Good news from Ghana: Anti-gay bill fails to be enacted.

Ghana is not a great place for queer people, but any good news is worth celebrating.

Conservative politicians have been trying to enact the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill. First introduced in 2021, this is legislation that would strengthen the existing gay-sex ban, lengthening jail time, and enable the government to crack down on people it suspected of promoting LGBTQ lifestyles and identities.

The bill was passed by the country's parliament and submitted to the president for formal approval so that it could be enacted.

However, the approval was never given and there has now been a change of president in Ghana - Nana Akufo-Ado has been replaced by John Mahama.

In a recent public discussion, President Mahama said that the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill was "effectively dead".

"As far as I know, the bill did not get to the president...” explained President Mahama, referring to his predecessor, Nana Akufo-Ado. “So, the convention is that all bills that are not assented to law before the expiration of the life of parliament, expire. So that bill effectively is dead.”

“If we are teaching our values in schools, we wouldn’t need to pass a bill to enforce family values..." added President Mahama. "More than just passing the Family Values Bill, we need to agree on a curriculum that instills these values in our children as they grow.”

While it's not clear what impact the shift from criminalisation to education will have on queer people in Ghana, community groups seem to be cautiously optimistic that this is a step in the right direction.

However, gay sex remains illegal in Ghana.

The Ghanaian Criminal Code of 1960 says that sexual relations between people of the same sex are banned in the country, calling them “unnatural carnal knowledge.”

This law was recently challenged in court but the country's Supreme Court upheld the law.

What's life like for LGBTQ people in Ghana?

What's life like for LGBTQ people in Ghana? Let’s take a look at some of the key equality indicators.

Is homosexuality legal in Ghana?

Gay sex has been illegal in Ghana since the 1860s. The penalty is imprisonment for up to three years.

Are there anti-discrimination protections in place for LGBTQ people in Ghana?

There’s no anti-discrimination framework in place to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination based on their sexuality.

Discrimination and persecution is systemic.

Is there Marriage Equality in Ghana?

There’s no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Ghana?

Most of the anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in Ghana comes from Christian groups who say homosexuality is a sin. There is also a belief that the promotion of homosexuality is part of a Western agenda to spread European and US values in Africa.

LGBTQ people in Ghana face frequent abuse and discrimination, including blackmail, extortion, and violent attacks.

What’s the history of homosexuality in Ghana?

In the 18th and 19th century Asante courts, male slaves served as concubines.

The Nzema people had a tradition of adult men marrying each other, usually with a 10-year age difference. These marriage were called agyale – friendship marriages. The couple would observe all the social equivalents of a heterosexual marriage, a bride price was paid and a traditional wedding ceremony was held.