Now Reading
Bhutan drops its law against sodomy

Bhutan drops its law against sodomy

The tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan became the latest country to decriminalize gay sex as its Penal Code Amendment Act came into force on Feb. 17, 2021.


Stay up-to-date: Get a free subscription to Erasing 76 Crimes


Bhutan is located between India and China, east of Nepal. (Map courtesy of Refugee-net.org)

The process to remove the Penal Code’s Section 213 prohibiting “unnatural sex,” which was defined to include “sodomy”, began in 2019. The National Assembly, the lower house of the Bhutanese Parliament, passed a bill repealing that section, but the upper National Council reinserted it. A joint sitting of Parliament in December 2020 agreed on an amendment that maintained the prohibition on “unnatural sex” but clarified that “homosexuality between adults shall not be considered unnatural sex.”

The law then awaited signature by the Druk Gyalpo, the King of Bhutan. It came into force on Feb. 17.

See Also
Mahima Khatun and Rubina Khatun in custody. Their faces have been blurred for their safety. (Photo courtesy of JMBF)

With decriminalization in Bhutan, the total number of states that criminalize gay sex has dropped from 72 to 71 by this blog’s tally.

Related Stories:

View Comment (1)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

© 2022 ERASING 76CRIMES
Scroll To Top

Discover more from Erasing 76 Crimes

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading