10. The Struggles for Queer Rights in Africa: Examining the Role of Law and Politics in Shaping the LGBTQ+ Discourses across Africa

This panel aims to discuss law and politics regarding queer Africans. In 2023, Uganda was at the centre of international mediatic concern as the Parliament of the country voted and approved a new bill criminalising homosexuality and queer identities, almost ten years after the first bill, in 2014 (CNN, 2023). Several countries adopted similar legislation in the mid-2010s, namely Nigeria and The Gambia, and many others are now discussing new ways of criminalising what’s perceived as deviant sexualities and queer identities. In a comparative study between Uganda and Nigeria, Amusan, Saka and Adekeye (2019) found that the anti-homosexuality legislation in both countries instilled conservative and religious politics. Similarly, an early study by Rita Schäfer & Eva Range (2014) demonstrated the politicization of homosexuality in some countries (including Uganda). Recent studies still corroborate the same findings and underline an aggravating situation for LGBTIQ people across Africa (Nkom et al, 2023). In this legal and social context, the fundamental rights of LGBTIQ people are at the very edge, as some countries simply deny access to basic rights to people suspected of being homosexual (Matebeni, 2021). The response of the international community to these movements must be driven with caution, as it may be perceived as imperialism and external interference (Brown, 2023). But Africa is not a single piece in this chess. Other countries are tracking a very different path, repelling colonial legislation and adopting more protective legislation. It’s the case of South Africa (Christiansen, 2019), Botswana (Lekgowe, 2023), and Angola (Garrido, 2019). Despite Southern Africans demonstrating better records over sexual orientation, changing the law is only part of the path to equality and dignity.
Having this backdrop, this panel poses the following questions: What place for queer people in African societies? How can the law be a useful tool for the inclusiveness of queer people? Can African laws possibly be queer? And how can social movements use law and politics to dialogue and uphold diversity, respect and dignity? We welcome papers that discuss the queer in Africa from legal and political perspectives.