In many African countries, it is illegal to be gay. 25
out of 38 African nations have passed laws that give varying degrees of prison
sentences to people caught practicing homosexual acts. In Nigeria, a
14-year jail term is prescribed for convicted offenders under the Same Sex
Marriage (prohibition) bill which was passed into law in 2011.
These laws have received mixed reactions from Africans
across the continent. While some have lauded it in countries where they have
been passed, others have said there are more important things to focus on and
an individual’s sexuality should not be subject to scrutiny and punishment.
At the recent Pan African Parliament in Johannesburg on
9th October, 2012, the topic of imprisonment of homosexuals in Africa was again
raised.
A Ugandan lawmaker, Atim Ogwal Cecilia Barbara called
for the life imprisonment of all African gay people.
SABC reports her comments at the Parliament: “Africa
must stand up. We must pass a resolution condemning homosexuality because it is
not an African culture. We are not allowed to practice polygamy in other
countries, why should we be forced to do what is not natural?”
Homosexuality which is already illegal under Uganda’s penal
code, is highly stigmatized in Uganda. The country has one of the strictest Anti-Homosexuality Bill often called the “Kill the
Gays bill”. It divides homosexual behavior into two categories:
“aggravated homosexuality”, in which an offender would receive the death
penalty, or “the offense of homosexuality” in which an offender would receive
life imprisonment.
Although she failed to convince other lawmakers and her
proposal was rejected, she once again brought to the fore, Africa’s standpoint
against homosexuality.
As a continent, do you think we are treading on the right
path with respect to enacting laws against homosexuality? Did the lawmaker go
too far with her suggestion?
Please share your thoughts.
Photo Credit: towleroad.com
Follow @SwaggedNerd
Homosexual is an evil act,anti-nature,uncultured and western evil culture.We must resist this evil and satanic sex act.
ReplyDelete