Ideas The unforgivable crime of being queer in Africa
May 26, 2025
Rita Nketiah, a Ghanaian-Canadian gender equity consultant, Zetu Matabeni, a filmmaker and professor in queer studies, and Leila Lariba, the director of One Love Sisters, discuss the complex landscape of LGBTQ rights in Africa. They dive into the impact of American evangelical funding on anti-LGBTQ laws, highlighting the dangers faced by activists. The conversation addresses colonial legacies that shape modern attitudes towards gender and sexuality, and the crucial need for local advocacy while navigating external influences. Hope shines through as they envision a more inclusive future.
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Activist Risks and Support
- Leila Lariba shares firsthand risks faced by LGBTQ activists in Ghana including threats and need for secrecy.
- Activists provide vital support like psychosocial aid, emergency relocation, and therapy amid hostile conditions.
Foreign Influence and Language Division
- Anti-LGBTQ bills in Ghana are pushed by transnational evangelical networks framing queerness as a foreign threat.
- The use of Western LGBTQ language alienates local understanding and facilitates othering and stigmatization.
Colonial Legacy on Sexuality
- Colonialism implanted religious and sexual norms that conflict with indigenous African sexual diversity.
- Decolonizing means redefining identity and sexuality on Africa's own cultural terms, not imposed Western ones.