Mali is about to pass a law that would impose prison terms on people who engage in same-sex relationships, condone same-sex relationships, or “promote” homosexuality.
The country’s ruling National Transitional Council approved the bill on October 31 by a vote of 131 to 1. The measure must then be approved by the country’s military leaders before it takes effect.
Details of the punishment under the new criminal law have not yet been announced.
After the vote, Mali’s Minister of Justice and Human Rights Mamadou Kassogou said, “Mali now has a provision against homosexuality.” “Those who engage in, encourage or condone this practice will be prosecuted.”
Two years ago, Mr Kassog called homosexuality an “unnatural relationship” and slammed the lack of laws criminalizing homosexuality.
At the same time, Mr. Kasorg signed the following agreement: united nations pledge Last December, Mali pledged to promote and protect human rights. Although LGBTQ rights were not specifically mentioned, the pledge stated that important human rights include access to education, employment, and health care, as well as the ability to receive a fair wage, the right to vote, and the right to free speech. , it is stated that the right to privacy is included. and mutual respect.
The LGBTQ community faces significant hostility in Mali, a Muslim-majority African country where homosexuality is seen as an import from the West.
At the same time, Sharia law, the Islamic religious law, does not condone same-sex relationships, and people can be subject to extrajudicial punishments ranging from prison terms to conversion therapy, from amputation to flogging to the death penalty.
That means most LGBTQ Malians remain closeted or are forced to perform LGBTQ-specific work under a veil of secrecy. Additionally, law enforcement officials may choose to prosecute known LGBTQ activists under statutes prohibiting “indecent exposure.”
Global human rights organization Human Rights Watch said in a recent report that Mali’s government has cracked down on the media and political opposition since 2021, when the ruling military junta took control of the country. The junta also seeks to justify the prosecution of LGBTQ individuals and homosexual relationships as defending “traditional and moral values.”
Human Rights Watch reported a recent increase in arbitrary arrests, detentions, and physical assaults based on appearance or gender expression. “We all live in constant fear, and now more than ever,” one LGBTQ rights activist told Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch has suspended the law, saying its provisions violate Mali’s obligations under international human rights law, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which condemns anti-LGBTQ violence and discrimination. They requested the ruling military government to stop it.
Unfortunately, Mali is not the only African country that has recently moved to further restrict the rights and visibility of LGBTQ individuals. Lawmakers in neighboring Burkina Faso are planning to pass a nearly similar anti-LGBTQ law.
At least 30 African countries criminalize same-sex acts, either under colonial-era anti-sodomy laws imposed by European countries or through recent crackdowns. In Uganda, lawmakers passed an infamous anti-gay law that imposes the death penalty for certain types of same-sex intimate relationships and LGBTQ advocacy.
At the same time, several African countries have decriminalized homosexuality in the past decade, including Gabon, Mauritius, Angola, Lesotho, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Botswana and Mozambique. In June, the Namibian High Court struck down the country’s law banning same-sex relationships.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
