Niger Criminalized Same-sex Relations in February, the First Such Ban in the Country

Campaigners warn that anti-LGBTQ+ laws are spreading across West Africa, driven by political opportunism and a global backlash against LGBTQ+ rights. In March, Senegal doubled the maximum prison sentence for gay sex to 10 years and criminalized the “promotion” of homosexuality. Niger criminalized same-sex relations in February, the first such ban in the country.

Mali and Burkina Faso, which neighbors Niger, also outlawed same-sex relations for the first time in the past two years; all three are ruled by military juntas. In June, Ghana, which already bans gay sex, passed a law criminalizing LGBTQ+ “activities, though it has not yet been signed by the president. The bill is the latest version of legislation first introduced in 2021. “What I see in all of them is a political opportunism, said Anthony Oluoch of Pan Africa ILGA, a continental LGBT+ rights group.

He noted that in some countries, religious groups and “family values” campaigns backed the new or harsher laws, while in predominantly Muslim Burkina Faso, the law was framed as asserting sovereignty against the West. “Underneath that all, there’s a lot of transnational reinforcement, Oluoch added. An activist in Burkina Faso, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said LGBTQ+ people “are the easiest scapegoats to maintain their power.

The impact on the community has been devastating even before the law took effect. Thirteen transgender women were detained without trial from June to November last year, according to an HIV worker, who said the women reported being beaten by the military unit that imprisoned them. After the law passed, there have been at least two sets of convictions.

Police are entrapping LGBTQ+ people on social media and demanding they denounce others, said the HIV worker, who fled the country in May after being named by an arrested person. Despite military president Ibrahim Traoré’s anti-Western rhetoric, Burkina Faso has attracted anti-LGBTQ+ campaigners, including conservative Western Christian groups. The African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty, a forum many say has influenced anti-LGBTQ+ laws on the continent, will be held in Burkina Faso and Eswatini next year.

The first three conferences were held annually in Uganda starting in 2023, the year Uganda imposed the death penalty for some same-sex acts. According to US-based Ipas, the gatherings are supported by Family Watch International (FWI), an Arizona-based Christian group that opposes abortion and comprehensive sex education. Dutch-founded Christian Council International has also attended.

At this year’s conference, hosted by Ghana’s parliament in June, a draft African Charter on Family Sovereignty and Values was drawn up, condemning abortion and CSE, stating that gender is binary, and asserting parental rights over children’s. A draft was published on FWI’s website. The Ghana bill is a “very effective political tool” backed by powerful religious organizations, said Amanda Odoi, a researcher at the University of Cape Coast. But she added: “These international actors were very key in empowering, supporting, funding, financing and giving voice to the anti-LGBT campaign.

She noted the bill’s similarity to Uganda’s law and its “alphabet soup” acronym “LGBTTQAP+, which includes terms like “questioning” not commonly used in Ghana. Bringing the conference to Ghana was deliberate, said Ebenezer Peegah of Rightify Ghana, because “Ghana has a lot of credentials that Uganda does not have … some clout that other countries in Africa do not have, citing its stable democracy, free elections, and relative press freedom. Across West Africa, LGBTQ+ people are suffering the consequences.

In Senegal, the law hinders HIV prevention for men who have sex with men and transgender women, who have higher HIV prevalence, as well as lawyers representing LGBTQ+ people, said Marame Kane, a French-Senegalese activist in Paris. About 100 Senegalese people fled to the Gambia this year, though most returned due to lack of funds, according to a Gambian HIV worker. Same-sex relations are already punishable by up to life in prison in the Gambia, and transgender women are criminalized by a cross-dressing ban. The HIV worker worried the government could strengthen the laws, making HIV services even harder to provide.”””””””