|
Ghana's secret gay
community 18 July 2007- Ghana- "We
have to hide ourselves if even walking in the afternoon, someone can
throw stones at you," he said.
Few in Ghana are willing to take the political risk of
advocating tolerance, said Gabby Otchere-Darko, the editor of Ghana’s
Statesman paper. "Even those who control the media are not willing to be
tolerant to views that are sympathetic to homosexuality. That is the
biggest problem," he said. "We need to accept there are certain things
there is no point in policing."
Ghanaian laws prohibit unnatural carnal acts - a
definition which is widely understood to include homosexuality although
in practice, few have been prosecuted for homosexual acts.
Secret sexuality
But in this environment, it is little surprise that
some choose to keep their sexuality secret, sometimes even from their
closest relatives.
Rose, 26, has yet to tell her mother she is gay and
does not want her family name to be published. "My mum asks me if I
have boyfriends, I always lie to her and say yes," she said. For
others, their identity is quite simply something which should not be
hidden.
"I think they should accept who we are. Nobody came to
earth to learn gay life. We were born with it. It is not about having
sex. It is two men in love. They should look at that side of it," said
Joseph
|
