By Melanie Nathan, October 10, 2023
The new Ghanaian law, currently working its way through Parliament, will make you and me a WANTED person in that country, especially if you have the audacity to COME OUT. You see, that proposed new law has a clause that says that if you hold out to be LGBTQIAA+ then you are guilty of an offense and subject to ten years in prison. In Uganda, under the new Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023, there is no such identity clause, yet people are being treated by the government and police as if there is such an identity law. Just this week African Human Rights Coalition relocated and funded the medical treatment for a lesbian who was attacked by a group of men who told her she looked like a lesbian. When the police arrived they arrested her and not her attackers, telling her that she was being detained because she was dressed like a man. She was released two months later, when a friend showed up to pay her “bail” (although there were no charges). She sustained serious injuries that were not treated in good time as well as serious bodily infections. She is now continuing treatment after relocation. WHERE ARE THE HUMANITARIAN VISAS…. but I digress….
All said and done indeed we wish you a HAPPY NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY - if you can, like me - I am relatively safe by comparison to our African LGBTQI+ family. Even you, and openly gay people who corporate interests in the global sectors, such as Tim Cook, CEO of APPLE, in effect will be WANTED in several countries in Africa. While you may decide to never travel to those places again, the local inhabitants are not so lucky - often with absolutely no choice for where to go for protection and to live openly and OUT. WHERE ARE THOSE HUMANITARIAN VISAS - but again I digress…
Lest we forget under some of these laws enact that merely waving or possessing a rainbow flag can also make you wanted for the crime of so called “promotion of homosexuality” … and Lest I forget if you offer me any services - you may be WANTED TOO!
