In hiding, Ghana’s queer activists keep up the fight

 | 
5/6/21

More than two months after fleeing “unprecedented” threats of violence, members of the queer rights organisation LGBT+ Rights Ghana are still in hiding. “It is very challenging. It takes a lot of toll,” says Alex Kofi Donkor, founder and director of the organisation. “The experiences of the past weeks haven’t been easy … I can only imagine what the others are going through. Because, personally, it was very heavy for me.” On 24 February 2021, in an event that made international headlines, Ghanaian security forces raided and shut down the organisation’s newly opened offices – and a “safe space” for queer people. Donkor, along with other leaders of the organisation, fled. More than two months later, the group are, for now, living at “a safe location” on the outskirts of Accra. Speaking from the room he shares with another member of the organisation, Donkor says: “It’s difficult. But … activists all over the world have to sacrifice some form of life for the greater good. So, in a way, I comfort myself with the fact that it is for the greater good. It is just so that change can happen.” The change they are looking to bring about is the repeal of Section 104 of the country’s Criminal Offences Act, a colonial-era law that punishes “unnatural carnal knowledge” by up to three years’ imprisonment. For now though, and despite being in hiding, they are pushing ahead with their drive to be the first openly LGBTQIA+ organisation registered in the country.

Regions: ,

Share this:

Latest Global News

Added on: 10/03/2024
10/02/2024
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has refused to sign into law a bill approved by parliament last month that rights groups and many opposition politicians …
Added on: 10/03/2024
10/02/2024
Kyrgyzstan’s government has proposed problematic amendments to the criminal code and other legislative acts that would restore criminal charges for the mere possession of …
Added on: 10/02/2024
10/02/2024
Cabrel Ngounou’s life in Cameroon quickly unraveled after neighbors caught the teenager with his boyfriend. A crowd surrounded his boyfriend’s house and beat him. …

Explore LGBTQ+ Issues

Other News from ,

Added on: 10/02/2024
Thomars Shamuyarira is proudly out trans man from Harare, Zimbabwe. Despite enduring immense adversity—including being disowned by his family and forced to flee his …
Added on: 10/01/2024
The first man arrested under Uganda’s new Anti-Homosexuality Act is out on bail awaiting trial. Micheal (also known as Michael) Opolot was held for …
Added on: 09/29/2024
A wide-ranging investigation by the Wall Street Journal has uncovered evidence linking Russian cash to an anti-LGBTQ+ U.S. activist who helped promote “Kill the …