Senegal President Signs Tough New Anti-LGBT Law Doubling Jail Terms

Screenshot from this BBC article. | Senegal has experienced a surge in anti-LGBT sentiment in recent months | EPA
BBC: Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has signed a new law doubling to 10 years the maximum prison term for sexual acts by same-sex couples.

The new law also criminalises the "promotion" of homosexuality, which includes any public representation and financial support by individuals or organisations, and provides for three to seven years in prison for those found guilty.

The legislation was a campaign promise of President Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and was approved by parliament last month.

UN rights chief Volker Türk has described it as "deeply worrying", saying that the anti-LGBT legislation "flies in the face of sacrosanct human rights".

The UN official and rights groups had urged the president not to sign it into law, but the government dismissed the international criticism, arguing that the measures reflected the views of Senegalese people.

It was taken to parliament after a wave of arrests over alleged same sex relationships, which were already banned under Senegalese law. » | Nicolas Negoce and Basillioh Rukanga | Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Senegal Rejects Obama's Push for Gay Rights

VOICE OF AMERICA: DAKAR — During President Obama’s visit to Dakar, he and Senegalese President Macky Sall were asked about Senegal's treatment of homosexuals. The U.S. Supreme Court handed down two rulings this week that expanded the rights of gays in the United States to get married. President Obama said his message for Africa is that everyone should be treated equally by the law, while President Sall said Senegal is "not ready" to de-criminalize homosexuality.

Front-page headlines in Senegal's Friday morning papers said it all.

One read, "Macky Resists Light Pressure from Obama and clashes with the USA," and another: "Obama Makes the Case For Gays, Macky Says No!"

In Dakar, many Senegalese said they agree with their president.

"Homosexuality is not part of our culture and we are not ready to accept it." Mareme Diop said. "Maybe the West accepts it, but we think it is wrong."

Many invoked religion. "As Muslims, we cannot accept homosexuality." Moussa Gueye said, "this is a secular country, but it is also 95 percent Muslim." » | Anne Look | Friday, June 28, 2013

Obama Urges Gay Rights in Africa during Trip to Senegal
BBC: US President Barack Obama has called on African governments to give gay people equal rights by decriminalising homosexual acts.

Mr Obama made the comments in Senegal after meeting President Macky Sall on the first leg of his African tour.

Mr Sall said Senegal was a "very tolerant" country but it was "not ready to decriminalise homosexuality".

Homosexual acts are still a crime in 38 African countries, where most people hold conservative religious views.

In 2011, the US and UK hinted that they could withdraw aid from countries which did not respect gay rights. (+ video) » | Thursday, June 27, 2013

Dakar from Africa's Gay Capital to Centre of Homophobia
afrol NEWS: In colonial times, Senegal's metropolis Dakar was famous for its open and tolerated homosexual prostitution market, and as late as in the 1970s, as many as 17 percent of Senegalese men admitted having had homosexual experiences. Now, Dakar is West Africa's centre of gay oppression.

The government of Senegal has made it clear that homosexuality is un-African. Since 1965, same-sex activity has been punishable by up to five years imprisonment, but only during the last five years, Dakar's former visible gay community has had to go underground, risking punishment.



Dakar's gay history is the best example demonstrating that homosexuality is not un-African. Indeed, homosexuality has been a visible and well-known part of Wolof traditions, and only moralist opinions of the colonialists, later adopted by an increasingly dominant Muslim clergy, led to the suppression of this culture. >>> Staff Writers, afrol News | Friday, June 11, 2010

Senegal: Renaissance or Hubris?

Muslim Nations: Defame Islam, Get Sued?
EXAMINER: DAKAR, Senegal - The Muslim world has created a battle plan to defend its religion from political cartoonists and bigots.

Concerned about what they see as a rise in the defamation of Islam, leaders of the world's Muslim nations are considering taking legal action against those that slight their religion or its sacred symbols. It was a key issue during a two-day summit that ended Friday in this western Africa capital.

The Muslim leaders are attempting to demand redress from nations like Denmark, which allowed the publication of cartoons portraying the Prophet Muhammad in 2006 and again last month, to the fury of the Muslim world.

Though the legal measures being considered have not been spelled out, the idea pits many Muslims against principles of freedom of speech enshrined in the constitutions of numerous Western governments. Muslims Nations: Defame Islam, Get Sued? >>>

ORGANISATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE:
Ten-Year Programme of Action to Meet the Challenges Facing the Muslim Ummah in the 21st Century

Hat tip: Always On Watch

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