTQ identity, I lost my job, according to Phoebe, and living has been difficult since then. By being ourselves, what violence have we committed? Will God’s creation put us in prisons just because we were created?
Phoebe expressed hope that President Nana Akufo-Addo would use his background as a human rights attorney to defend the rights of LGBTQ citizens.
Bwanbale, a gay person from Uganda who moved to Accra a few months ago, said Ghana does not follow the “bad example” set by his land. Due to security concerns, he also requested not to reveal his last name.
“I moved here because I believed Ghana to be one of the safest countries in Africa, but now I’m scared.”
Bwanbale, a homosexual person from Uganda who lives in Ghana
“I moved here because I believed Ghana to be one of the safest countries in Africa, but now I’m scared.” I’m tired because of the high level of bigotry I’ve seen online in the last few weeks. He said, “Our continent still has a long way to go.”
Akufo-Addo must also sign the bill for it to become law. He has indicated that he would sign it if the majority of Ghanaians support it, but he claimed he is awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court in a case involving a challenge to the bill.
Additionally, there might be various reasons for the president’s reluctance to sign the bill.
Ghana’s finance ministry has warned that if the bill is passed, the country could lose $3.8 billion in World Bank funds over the next five to six years. The government even claims that there is a risk of stumbling over the $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, which was a crucial crutch during Ghana’s recent turmoil.
A scholar, Theo Acheampong, said that Ghana’s economy is still vulnerable and that the bill could cause major problems.
“If the president allows this legislation to pass,” he said, “It will be difficult.”
“Either you have to reduce your overall spending or generate more revenue. The idea of increasing taxes is just a non-starter, especially given that there are elections taking place in December.”
The two main political parties in Ghana support the bill.
The ruling New Patriotic Party may suffer as a result of the government’s failure to sign it, particularly with Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia as their candidate for the upcoming Dec. 7 vote.
The United States imposed sanctions on them after Uganda passed an anti-LGBT law last year, which provided suitable trade terms for them.
In 2022 alone, about $700 million of Ghana’s exports to the US benefited from AGOA. If Ghana is expelled from AGOA, it will no longer be able to trade goods to the US tariff-free.
Acheampong is also concerned that some international development organizations and donors may also withdraw funding if the bill becomes law.
“This will have significant effects on programs that are funded by donor partners and others at the community level, and it will have long-term effects on lives. The health sector is one of the hardest-hit areas,” he said.
If the president doesn’t sign the bill, however, he could pay the price politically in the country’s upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
Human rights organizations like Amnesty International are calling for extensive public education in Ghana to advance understanding of LGBTQ rights as the country awaits the passing of the proposed laws.
“I don’t like [LGBTQ] [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex], but I will respect their existence, and I will respect that that is their identity, and it shouldn’t be criminalized,” said Genevieve Partington, country director for Amnesty International. “Instead of saying, ‘I hate LGBTQ and I think they should be in jail,’ I believe we should use that phrase. That is unquestionably a violation of human rights.”
How soon the Supreme Court rules that the act is constitutional? However, it might take several months or even years in a country where justice is only served quietly.
