Legality of same-sex sexual activity
Section 104 of the Ghanaian Criminal Code of 1960 criminalises consensual same-sex sexual acts between males. Under Section 104(1)(b), "unnatural carnal knowledge" with consent is considered a misdemeanour.[15] Under other subsections of Section 104, rape and bestiality are also criminalised. Additionally, Section 104(2) defines "unnatural carnal knowledge" as "sexual intercourse with a person in an unnatural manner or with an animal."[15] Under Article 296(4) of the Criminal Procedural Code, a misdemeanour shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years.[16]
By the early 21st century, these laws from 1960 were rarely enforced.[17] However, while the law may not lead to prosecutions before local courts, persecution of LGBT people is nevertheless widespread and common.[18]
Homosexuality History In Ghana
In the 18th and 19th century Asante courts, male slaves served as concubines. They dressed as women and were killed when their master died.[citation needed] The Nzema people had a tradition of adult men marrying each other, usually with a 10-year age difference.[8] These marriage were called agyale,[9] "friendship marriages". The couple would observe all the social equivalents of heterosexual marriage, a bride price was paid and a traditional wedding ceremony was held.[10] Among the Nankani, female marriages were observed for the continuous perpetuation of the lineage. Rose Mary Amenga-Etego states that these non-sexual woman to woman marriages were "the last desperate religio-cultural practice employed to reclaim and reinstate the male genealogical descent structure of the people".[11]
The Fante people would believe that those, of either sex, with "heavy souls" were attracted to women, whereas those with "light souls" were attracted to men. Homosexuality in Ghana was criminalised in the 1860s.[1] During this time, Ghana was a British colony. The Offences against the Person Act of 1861, a British law which criminalized sodomy, was implemented in all British colonies.[14]
Yahya Jammeh News
21 November, 2014 1:47PM EST' Gambia: Life Sentence for 'Aggravated Homosexuality'
ReplyYayah Toure
November 18, 2014 12:00 am
Gambia must stop wave of homophobic arrests and torture.
ReplyYasmin Amin
Tue 9 Sep 2014 00.18 BST
Gambia's president threatens to slit the throats of gay men.
Reply