Many of the anti-LGBTQ laws now in force across Africa can be traced back to colonial-era legal systems introduced by European powers, despite claims that such restrictions are rooted solely in traditional African culture.
This story is written and edited by Global South World
The issue has drawn renewed attention after Ghana’s parliament approved the Sexual Rights and Human Family Values Bill 2025, one of the continent’s most restrictive anti-LGBTQ measures. The legislation proposes prison terms of up to three years for individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ or engage in same-sex relationships, while those accused of promoting LGBTQ+ rights could face sentences ranging from six to 10 years.
The bill also includes provisions encouraging citizens to report suspected violations to authorities and would invalidate same-sex marriages conducted abroad.
Ghana joins a growing list of African nations that criminalise same-sex relations. In Uganda, some offences under anti-LGBTQ legislation can carry the death penalty, while Mauritania and parts of Somalia maintain capital punishment provisions under Sharia-based legal systems. Criminal penalties also remain in place in countries including Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia and Sierra Leone.
However, historians and anthropologists have challenged the notion that same-sex relationships were absent from pre-colonial African societies. Academic research has documented diverse forms of same-sex relationships and gender expression in dozens of communities across the continent before European colonisation.
Many contemporary anti-LGBTQ laws stem from penal codes imposed by colonial administrations, particularly the British Empire, which criminalised homosexual acts throughout much of its overseas territories during the 19th century.
As international criticism of Africa’s anti-LGBTQ legislation grows, the debate has increasingly focused on the historical origins of the laws themselves and the lasting legacy of colonial rule on the continent’s legal systems.
This article was originally published by Global South World and is republished here with permission. View the original article.
Global South World was created to address the emergence of influential nations outside traditional power structures in geopolitics. Our mission is to amplify voices from the Global South and raise awareness of changes and trends in those countries.
