WHY GHANA’S LAW ON LGBTQ JUSTICEFIABLE

 God bless our homeland Ghana! The parliament of Ghana on February 2024 unanimously passed a bill with support from the two most popular political parties in the country to make it a crime to identify as LGBT+, with penalties of up to three years in prison. Funding or forming a LGBT-related group would be punished by up to five years in prison. The bill was forwarded to president Nana Akufo-Addo, who may now sign into law or veto it. Akufo-Addo previously said that if most Ghanians wanted the legislation, he would not oppose it. Since then, lots of countries, groups and individuals has expressed their disappointment with certain countries going ahead to even indirectly threaten to stop funding nor investing in the West African country. They are accusing Ghana of suffocating the freedom of the lgbtq community. Others have impolitely questioned the countries focus. According to them, the attention of the country should be channeled into solving its economic problems. Is this true? Should it be illegal, does the western countries have more democracy or have more freedom than us? Below are some reasons why Ghana is justified in its decision;

1. Hypocrisy from western countries; a lot these western governments has legalized lgbtq and has laws that protect them. These people are so much protected that, one would even have an advantage in a job interview if one publicly admitted to being a member. If they are so much invested in giving people their right, then why is polygamy a crime in those countries. Polygamy is the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. African and Muslim men are allowed to marry more than one wife. Amongst Tibetans in Nepal, it is legal for a woman to marry more than one wife. If you want to give people their freedom, then why is bigamy a crime? Seems there’s hypocrisy in their democracy.  

2. If one is allowed to have his penis chopped off or allowed to have sex with a partner of the same sex etc, then I guess it will okay for one to have sex with an animal like goat or cow. If it’s okay for people to have their absolute freedom then if I buy a goat with my own money, I should be allowed to have intercourse with it per the logic of western countries. Sometimes, freedom has to be limited for the betterment of the moral rights.

3. If people are given absolute freedom to choose who they want to have sexual relations with, then we will have siblings using this rule to commit incest. It starts from somewhere. Allowing homosexuality is a pathway to things like incest or even worse- pedophiles. It might not be the same ball game, but it’s from the same state. 

4. Government and governance is by the people and for the people. Majority of Ghanaians and Africa at large with about 98-99% of them choosing to abolish the actions of lgbtq community. Why then does these westerners come to threaten us as if we’re in the 1950s. Why don’t they put same sanctions on Saudi Arabia, UAE and other rich countries who share similar views with us on the issue. 

I am very happy this bill was approved. It would have been cowardly for Ghanaians to reject the bill especially not because it’s what they desire but because they are afraid of sanctions. Seems the Blackman is finally taking charge of town affairs.