According to theHuman Rights Watch, in some countries whilst homosexuality itself is not illegal, there are discriminatory laws specifically targeting homosexual acts.[5] In former British colonies, including Kenya andNigeria, laws criminalising homosexuality are typically traceable to the colonial era.[6] In states where homosexualityis legal, there is often little to no discrimination protection for homosexuals in areas such as employment.[7]
In November 2006,South Africa became the first country in Africa and the fifth country in the world to legalisesame-sex marriage. In May 2023, theSupreme Court of Namibia ruled foreign same-sex marriages must be recognised equally to heterosexual marriages.[10] Spanish, Portuguese, British, and French overseas territories in Africa have legalised same-sex marriage.[11][12]
LGBTQanti-discrimination laws exist in eleven African countries: Angola, Botswana, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, and South Africa. Botswana, Mauritius, and South Africa are the only countries in Africa in which discrimination against the LGBTQ community isconstitutionally illegal. In other countries, there are limited discrimination protections.
Travel advisories encourage gay and lesbian travelers to use discretion in much of the continent to ensure their safety. This includes avoiding public displays of affection (although this can often apply to both homosexual and heterosexual couples).[13]
In a 2011UN General Assembly declaration for LGBTQ rights, nation states were given a chance to express their support, opposition, or abstention on the topic. Only Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Gabon,Guinea-Bissau, Mauritius, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, and South Africa expressed their support.[14] A majority of African countries expressed their opposition. State parties that expressed abstention were Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso,Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea,Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia,Republic of the Congo, andZambia.[14]
In 2006, South Africa became the first country in Africa and the fifth in the world to legalise same-sex marriage. There are large LGBTQ communities in South Africa's urban areas, includingJohannesburg,Cape Town,Durban,Pretoria,Port Elizabeth,East London,Bloemfontein,Nelspruit,Pietermaritzburg,Kimberley, andGeorge. South Africa's three largest cities, Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town, are frequently promoted as tourist destinations for LGBTQ people. However social discrimination against LGBTQ people in South Africa does still occur, especially in rural areas where it is fueled by a number of religious figures and traditions.
In 2010, acisgender man, Steven Monjeza Soko, and a transgender woman, Tiwonge Chimbalanga Kachepa, were arrested by theMalawi police and charged following their engagement ceremony, despite no evidence of the two having sex. The court denied bail, sentencing both Soko and Kachepa to prison.
Nicholas Hersh reports that LGBTQ asylum-seekers and refugees in Morocco often fear for their lives. Queer Moroccan Refugees have been subject to social discrimination and violence, including rape and imprisonment. Queer Moroccan Refugees who have been outed in their communities may experience poverty, frequently turning to sex work in exchange for housing.
In recent years, although many countries have made progress with decriminalization, some countries in which homosexuality is illegal have introduced harsher penalties. In addition to criminalizing homosexuality, Nigeria has recently enacted legislation prohibiting the support of LGBTQ rights. According to Nigerian law, a heterosexual ally "who administers, witnesses, abets or aids" any form of gender non-conforming and homosexual activity could receive a ten-year jail sentence.[16] Uganda'sAnti-Homosexuality Act of 2023, which permits the use ofcapital punishment for certain types of consensual same-sex activities, has also garnered significant international attention.[17]
Burundi became the first country in the 21st century to criminalize sodomy in 2009, followed byChad in 2017,Mali in 2024, andBurkina Faso in 2025. Previously, these countries never had any laws against consensual same-sex activity. Conversely, some African states have abolished sodomy laws in the 21st century.Cape Verde in 2004,Lesotho andSão Tomé and Príncipe in 2012,Mozambique in 2015,Seychelles in 2016,Botswana in 2019,Angola in 2021,Mauritius in 2023, andNamibia in 2024. Legalization is proposed in some African states likeEswatini,Ghana,Kenya,Liberia,Malawi,Togo,Zambia andZimbabwe.Gabon passed a law criminalizing sodomy in 2019, but reversed its decision in 2020, when it decriminalized homosexuality.[18][19]
Since 2011, some developed countries have implemented, or considered implementing, laws limiting or prohibiting general budget support to countries that restrict the rights of LGBTQ people.[20] Rather than fueling the granting of greater LGBTQ rights, in some areas, this has exacerbated homophobic sentiments.[21][22] Past African leaders such as Zimbabwe'sRobert Mugabe and Uganda'sYoweri Museveni have claimed that homosexuality is an "un-African" import from Europe.[23] However, most scholarship and research demonstrate that homosexuality has long been a part of various African cultures.[24][25][26][27]
Ancient Egypt had documented third gender categories, including for eunuchs.[28] In theTale of Two Brothers (from 3,200 years ago), Bata removes his penis and tells his wife "I am a woman just like you"; one modern scholar called him temporarily (before his body is restored) "transgendered".[28][29][30]
Ancient Egyptian attitudes towards towards homosexuality remain unclear. There are no records condemning or penalising homosexuality, but documents that make reference to sexuality do not clearly reference specific sexual acts. Thus, a simple evaluation remains problematic.[31][32]
Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum depicted nose to nose and embracing in their tomb
The best-known case of possible homosexuality in ancient Egypt is that of the two high officialsNiankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. Both men lived and served underPharaohNiuserre during the5th Dynasty (c. 2494–2345 BC).[31] Both Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep had wives and children, but were buried together in onemastaba tomb. In this mastaba, several paintings depict the men embracing andtouching the tips of their noses together. In ancient Egypt, this gesture typically represented a kiss.[31] There has been much disagreement between Egyptologists and historians over how these paintings should be interpreted. Some scholars believe that the paintings reflect a same-sex relationship between two married men, suggesting the ancient Egyptians were accepting of homosexuality.[33] Other scholars interpret the scenes as evidence that Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep weretwins, possiblyconjoined twins.[31]
The RomanEmperor Constantine in the 4th century AD is said to have exterminated a large number of "effeminate priests" based inAlexandria.[24]
There is well-documented evidence of homosexuality inNorthern Africa - particularly from the period ofMamluk rule.Arabic poetry emerging from cosmopolitan regions describes the pleasures ofpederastic relationships, including accounts of Christian boys sent fromEurope to becomesex workers in Egypt. InCairo, cross-dressing men calledkhawal would entertain audiences with song and dance - a tradition thought to be of pre-Islamic origin).[24]
Accounts of early twentieth-century travellers, frequently include accounts of homosexuality in theSiwa Oasis in Egypt. Group of warriors in the region were known to pay reverse dowries to younger men, a practice later outlawed in the 1940s.[24]
British anthropologistSiegfried Frederick Nadel wrote about theNuba tribes inSudan in the late 1930s.[34] He noted traditional roles amongst theOtoro Nuba where male-assigned people would dress and live as women and marry men. Similar gender roles exist amongst theMoru,Nyima,Krongo,Mesakin andTira people.[35][36][37] In the Korongo and Mesakin tribes, Nadel also reported a common reluctance amongst men to abandon the pleasures of all-male camp life for the fetters of permanent settlement.
In pre-colonial East Africa, male-assigned priests (calledmugawe among theMeru andKikuyu) would dress and style their hair like women and marry men.[39][page needed][39][37] A similar role has historically existed within the Swahili-speakingMashoga - with some male-assigned people taking on women's names and traditional gender roles.[24]
Among theNuer people (in what is now South Sudan and Ethiopia), widows who bore no children would sometimes adopt male statuses and marry women (a practice which has been viewed astransgender or homosexual);[37][40][41] the Nuer also have a traditional male-to-female role.[35] TheMaale people ofEthiopia have a traditional role for male-assignedashtime who take on feminine roles; traditionally, they served as sexual partners for the king on days he was ritually barred from sex with women.[42]The Life and Struggles of Our Mother Wälättä P̣eṭros (1672) makes the first reference to homosexuality between nuns inEthiopian literature.[43][44] TheAmhara people have historically stigmatized men who adopted feminine dress.[45][46]
Among theBaganda, Uganda's largest ethnic group, homosexuality has traditionally been treated with indifference. TheLuganda termabasiyazi refers to homosexuals, though usage nowadays is typically considered pejorative. Among theLango people,mudoko dako individuals made up a third gender category.[47][48] Homosexuality was also acknowledged among theTeso,Bahima,Banyoro, andKaramojong peoples.[49] Societal acceptance of LGBT+ people in Uganda declined following the arrival of the British and the creation of theProtectorate of Uganda in 1894.[50][51][52]
Not unlike neighbouring Uganda, male homosexual relations were acknowledged and tolerated in precolonial Kenyan society. SwedishanthropologistFelix Bryk has noted active (i.e. penetrative) male homosexuality and "homo-erotic bachelors" among the pastoralistNandi andMaragoli (Wanga) people. Crossdressing has also been historically practiced by the Nandi as well as theMaasai during initiation ceremonies.
TheDagaaba people, inBurkina Faso, have a traditional of viewing homosexual men as possessing the ability to mediate between the spirit and human worlds.[53][54] Further, they treat(ed) gender as determined by the energy of a person rather than their anatomy.[55][56]
Writing in the 19th century in an area roughly adjacent to southwesternZimbabwe,David Livingstone asserted that the monopolisation of women by elderly chiefs was primarily responsible for the "immorality" practised by younger men.[57] Edwin W. Smith and A. Murray Dale described oneIla-speaking man who dressed as a woman, did women's work, and lived and slept among, but not with, women. They translated the Ila labelmwaami as "prophet" and noted that pederasty was not rare, "but was considered dangerous because of the risk that the boy will become pregnant".[58]
Marc Epprecht's review of 250 court cases from 1892 to 1923 found cases of various cases of alleged homosexuality spanning the period. Five 1892 cases involved exclusively black Africans. A defense offered was that "sodomy" was a part of local "custom". In one case a chief was summoned to testify about customary penalties and reported that the penalty was a fine of one cow, which was less than the penalty for adultery. Across the period, Epprecht found the balance of black and white defendants proportional to that in the population. He notes, however, that consensual relations in private did not necessarily provoke notice by the courts. Some cases were brought by partners who had been dropped or who had not received promised compensation by their former sexual partner. Although the norm was for the younger male to lie supine and not show any enjoyment, let alone expect any sexual mutuality, Epprecht found a case in which a pair of black males had stopped their sexual relationship out of fear of pregnancy, but one wanted to resume taking turns penetrating each other.[58]
Demone discusses the prominence of anti-LGBT sentiment in Malawi. British Colonial rule implemented laws criminalising the practice, which has influenced subsequent government policies. Malawi gained its independence from Britain in 1964, and has retained and enforced colonial anti-homosexuality laws ever since.[59]
In Malawi prisons, there is documented homosexual behavior.[60]
During the 1980s and early 1990s,President Hasting Kamuzu Banda ignored the massive rise of HIV/AIDS. From the late 1990s and early 2000s, although greater education of the virus was promoted, it is still negatively associated with homosexuality.
De facto illegal for males since 31 July 1883 (as theKhedivate of Egypt within theSublime Ottoman State) and for females since 22 March 1961 (as the Southern Region of theUnited Arab Republic) Penalty: Up to 17 years imprisonment with or without hard labour and with or without fines under broadly-written morality laws.[73][74]
Illegal since 9 July 1983 Penalty (de jure): Execution for men, (not enforced, undermoratorium), up to 2 years in prison and fines for women (de facto): up to 2 years in prison and a fine.[97][118]
Male illegal since 1 November 1861 (as theSierra Leone Colony and Protectorate) Penalty: Up to life imprisonment (not enforced, repeal disputed). Female always legal + UN decl. sign.[64]
Male illegal since 1 April 1902 (as theProtectorate of Uganda) Female illegal since 8 December 2000 Penalty: Up to life imprisonment. Capital punishment for "aggravated homosexuality" (not enforced).[154][155]
LGBTQ activists atCologne Pride carrying a banner with the flags of the then-72 countries withlaws against homosexuality. Some of the African countries shown are Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Algeria, Sudan, Mauritania (uses the pre-2017 flag)
The presidencies ofRobert Mugabe between 1987 and 2017 were characterised by uncompromising hostility toLGBTQ rights in Zimbabwe. In September 1995, Zimbabwe's parliament introduced legislation banning homosexual acts.[188] In 1997, a court foundCanaan Banana, Mugabe's predecessor and the first President of Zimbabwe, guilty of 11 counts ofsodomy and indecent assault.[189] Mugabe has previously referred to LGBTQ people as "worse than dogs and pigs".[190]
In theGambia, PresidentYahya Jammeh (between 1996 and 2019), called for anti-gay legislation "stricter thanthose in Iran", declaring he would "cut off the head" of any gay or lesbian person discovered in the country.[191] In a speech given in Tallinding, Jammeh gave a "final ultimatum" to any gays or lesbians in the Gambia to leave the country.[191] In a speech to the United Nations on 27 September 2013, Jammeh said that "[h]omosexuality in all its forms and manifestations which, though very evil, antihuman as well as anti-Allah, is being promoted as a human right by some powers", and that those who do so "want to put an end to human existence".[192] In 2014, Jammeh called homosexuals "vermins" that must be fought "in the same way we are fighting malaria-causing mosquitoes, if not more aggressively". He went on to declare: "As far as I am concerned, LGBT can only stand forLeprosy,Gonorrhoea,Bacteria andTuberculosis; all of which are detrimental to human existence".[193][194] In 2015, followingWestern criticism, Jammeh intensified his anti-gay rhetoric, telling a crowd during an agricultural tour: "If you do it [in the Gambia] I will slit your throat—if you are a man and want to marry another man in this country and we catch you, no one will ever set eyes on you again, and no white person can do anything about it."[195]
In Uganda, recent efforts against LGBTQ+ rights culminated in theAnti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 on March 22, 2023, making it illegal allowing to identify as LGBTQ, punishable by life in prison, and allowing the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality".[196][197][198][199] The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and theEuropean Union, as well as several local and international NGOs have condemned the act. However, it was sponsored by American Pentecostal communities in Uganda, who have a strong base in the country, and have supported previous anti-gay legislation passed in 2014.[200][201][202] British newspaperThe Guardian reported that PresidentYoweri Museveni "appeared to add his backing" to the 2023 legislative effort by, among other things, claiming "European homosexuals are recruiting in Africa", and describing gay relationships as against God's will.[203] In a 2014 interview withCNN, Museveni described homosexuals as "disgusting" and "unnatural", although he stated he would ignore them if it was proven that "[he] is born that way". He further said that he had appointed a group of scientists in Uganda to determine if homosexuality was a learned orientation. This led to widespread criticism from the scientific community, with an academic of theNational Institutes of Health calling on his Ugandan counterparts to reconsider their findings.[204]
In Ethiopia, where same-sex activity is criminalised with up to fifteen years of life imprisonment under the Penal Code Article 629, theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church plays a significant role in maintaining anti-gay attitudes, with some members forming anti-gay movements. One of these movements is "Zim Anlem" founded by Dereje Negash, who is strongly affiliated with the national Church.Abune Paulos, the latePatriarch of the Church, has stated that homosexuality is an animal-like behaviour that must be punished.[205][206]
In much of north Africa, Islam has played a significant role in informing socially conservative attitudes hostile to queer rights. Despite not finding punishment for homosexual acts prescribed in the Quran, regarding the hadith that mentioned it as poorly attested, Egyptian Islamist journalistMuhammad Jalal Kishk personally disapproved of homosexual acts. However, he believed that Muslims who abstained from sodomy would be rewarded by sex with youthful boys in paradise.[207] By contrast, in 2017, the Egyptian cleric, SheikhYusuf al-Qaradawi (who has served as chairman of theEuropean Council for Fatwa and Research) was asked how gay people should be punished. He replied that "there is disagreement", but "the important thing is to treat this act as a crime".[208]
In Morocco, the organisationKif-Kif advocates for queer rights, publishing the monthly Mithly magazine inSpain.[209] Despite lacking legal recognition, it has been unofficially authorised to organise specific educational seminars.[210]
^abBecause some polls do not report 'neither', those that do are listed with simple yes/no percentages in parentheses, so their figures can be compared.
^Comprises: Neutral; Don't know; No answer; Other; Refused.
^Daron Tan; Lucas Ramon Mendos; Kellyn Botha; Rafael Carrano Lelis; Enrique López de la Peña; Ilia Savelev (14 December 2020).State-Sponsored Homophobia report(PDF) (Report) (2020 global legislation overview update ed.). Geneva: ILGA. p. 15. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 15 December 2020.
^"African Anti-Gay Laws". Laprogressive.com. 20 February 2014.Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved24 February 2015.
^Dreier, Sarah K.; Long, James D.; Winkler, Stephen J. (June 2020). "African, Religious, and Tolerant? How Religious Diversity Shapes Attitudes Toward Sexual Minorities in Africa".Politics and Religion.13 (2):273–303.doi:10.1017/S1755048319000348.
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^Emma Brunner-Traut:Altägyptische Märchen. Mythen und andere volkstümliche Erzählungen. 10th Edition. Diederichs, Munich 1991,ISBN3-424-01011-1, pp. 178–179.
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^abcConner, Randy P.; Sparks, David Hatfield (2004).Queering creole spiritual traditions: lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender participation in African-inspired traditions in the Americas. New York. pp. 34–38.ISBN978-1-317-71281-7.OCLC876592467.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^abNeedham, Rodney; Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1978).Right & left : essays on dual symbolic classification. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.ISBN0-226-56996-9.OCLC9336355.
^Broude, Gwen J. (1994).Marriage, family, and relationships: a cross-cultural encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif.:ABC-CLIO. p. 317.ISBN0-87436-736-0.OCLC31329240.
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^abWill Roscoe and Stephen O. Murray(Author, Editor,Boy-wives and Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities, 2001
^Maxwell Akalaare Adombila (9 May 2024)."Ghana's top court postpones hearing on challenge to anti-LGBTQ bill".Reuters. Additional reporting: Karin Strohecker.Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo... adjourn[ing the] first... hearing on the challenges without setting a new date further delays any resolution on a bill that, if signed into law...
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South Africa
Kenya
Ivory Coast
Nigeria
Uganda
Tanzania
Egypt
Ghana
Senegal
Ethiopia
Mali
Mozambique (3 cities)
Cape Verde
Mauritius
Namibia
São Tomé and Príncipe
Botswana
Tunisia
Lesotho
Benin
Gabon
Morocco
Eswatini
Sudan
Togo
Madagascar
Zimbabwe
Cameroon
Niger
Burkina Faso
Sierra Leone
Guinea
Malawi
Liberia
Zambia
Gambia
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