Target: Nana Akufo-Addo, president of Ghana
Goal: Don’t further criminalize LGBTQ+ existence.
A new anti-LGBTQ+ law is being discussed in Ghana’s parliament that risks not only thousands of lives, but also progressive organizations. Throughout this year, Ghana has been attempting to shut down multiple pro-LGBTQ+ organizations and this new legislation could directly stop any advancements thus made. It proposes at maximum five-year imprisonment for anyone identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and/or intersex. For intersex people, this includes forced sexual reassignment surgery. A ten-year imprisonment would be added for any institutions and/or individuals promoting LGBTQ+ safety, including social media pages.
There already exists a three-year confinement for having same sex relations. Conversion therapies are normalized and often encouraged. Allowing this bill will further stigmatize an already vulnerable population. Numerous trans and queer sex workers face violence and discrimination, which will only increase and go unseen if the new law passes. This bill will protect the inequitable discrimination faced by both LGBTQ+ individuals and allies, and lawmakers must reject it.
Ghana serves as a point of reference for West Africa and beyond, being the country with the most foreign aid and involvement. Rigorous religious beliefs and socialization attempt to justify the bill, at the cost of thousands of people. Gay individuals with HIV would simply not receive treatment or medicine, as prevention and safe practices would no longer be supported. LGBTQ+ people and allies will be denied employment opportunities due to their morals. Sign this petition to prevent the censorship of civil rights in Ghana.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear President Nana Akufo-Addo,
The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021 is simply morally corrupt and must not get passed. We are obliged to protect and honor our LGBTQ+ individuals and allies. Allowing people to express themselves is in no way illegal or ethically incorrect. The lives, livelihoods, and progress society has made nationally with LGBTQ+ rights cannot be stunted.
LGBTQ+ people and allies in West Africa already face intense discrimination and violence. Allowing this bill to pass demonstrates a decline in civil and political rights for the continent as a whole. The law should not uphold tyrannical beliefs backed by religious strife.
Demand lawmakers deny this bill. Promote safety for Ghanaian people. As a leader, lift others up to see a truly prosperous and progressive country. Incarceration will not silence the existence of LGBTQ+ people. Suppressing a group of people is not the answer; you of all people are aware of this.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: jozuadouglas
Please promote equality for all.