KEY POINTS
- Law decriminalizing homosexuality in Angola takes effect from February 10th.
- Angolan parliament passed bill to decriminalize homosexuality in 2019.
- Angola joins only a handful of African countries where same-sex relations are allowed.
Homosexual people are having the last laugh in Angola after a law decriminalizing same-sex relations takes effect.
Same-sex relations became legal in Angola as from Wednesday February 10th 2021. The new overturned a colonial-era “vice against nature” provision that was seen as a ban on homosexual relations.
Angolan lawmakers first passed the same-sex relations bill in parliament in January 2019. The country’s president Joao Lourenco signed the bill into law in November 2020, and it went into effect on February 10th 2021.
Angola’s change of attitude towards homosexuality came after the country reviewed its penal code that it inherited from Portuguese colonial masters.
The southern Africa country had until February 10th 2021 operated on a colonial-era rule that encouraged discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) people.
Angolan lawmakers amended the law that had been a remnant of the colonial-era rule to end discrimination against homosexual people.
Apart from just allowing same-sex relations in Angola, the new law also prohibits discrimination based upon a person’s sexual orientation.
Angola joins only a handful of African countries that have decriminalizing same-sex relations. Homosexuality still remains taboo topic in most African countries.
Of the 72 countries worldwide that criminalize homosexuality, 32 of them are in Africa, where punishments range from imprisonment to the death penalty in countries such as Mauritania and Sudan.
Death penalty for homosexuality
Mauritania, Sudan, Northern Nigeria, Southern Somalia
Homosexuality is illegal
Algeria, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Homosexuality is legal
Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, South Africa.
Angola’s move to legalize homosexuality comes only days after US President Joe Biden announced move to compel countries across the world to enact laws that accommodate rights of homosexuals.
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