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| English: The Bisexual flag and Gay flag put together (Alphabetical order, "Bisexual" before "Homosexual".) with heterosexual symbol over it. It is for straight people who very proudly support gay, lesbian, and bisexual rights and issues. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Lawmakers in
a tiny West African Republic, The Gambian on April 16, 2013 adopted a new law
that criminalizes male prostitution, cross-dressing and the singing abusive
songs in public.
The law reads: “Any male person who dresses or is attired in the
fashion of a woman in a public place or who practices sodomy as a means of
livelihood or as a profession shall be punished with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to five years or with a fine of D20, 000 or with both.”
The
amendments to the Criminal Code Act also criminalize “being irritating in
public” and “refusing to maintain” oneself.
The
country’s Justice Minister Lamin Jobarteh, who brought the amendments of the
Criminal Code to the National Assembly, claims the move reflects “current
sociopolitical realities”.
The Gambia’s
ruling-party dominated National Assembly endorsed the law which the President,
Yahya Jammeh is expected to assent to.
Also on April 16, 2013,
the National Assembly amended Section 114 of the Criminal Code that empowers
courts to impose a jail term of five years or a fine of D50, 000 (about USD1,
650) on convicts of false information.
The law previously
allowed a jail term of not more than six months or a fine of D500 (about USD17)
or both.
Homosexuals
not welcomed
Last month,
the tiny West African country’s leader declared that “homosexuals are not
welcome in The Gambia”.
“If you are
a homosexual in the Gambia, you better hibernate or risked being beheaded and
buried six feet deep. Homosexuality is anti-humanity. I have never seen
homosexual chicken, or turkey,” Yahya Jammeh said.
He added:
“If you are convicted of homosexuality in this country, there will be no mercy
for offenders.
“We will put
you in the female wing of the prison. We want the population to grow. There
will be children in this country. Homosexuality is anti-god, anti-human, and
anti-civilization. Homosexuals are not welcome in the Gambia.”
“If we catch
you, you will regret why you are born. I have buffalos from South Africa and
Brazil and they never date each other. We are ready to eat grass but we will
not compromise on this. Allowing homosexuality means allowing satanic rights.
We will not allow gays here,” Jammeh warns.
In January
2013, the Gambian leader pulled out of talks with the European Union on
political reforms. Some of EU recommendations include the providing greater
press freedom, free expression, reopening of closed media houses, and
refraining from prosecuting persons on the basis of their sexuality.
Written by Modou S. Joof
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