Legal regulation of non-heteronormative sexualities and genders in Mozambique: challenges and possibilities for promoting LGBTQI+ human rights

In 2015, Mozambique decriminalized consensual same-sex relations between adults by removing the colonial-era reference to "vice against nature" from its Penal Code. This move set Mozambique apart from other African nations like Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, where political leaders have continued to enforce or even strengthen colonial sodomy laws to persecute LGBTQI+ people. This paper examines the legal regulation of gender and sexuality in Mozambique from the colonial period to the present, with a specific focus on non-heteronormative identities. The discussion is framed within the broader context of legal changes related to sexual orientation and gender identity across southern Africa. A key focus is the unique trajectory of Mozambique, where the criminalization of "vice against nature" under Portuguese colonial rule did not lead to active law enforcement. Following political independence in 1975, Mozambique pursued a contradictory path. During the socialist period, amid civil war, moral crusades against prostitution and other “moral vices” coexisted with policies promoting women's empowerment, including the establishment of re-education camps. In recent decades, Mozambique has taken significant steps forward: in 2007, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the labor market was banned, and in 2015, same-sex relations were decriminalized. However, challenges remain. Same-sex marriage and civil unions were explicitly banned in the 1999 Family Law, and since 2008, the Frelimo administration has refused to recognize Lambda, an LGBTQI+ organization, as a legitimate civil society group. The Mozambican case offers valuable insights into the impact of colonial legacies on the legal regulation of gender and sexuality in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the challenges and opportunities facing LGBTQI+ activists working to promote legal change in non-Western contexts.