Gabon divided over gay vote
Gabon’s gay community has welcomed the decriminalisation of homosexuality adopted this week, a year after an initial ban on same-sex relations sparked weeks of debate and sharply divided the central African country.
The criminalisation of homosexuality went almost unnoticed in this country of less than two million inhabitants when it was adopted last year.
But the amendment to the legislation, adopted by Gabon’s parliament on Monday, has underscored divisions, with praise from activists contrasting with anger from opponents in the local press, on social media and in the streets.
“It’s good news. We’re finally going to be able to breathe a sigh of relief,” said Parfait Magnaga, the head of Sante + Pro Humanitus, one of the only associations defending the rights of sexual minorities in Gabon.
The amendment removes text, added by the Senate in July last year, which made same-sex sexual relations a criminal offence, punishable by up to six months in prison and a fine of five million CFA francs (R145 000).
The change will formally become law once the president – whose government pushed for the amendment – ratifies it.
Although the law was never applied, “in the past year, we have been more vulnerable to violence because we no longer had the law on our side”, Magnaga, a psycho-sexologist, said.
In normal times, “it’s difficult for a homosexual here to go and file a complaint when he’s verbally or physically attacked”, he added. “Parliament’s vote is a small victory for us, but it is not a question of gloating now. We prefer to remain discreet.”
Magnaga said the gay community wants Gabon to turn the page on this “trying” political time.
For three weeks, the issue of decriminalising homosexuality caused a stir and drew homophobic comments from all corners of Gabon.
Some press articles went so far as to equate homosexuality with paedophilia and bestiality.
Leaders of the Catholic Church and the opposition have condemned homosexuality in public forums, often in violent terms, while messages inciting hate against homosexuals have been rampant on social media. – AFP