A colonial-era law that criminalizes sex between men could be on the chopping block in Namibia.
According to Reuters, a reform commission has advised the government to abolish the law.
Justice Minister Yvonne Dausab told Reuters that the law is “outdated and discriminatory.”
“The LGBTQI community are human beings and we must not allow them being excluded from the bouquet of rights enunciated in our constitution,” Dausab said.
“This sodomy law is outdated and discriminatory,” she continued. “All Namibians should enjoy life, dignity, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Dausab said that the cabinet is expected to review the recommendation at its next meeting.
Omar van Reenen, a co-founder of the Namibia Equal Rights Movement, an LGBT rights group, said that while the law rarely results in convictions, its existence is an attack on the LGBT community.
“The fact that the law even exists leaves gay men feeling stigmatized, ostracized, and marginalized,” he said.
“These laws were written by colonialists and imposed on the Namibian people … the whole narrative of homosexuality being a Western import is false; homophobia is the Western import,” he said.
Police arresting men suspected of having gay sex are allowed to use “deadly force” under the law.
Namibia won independence from South Africa in 1990.
by Carlos Santoscoy
Source – On Top Magazine
