May 13, 2024
By Kiara Rasmussen
Staff Writer
Ghana’s Supreme Court said lawyers seeking to legalize an anti-LGBTQ bill have to amend their motions because of the insulting language used. Reuters reported that the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Gertrude Torkornoo, adjourned the hearing of the case on May 8 without setting a new date.
On Feb. 28, the Parliament of Ghana approved the bill, which, if signed into law by Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo. would penalize people for identifying as LGBTQ. The bill would allow the sentence of people who identify as gay to three years in jail, while promoters of LGBTQ issues could get five years, and those who engage in gay sex would receive five years instead of the three years under previous legislation.
According to the broadcaster Voice of America, people who oppose the bill are concerned about a decline in human rights, as well as reduced international aid from organizations like the World Bank, which announced in 2023 that Uganda would not be considered for new funds after anti-LGBTQ legislation was passed.
According to The New York Times, the bill was introduced to Parliament in 2021 and has received widespread public support, driven by Christian, Muslim and traditional leaders in Ghana. History teacher and Gay-Straight Alliance co-advisor Mr. Spence said it is important to educate people who have these deep-rooted cultural ideas and religious ideas about why those thoughts and behaviors are inappropriate.
“It’s very tied to religion [and] cultural norms that have been established for hundreds and hundreds of years,” Spence said. “Of course, it’s going to be difficult to break away or disregard those things.”
According to the Association for Catholic Information in Africa, the Conference of Major Superiors of Religious Ghana weighed in on this bill in its meeting on March 15 when it urged the president of the West African nation to sign the legislation into law.
“That’s where an organization like the United Nations has to step in and say [that] those kinds of laws [with] those kinds of punishments are not appropriate when it comes to sexuality,” Spence said. “Sexuality is not something that people are choosing.”
According to Reuters, Ghana’s finance ministry said in an internal document that the bill, if it becomes law, could put at risk the $3.8 billion in financing Ghana would receive from the World Bank, which is part of the United Nations system.
Vice President of Government Affairs of the Human Rights Campaign David Stacy said the organization is outraged by Parliament’s approval of this bill. He said every lawmaker who voted to pass it is taking advantage of their power and removing the humanity from the people they represent.
Spence said Americans have to be informed and speak out if they feel strongly enough because really change happens when people stand up for what they believe in instead of hiding behind a cell phone or computer screen.
“This [issue] is something that we need to address and that we need to take a firm stance on,” Spence said. “Until there’s this kind of collective decision-making, it’s going to be hard for individual pockets of the U.S. to do a lot.”
History teacher Ms. Schiraldi, who co-advises the Gay-Straight Alliance with Spence, described Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ bill as harsh and bizarre because the government should not decide how people should identify.
“Starting to recognize that there is discrimination out there and saying that you are openly against it [is] a great way to start protecting people of the LGBT [community].”
“I think it’s important [to] support these children to [be] whatever they want to be, just like we would in anything they want to do with the rest [of] their lives in work or job,” Schiraldi said.
Countries including Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Yemen enforce capital punishment for homosexuality. Schiraldi said countries that still criminalize homosexuality do so because of conservatism, religious beliefs and the influence of parents and schools.
“[Discrimination] is not something you’re born with. You are taught this,” Schiraldi said. “[It’s] a taught idea that you can discriminate against people because they’re different.”
Schiraldi said opponents of LGBTQ rights should not concern themselves with other people’s sexualities.
“Why would you care what that other person is? Care about what you are,” Schiraldi said. “You be you, and let them be them.”
Senior Olivia Oliveira, who is a member of the Gay-Straight Alliance Club, said she recognizes discrimination against LGBTQ people in the Lyndhurst community.
“[Some students] don’t necessarily feel as comfortable being affectionate with their partner because of the stigma around it,” Oliveira said. “I’ve even heard some of [them] saying they’ve received dirty looks or even rude remarks just for being with their partner.”
Oliveira said the LGBTQ community in the United States is fortunate that it can express its opinion against the government and hold different views. She said people in positions of power should stand up against prejudice.
“One of the greatest things I’ve seen recently is making inclusive spaces,” Oliveira said. “Starting to recognize that there is discrimination out there and saying that you are openly against it [is] a great way to start protecting people of the LGBT [community].”
According to the radio network Voice of America, an LGBTQ+ rights group opened a community center in Accra, Ghana on Jan. 31, 2021. It intended to create a place where the queer community could gather freely. The center received death threats and complaints from religious and political leaders, and a group of Ghana’s security forces raided the establishment, which closed on Feb. 24, 2021 for the safety of its members and employees.
Oliveira said she worries about acts of aggression people in the LGBTQ community face.
“There are instances where bullying becomes so severe that it can even get physical or violent, or it can make the person that’s being attacked feel so low about themselves that they start to question their purpose in life,” Oliveira said.
Advocacy organization Human Rights Watch reported that LGBTQ+ Ghanaian activists were detained for 22 days in May 2021 for an illegal meeting because it promoted homosexuality. After being released, the detainees expressed their trauma as a result of the arrests and police aggression.
Oliveira said it is important for people to educate themselves about current events concerning homophobia.
“Everybody could do a better job at reading the news and reading about what’s going on outside of your small, personal bubble,” Oliveira said. “Even though it’s not directly connected to you, it’s [important to] other people in the world.”
