Latest News Ghana: UK Government Pledges Support for Legalizing Homosexuality in Ghana

UK Government pledges support for legalizing homosexuality in Ghana

The UK kingdom has offered their unwavering support to help rewrite the gay rights in the country. The statement brewed a lot of controversies and emotions since Britain was at the forefront in banishing the gay rights before. Currently there are no existing laws to incriminate homosexuality in Ghana.

In an open statement the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, confessed of Britain being blamed for the illegalization of homosexuality in Ghana. Now, they were trying to revamp the rules to legalize gay rights in the country.

Ghana was under the colonial rule of the Britons for over 140 years when homosexuality was illegalized. News Ghana confirms that the British Prime Minister stated during the Commonwealth heads of state meeting that they will be helping Ghana rewrite the anti-gay laws of the country in order for it to be legal and to accommodate the LGBT community in Ghana.

The current law of the land laid by the founding fathers, the Britons, have seen the gay community under heavy scrutiny and harsh treatment by the public to the extent of death by hanging and exclusion from social events and activities such as church and even medical testing in some extreme cases.

In other conservative countries on the continent, it is illegal even for men to walk hand in hand on the streets. Public display of affection by the gay community is unheard off. Public torture and death is the recipe for those found committing what is termed by the Public as a ‘heinous’ and ‘unnatural act.’

Even though the laws are not yet introduced in Ghana, the plight of the gay community is that they live in stigma with fear of rejection from family and friends. Those caught in the act are subjected to the rule of the land, which is death. With the decision being in the public court of opinion, those of the gay community socialize covertly to remain undetected, in fear of their lives.

News Ghana reveals that there are no current laws in the country talking about homosexuality. This revelation triggered Aljazeera English to ask President Akufo-Addo about his stand when it comes to the gay rights in the country.

President Akufo-Addo commented that the only way gay rights will be legalized is if the public were open to accepting the practice and there were a sufficiently strong supporting coalition in terms of lobbies. Besides that, gay rights is a subject which has been avoided by many.

In a report to the original source of Ghana news, Amnesty International released claims the gays and lesbians who form part of the LGBT community feel threatened to come out in the open to the society about their sexuality due to fear of their lives and the reception of the society towards them.

In an interview with the human right organization, some of the gays and lesbians living in Ghana confessed that the rule of the land about their sexuality was unfavorable. They shed light on cases of mob action and rejection by the society. The gay community feels uncomfortable and threatened living in Ghana.

However, it remains a mystery of how the British Prime Minister plans to reverse the anti-gay rules in the country but the truth is the UK government is on record of championing for the rights of the LGBT community in Ghana.