"It's inhuman", responds by telephone the Ghanaian NGO for the defense of diversity Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa (IDNOWA).

"If this law passes, any conversation with journalists will be banned and our very existence will be threatened," worries the activist on the phone. 

The Parliament of Ghana is studying, Tuesday, October 26, a new law aimed at heavily penalizing homosexuality, already banned in the country. If the text is passed, it will allow up to ten years in prison to be imposed on LGBT people, penalize defenders and the publication of information that can be considered as an encouragement to homosexuality. The bill also promotes homosexual "conversion" therapy, already practiced in several countries on the African continent and in the United States.  

At the origin of the text is Sam Nartey George, a member of the opposition party, the National Democratic Congress.

Describing the rights of homosexuals as a "perversion", this fiercely homophobic parliamentarian tabled his bill in early August, supported by seven other elected officials.

"We need to protect our children who are the target of these LGBTQ + people making them believe that it is a new way of life," he told AFP when filing his text. 

Unprecedented wave of homophobia

This legislative offensive comes in an unprecedented context. According to several associations defending LGBT rights on the African continent, Ghana has been experiencing an unprecedented wave of homophobia for several years. This reached its climax in February 2021 with the expulsion, by the police, from the reception desk of one of the few associations helping LGBT people, LGBT + Rights Ghana, a barely months after the opening of the place. 

The community has since been the target of violent attacks in Ghanaian media and social networks by politicians, journalists and religious leaders. "Homosexuals will not suddenly disappear with the appearance of a new law, it is just that they will have an even more tendency to hide", warns Alexandre Marcel of the Idaho committee, contacted by France 24. This NGO, who organizes actions against homophobia, was recently contacted by a young Ghanaian of 24, put on the streets by several members of his family after being surprised by his uncle with another man. "I haven't heard from him for three weeks," worries Alexandre Marcel. 

The case of this young man is not isolated.

In Ghana, same-sex relationships are prohibited by a law inherited from the colonial era, but no one has ever been prosecuted under this law.

However, LGBT people are subject to discrimination and violence, often within the family circle.  

In March 2021, 21 people were arrested in the city of Ho, during a training course for legal assistants and other professionals who support vulnerable groups.

They were released on bail, but many accused had to go into shelters for fear for their safety.

Some have been disowned by family members and lost their jobs, the Guardian reported at the time of the incident.  

"More and more LGBT people have had to flee their homes or communities, or are targeted by attacks. They are under intense pressure and the damage is also psychological," laments IDNOWA, which estimates that many cases are ignored because discriminated people do not have access to the Internet or the media.  

The rejection of LGBT people in Ghana is based on the conservatism of Ghanaian society, which is very religious.

According to a 2014 poll, 90% of Ghanaians support the establishment of a law criminalizing same-sex relationships.

For IDNOWA activists, "it is not because public opinion is in favor, that parliamentarians should vote such a law" that they consider "harmful" for Ghanaian society.

"We hope that our elected officials will perceive the danger contained in this law and that there will at least be amendments", wishes the association, which does not understand this "relentlessness" while homosexuality is already prohibited. 

Anti-LGBT religious propaganda

The reasons for this persecution are to be found among religious leaders, believes Alexandre Marcel, in particular the Ghanaian Catholic bishops. The activist calls on the Pope: "They have a responsibility in this hate speech against homosexuals. How can the Pope accept that his bishops support such a law?" 

This homophobia has been "imported", underlines IDNOWA, which considers that animosity towards LGBT people in Ghana was fueled by the holding, in 2019, of a congress of the "World Congress of Families", the World Congress des families, an anti-LGBTQ organization based in the United States and strongly linked to the religious right. Human rights organizations, such as Human Right Watch, had already warned of the dangers of hate propaganda by this group in several African countries. "These clerics are trying to impose their point of view which does not reflect our diversity and our rich cultural heritage. Parliamentarians should not be guided by their religious ideas, our country's agenda should not be dictated by religion. ", deplores the association today.  

If Ghana passes this anti-LGBT law, other West African countries may follow the same path, worry IDNOWA members in the region.  

On the side of the Ghanaian presidency, the subject is approached with tweezers.

In the midst of the economic crisis, the Head of State, Nana Akufo-Addo, who would like to attract investments from African Americans and Ghanaians in the diaspora, wishes to convey the image of an open and tolerant country.

A cliché tarnished by this bill which, according to several specialists, has a good chance of being adopted.  

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