Families conference in Ghana makes Africa’s LGBT Community fear

0
561

The “World Congress of Families” in session starting on Thursday in Ghana. Official theme: Africa family strengths. Human rights activists are alarmed: you see the rights of women and Homosexuals in danger.

In mid-October, it met with 16 men in Uganda’s capital, Kampala: The police arrested you because of homosexual behavior. According to Human Rights Watch, had offended an angry Mob, the men and threatened to attack them. Also on Africa’s West coast homosexuals suffer persecution, sometimes even by their own family: an alleged lesbian was expelled with a Machete out of her house and had to leave her two-year-old child.

In 35 countries in Africa, homosexuality is illegal, including Mauritania, Sudan, Northern Nigeria and in the South of Somalia, where homosexual activity is punishable by death. Another issue that divides African societies, is abortion. Which is banned in seven countries in Africa and in ten other allowed only if the mother’s life is in danger.

Just the fundamentalist groups make use of such Controversy to spread their Agenda in Africa: No homosexuality, no abortions, no contraception.

Against homosexuality and abortion

One of the “World Congress of Families (WCF) is”, as of 31.10. a two-day regional conference in Ghana’s capital Accra hosted. Theme: “The African family and sustainable development. Strong families, strong Nation.” The largest conference of its kind on the continent to position it according to its own representation of “Africa as a more active advocate within the global Pro-family movement”.

Homosexuality in 35 countries in Africa continue to be illegal

The international network promotes conservative ideologies of the so-called “natural law” and the “natural family” to the mother-father-child principle. Your goal is to criminalize homosexuality, contraception and abortion.

Panic and fear

“Since the participants are here, there is panic and fear in the LGBT community. WCF works with legislators in the country, and we fear that they want to introduce a law that discriminated against homosexual”, says, however, Davis Mac-Iyalla in the DW-Interview. The gay Catholic activist from Nigeria, works for the “Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa”. The network advocates for the rights of the LGBT Community (lesbian, gay, Bi-and transsexual).

“Heads of state of Hungary, Poland, and Italy have spoken at their conferences. This organization is anything other than insignificant,” said Jessica Stern, Executive Director of OutRight Action International, a gloaben Organisation for LGBT-rights. “You offer those who join, Power, money and the global spot light. They do so at the expense of Homosexuals, women, and children. They are extremely powerful and extremely dangerous.”

In Accra, the WCF this year, your Africa regional conference

WCF organizes every year a regional conference in Africa. In 2017, the Meeting in Malawi, 2018 in Uganda and 2019 took place in Kenya. “WCF Interview selected will Meet Ghana for this horrible, hate-filled, because they have realized that in Ghana, the acceptance for the LGBT community grows,” says the star in the DW. Thus, 62 percent of Ghanaians in 2017, would have stated in a study that Gay and TRANS person should have the same rights as Heterosexuals. The police would step up the fight against the numerous acts of violence against homosexuals. “And you want to fight.”

Mac-Iyalla annoys the. “We have here in West Africa our own problems, to daily Survival, and need to be sure not a Western organization, which appears here to make us even more problems.”

Imperialism of the West?

The world Congress, said, however, that he was the one fighting against an imperialist Export of Western values. Homosexuality is part of it from his point of view. The irony is that WCF is a project of the US-based “International organization for the family”, financed with funds from Russia and Evangelical groups from the USA.

Human rights activists accused the WCF, that you try, Africa, Western gender ideas and policies impose. Theresa Okafor, the African regional Director of the WCF, for example, claims that this was part of a “sinister Agenda for the reduction, depopulation and control of Africa”. Western countries tried to bring faithful Christians, through a collaboration with Boko Haram to “Silence”. Interview requests from the DW to the WCF remained unanswered.

Prevention is one of the themes of the WCF rejects

“Homophobia and abortion opponents are everywhere in Africa, this is nothing new,” said Neela Ghoshal from human rights organization “Human Rights Watch” (HRW). “Everyone who is born in Africa, grew up with the social norms, the African societies have been imposed by the colonization, and which they have accepted.”

Because many of the laws that prohibit homosexuality, stemming from the colonial powers. Activists such as Davis Mac-Iyalla to say that same-sex love had been tolerated before the Colonial Era: “I sometimes have the feeling that we don’t know our own history. Prior to colonization there were no laws against homosexuals and abortion, as it was called: live and let live.”

However, the strategy of the WCF seems to work: In cooperation with the “Foundation for African Cultural Heritage” managed to prevent the sex education in Nigerian schools. Chews WCF regional head of Okafor paved their organization’s 2012 LGBT the way for Nigeria’s Anti-and Anti-abortion laws, including a law that criminalizes same-sex marriage.

Sex education to discredit

This was also the goal in Ghana, as star. “Here is a Comprehensive program was introduced to sex education (CSE): on contraception, HIV and a healthy sex life. And the religious right in Ghana is trying to discredit this program, by saying it promotes homosexuality.” Therefore, a conference like the WCF in a country such as Ghana was “immensely dangerous,” says Stern.

In addition, the influence to the whole of Africa. “The countries affect each other. If Ghana would again conservative, would have also influence on the African Union and the United Nations,” says the star. But Ghoshal believes that the WCF will be in spite of everything against a strong wind in Africa.

Against the wind in Africa

“LGBT groups in Africa are trying to get allies on Board, such as women’s rights organisations, to demonstrate to the population, what is the discrimination they experience,” says Ghoshal. An important part of the unceasing enlightenment of the population. “Municipalities need to understand that these problems affect real people.”

In Ghana, the work would begin as soon as the WCF conference is over, stresses Mac-Iyalla. “Next year is an election year in Ghana and we do not organise protests to ensure that this Agenda is part of our policy. We will oppose this message of Hate, the true strength of the African spirit: compassion and care for each other. “