The Supreme Court of Ghana has dismissed a legal challenge to block an anti-LGBT bill, allowing ratification.
Lawmakers in the West African Country debated a bill that criminalizes same-sex relations, transgenderness, and LGBTQ rights, with a majority supporting the proposed legislation.
However, critics and rights activists have criticised the Passing of the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values bill, saying this move would further “reduce freedoms” in a country where gay sex is already punishable with up to three years in jail.
Amanda Odoi, an academic researcher, filed a lawsuit on July 7 challenging the bill’s constitutionality, saying it would impact donor aid and other forms of financial support. Ghana’s Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that her arguments were not sufficiently convincing to grant an injunction.
The ruling cleared the way for the bill, one of the harshest towards the LGBTQ community in Africa, to go through a final stage of parliamentary approval before being signed into law.
In May, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni signed one of the world’s toughest anti-LGBTQ laws, which spelled out the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”.
Ghana’s bill, backed by religious and traditional leaders, includes jail sentences of up to 10 years for advocating for LGBTQ rights.
Publishing content considered pro-LGBTQ or that challenges traditional binary gender identities could also lead to prosecution.
The United Nations said in 2021 the law would create “a system of state-sponsored discrimination and violence” against sexual minorities.
