Anti-LGBT surge in West Africa as Mali’s ruling council votes to make gay sex illegal
Military junta in neighboring Burkina Faso prepares for similar move.
The West African nation of Mali, which has been ruled by a military junta for more than three years, has voted for a new penal code that will outlaw homosexuality.
The nation’s ruling National Transitional Council adopted the measure by a nearly unanimous vote (131 in favor and 1 against) last week. The bill still needs approval from the country’s military leaders, according to Agence France-Presse.
This action likely is not the end of bad news for the region’s LGBT+ communities. The Transitional Legislative Assembly of neighboring Burkina-Faso, also run by a junta, is due to meet soon to decide on sanctions to be adopted to crack down on homosexuality on its soil.
An Oct. 31 post on X/Twitter by AES Info showed the Malian Minister of Justice, Mamadou Kassogue, declaring with a touch of satisfaction in front of the cameras that “there are now provisions prohibiting homosexuality in Mali, and that anyone engaging in this practice or promoting or condoning it will be prosecuted”. He spoke in the official language of Mali, Bamanankan.
The Malian junta has been preparing to criminalize homosexuality for more than two years.
The new penal code has not been published and details of the new measure have not yet been disclosed.
The announcement by the National Transition Council comes shortly before the American elections on Nov. 5, at a time when international diplomats have their eyes on Washington to learn whether major shifts in U.S. foreign policy will soon occur.
