Ghanaian Parliament Speaker Alban Bagbin. (Screen capture via CitiTube YouTube)
Ghanaian Parliament Speaker Alban Bagbin earlier this month promised MPs would pass a bill that would further crackdown on the country’s LGBTQ+ community before Christmas.
Bagbin said there is no MP who is opposing the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, and this lack of opposition is why he said it will pass before Parliament adjourns for the year Dec. 22.
President Nana Akufo-Addo is expected to sign the measure within a few weeks of passage.
The bill would prohibit same-sex sexual activities, same-sex marriages, the use of sex toys, identifying as LGBTQ+, advocating for LGBTQ+ rights on social media platforms and gender-affirming surgeries, among other things.
LGBTQ+ Ghanaians and advocacy organizations have sounded the alarm over the bill since its introduction in Parliament in 2021. They have urged MPs to oppose it, arguing it is draconian and infringes on their constitutional rights.
“This is so ridiculous, go to jail for consensual sex?” said Ivy Enyonam, an LGBTQ+ activist.
Enyonam noted the bill would ban “owning a sex toy or getting surgeries, even being an ally (while) rapists are walking free!”
Papa Kojo Ampofo, another LGBTQ+ activist, said a hidden agenda behind the bill far outweighs restricting the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. He said rich corporations and billionaires are funding the measure.
“The people behind the anti-LGBTIQ Bill are not foolish. They are highly organized and rich, funded by extremely rich corporations and billionaires,” noted Ampofo. “They are a part of well organized groups who mostly believe humans are born to labor for capitalism, and the LGBTIQ community is in direct violation of that. They are the same network or similar networks introducing the same versions of anti-LGBTIQ bills around the world.”
Activists have particularly blamed MP Sam George, who represents the Ningo-Prampram Constituency and is the bill’s lead champion.
George is believed to be among the handful of MPs who proposed the idea of initiating what is now the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill. He has urged Parliament and Ghanaians to rally behind the measure since its 2021 introduction.
George in recent social media posts has stated there is no need to accommodate any member of the LGBTQ community in Ghana.
“I am hearing some alphabet group claims my comments that some of them marry inanimate objects is a lie and fabrication (sic). They cannot throw dust in all our eyes,” said George in one post. “Allow me to raise my kids and stop pushing your insanity and perversion down our throats. When you stop calling what should be your private business a public right, I would not give a toss what you do (sic).”
We Are All Ghana, a group that opposes the bill, said George’s remarks were sowing hate and division in the country.
“Sam George understands that he is wasting precious Ghanaian resources and media airtime to sow hate and division at this crucial time in Ghanaian history when unity has never been more warranted,” said We Are All Ghana. “Sam George and other proponents of the bill really lack basic understanding of what human sexuality entails especially in relation to the LGBTQIA+ community.”
Angel Maxine, a transgender woman, activist and musician from Ghana, has already cautioned those who identify as LGBTQ to not travel to the country.
“As a caution to all LGBTQI+ diasporas coming to Ghana this Christmas, Ghana is a red zone for LGBTQI+ people and you stand a chance of going to prison if you are identified as queer,” said Maxine. “You can be arrested for holding hands on the streets.”
The National LGBT Media Association represents 13 legacy publications in major markets across the country with a collective readership of more than 400K in print and more than 1 million + online. Learn more here: NationalLGBTMediaAssociation.com.
