As anti-LGBTQ+ crackdowns persist across Africa, these activists continue to fight

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11/08/2021

Across Africa, queer people face oppression, discrimination and violence for their identities. A 2020 report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) reveals that the continent accounts for almost half of the 69 countries where homosexuality is criminalized. State actors like the police have used anti-gay laws as pretext to continue to harass and extort money from anyone they believe to be part of the LGBTQ+ community—especially in Nigeria, where the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill stipulates a 14-year sentence for those who engage in sex with persons of the same gender. Arbitrary and discriminatory arrests of anyone perceived to be queer has become rampant across African countries. It would be impossible to detail all the accounts of oppression queer people in Africa have faced in a single article. Instead, here are five recent events of hostility and violence in African countries where homosexuality is outlawed—and how, in spite of continued oppression, queer folks have stayed resilient.

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