A presidential candidate in Ghana has vowed “no, no and no” on LGBTQ+ issues in the West African country.
Addressing clergy at a campaign stop, vice-president Mahamudu Bawumia said of homosexuality, “We will not agree. Our religion says no, our culture says no, our values say no. So it is a no, no and no.”
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Bawumia compared same-sex attraction to polygamy, saying the West’s rejection of the practice justified Africa’s repudiation of LGBTQ+ identity.
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“They don’t agree with polygamy. Do we force it on them? So they shouldn’t force it on us,” he said, speaking of LGBTQ+ acceptance.
Polygamy is illegal in Ghana under civil law, but it’s not strictly enforced.
“We will never accept it no matter the consequences,” he continued. “We will defend our values. And we will let the world know, we will not change our values for them.”
Polygamy, the practice of having two or more spouses, is illegal in every U.S. state but widely accepted around the world, particularly in Muslim-majority countries where it’s common for men to have more than one wife.
It is generally illegal for women to enjoy more than one husband.
In February, Ghana’s Parliament voted unanimously to approve a bill that would worsen criminal penalties for homosexuality and persecute LGBTQ+ people and their allies. The bill awaits a signature from outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo and he’s vowed to sign it.
The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021 would increase the penalties for homosexuality from three years in prison to five. It would also make it a crime to identify as LGBTQ+ or as an ally, and punish anyone who provides support, advocacy, or funding for LGBTQ+ people’s rights.
The U.S. State Department has warned Ghana that the legislation could jeopardize aid to the West African nation.
The country’s current law is a holdover from colonial times when the British occupied the small country on Africa’s Guinea Coast, and sexual acts between men were deemed “unnatural carnal knowledge.”