Homosexuality, sex and politics in Ghana
The center stage of Ghanaian political debate has shifted to the issue of homosexuality inflaming passions, angering many and confusing Ghanaians about the legality and otherwise of the homosexual act. What is now dubbed LGBTQ+ whatever it means has now become a fad being bandied about with jest in some circles and with utter rejection in some others. The debate is becoming fiercer by the day.
In our earlier editorial on the same subject, we averred that the law against homosexuality now before the Ghanaian Parliament is rather too harsh, criminalizing homosexuality and must be tampered with mercy. We did not hide our aversion for the abhorrent practice of homosexuality and condemned it unconditionally. The emergence of a new voice against the law among some professionals and academics putting a twist on homosexuality as a right has enraged Ghanaians. Our contention remains that sex among persons of the same sex is deviant and legally unacceptable in our laws in Ghana already.
The constitutional guarantee of rights to freedom of speech and assembly, among others are actively denied to LGBT+ people. Same sex union has been illegal since 1860 in Ghana (as the Gold Coast), and has since remained like that. The group of intellectuals and academics appears to put a twist to the argument that the bill before the Parliament is too draconian leaving homosexuals bereft of their human rights. It is not true: provision in the bill recognizes the rights of Gays as citizens.
We dare say that the new twist proffered by the group underscores what we find rather elitist and arrogant in downplaying the efforts of the lawmakers to outlaw homosexuality. Technology has brought the world together at such a pace unprecedented in human history. The flow of information is at a pace never experienced and events are transmitted faster than at any time in history. Deviancy has many ways of infiltrating society. The internet, television and other media are all open traffic for dissemination of unwholesome information and children are the primary consumers of such information. We fear our children, as always, are vulnerable and the only way of countering such evil in our societies is to resort to our cultures and traditions to desensitize them against the sexually deviant behavior.
Polygamy is repulsive to Christian Europe because it is African and also because it is considered sexually deviant and unchristian. It is strange that the same Christian Europe and America would seek to enforce homosexuality in Africa. It is, however, natural that in human sexuality, males would rather have as many sex partners than stick with a single female for life. Plus, among Africans, polygamy is not all sexual as it provides socio-economic sustenance in families.
Amandla believes that the ongoing debate must recognize the voices of other groups or persons of differing opinions on the subject. The group of academics and professionals, for instance, are insisting on human rights of gays, transvestites and others, something provided for in the Act in Parliament. We on the other hand opine that inasmuch as our democracy insists on debate and compromise so also we need to keep the argument within the demands of democracy. Fortunately, no one political party has laid claim to the debate as its originator. So far it has assumed a bipartisan tenor, perhaps the first time and the first such issue to be accorded such rare attention.
The raging anti-LGBT+ debate has the potential of either generating more interest in the practice or choices made in the direction of the behavioral practice. Rev. Albright Asiwome Banibensu, Vice President of the Ghana Psychological Association avers that the debates in the country can either encourage or discourage the act. He adds that the discussions and comments from prominent academics and professionals could encourage more of the act or make it difficult for those involved to come out openly to declare their silence over it. We agree, but may add that the positions of those against the act may also threaten or make it difficult for those involved to declare their silence.
This observation draws the mind to the fact that gayism is not limited to any race or gender. It behoves society in general, in particular, religious and traditional, to help in addressing sexual deviancy and instilling decency at all levels of society. Attention must also be paid to the institution of marriage only as between a man and a woman. It is nobody’s civil right to marry a person of the same sex. It is non-negotiable.