Ghanaian media personality and versatile musical artist, Deborah Vanessa, affectionately known as Sister Derby, has taken to her Twitter page to deliver a biting critique of the recent passage of the LGBTQ+ bill by members of parliament.
In her characteristically witty style, Sister Derby raised questions about the relevance of the bill in the lives of ordinary Ghanaians, implying that there are far more pressing matters deserving of attention within the country.
With a touch of irony, she humorously listed a gamut of urgent issues including road infrastructure, healthcare, education, access to clean water, environmental degradation, unemployment, and societal challenges, facetiously insinuating that the passage of the contentious bill would miraculously resolve these pressing concerns.
In a tongue-in-cheek manner, she tweeted, "the passage of the bill will fix the roads, build hospitals and schools, ensure that there’s potable water in every community, clean all the polluted rivers, stop Galamsey, provide jobs for the youth, solve the plastic pollution menace, take the kids off the streets and also solve the issue of power outages lmao."
Parliament recently ratified the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, colloquially known as the anti-LGBTQ bill, following a three-year journey since its introduction.
During Wednesday's session, Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin proposed amendments to the bill at the second consideration stage, citing concerns over human rights violations. However, his overtures were rebuffed by the Minority, prompting the Speaker to advance to the third consideration stage.
Speaker Alban Bagbin subjected the bill to a voice vote, with the majority carrying the decision.
As it stands, the bill now awaits the President's signature to officially become law.
The Anti-LGBTQ+ bill aims to criminalize LGBTQ+ activities in Ghana, proposing stringent penalties, including incarceration, for individuals involved in such activities as well as LGBTQ+ advocacy. Additionally, it seeks to prohibit the promotion of LGBTQ+ rights, organizations, and events within the country.
Prior to its passage, there were several amendments made to the bill. Parliament eventually decided to establish a minimum custodial sentence of three years, with a maximum of five years for promoters and sympathizers. Additionally, individuals directly engaging in these activities will face a minimum sentence of six months, extendable to a maximum of three years.
Ghana finds itself among numerous African nations endeavoring to eradicate LGBTQ+ activities from society. Uganda notably enacted one of the world's most severe anti-gay laws in May, imposing the death penalty for certain same-sex acts.
Subsequently, the country faced sanctions from the international community, with the U.S. imposing visa restrictions on Ugandan officials and the World Bank halting new lending to the country.
The concern now looms over whether Ghana could face similar sanctions and be deprived of financial aid from countries that uphold LGBTQ+ rights. However, parliamentarians have expressed confidence in Ghana's resilience against any backlash from pro-LGBTQ+ nations.
Already, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has denounced the passage of the bill as "profoundly disturbing," calling on the Ghanaian government to ensure that everyone can live free from violence, stigma, and discrimination, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity. He emphasized that consensual same-sex conduct should never be criminalized.
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