LGBT rights in Tanzania
| LGBT rights in Tanzania | |
|---|---|
 Tanzania |
|
| Same-sex sexual activity legal? | Male illegal nationwide, female illegal only in Zanzibar[1] |
|
Penalty:
|
Male: 30 years to life imprisonment,[1] Zanzibar only: Male: 25 years imprisonment, Female: 7 years imprisonment or 700,000 shilling fine[1] |
| Gender identity/expression | – |
| Family rights | |
Homosexuality in Tanzania is socially a taboo topic and same-sex sexual acts are punished by the state.
According to the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project, an overwhelming majority of 95% of Tanzanian residents said that homosexuality should be rejected by society, making it among the highest rejection of homosexuality in the 44 countries surveyed.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Law regarding same-sex sexual activity
In Tanzania, sex acts between men are illegal, and carry a penalty of Life imprisonment. Sex acts between women are not mentioned in Tanzanian law, though the autonomous region of Zanzibar outlaws same-sex sexual acts for both men and women.
Penal Code Act 1945 (revised 1998)
- § 138A (sexually neutral)
“Any person who, in public or private commits, or is a party to the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any person of, any act of gross indecency with another person, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not less than one year and not exceeding five years or to a fine not less than one hundred thousand and not exceeding three hundred thousand shillings; save that where the offence is committed by a person of eighteen years of age or more in respect of any person under eighteen years of age, a pupil of a primary school or a student of secondary school the offender shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not less than ten years, with corporal punishment, and shall also be ordered to pay compensation of all amount determined by the court to the person in respect of whom the offence was committed for any injuries caused to that person.”
- § 154 (sexually neutral)
(1) Any person who- (a) has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature; or (b) has carnal knowledge of an animal; or (c) permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature, commits an offence, and is liable to imprisonment for life and in any case to imprisonment for a term of not less than thirty years. (2) where the offence, under subsection (1) of this section is committed to a child under the age of ten years the offender shall be sentenced to life imprisonment.
- § 157
“Any male person who, in public or private- (a) commits any act of gross indecency with another male, or (b) procures another male person to commit any act of gross indecency with him, or (c) attempts to procure a male to commit an indecent act to him, is guilty of an offence and may be sentenced to five years of imprisonment.”
Other: § 155 prohibits “attempts” to commit offence specified in § 154 [20 years]
[edit] Zanzibar
In Zanzibar, an autonomous island which is part of Tanzania, the law was changed in 2006 to clarify the legality of homosexual acts. While sodomy and "unnatural acts" were already illegal, the new law imposes a penalty of 25 years in prison for sex acts involving two males or seven years in prison for sex acts involving two women. A homosexual sex act with a minor carries a penalty of life in prison.[3]
The above needs to be clarified. Prior to 2006 amendment of the law, homosexual acts could have been punished up to death penalty. Effectively the previous law was an old British colonial law and due to the sensitivity of the topic the ruling party could not abrogate the said law but merely decided to reduce the sentence from death penalty to a maximum life jail term.
[edit] Recognition of same-sex relationships
Same-sex couples have no legal recognition.
[edit] Discrimination protections
There is no protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
[edit] Living conditions
Tanzania has a well organized gay community and the leader of this community is Rev. James Wandera Ouma a famous ativist and founding member of of WEZESHA an organization that is managed by LGBT to pomote and protect the rights of LGBT, www.wezeshatz.org. WEZESHA conducted a sturdy in early 2011 and learnt that there are more than 4 million LGBT in Tanzania but only 200,000 do come out. There are no gay bars, although there are places where gay men meet, and lesbians are even less visible than gay men.[4]
The traditional view of homosexuality assumes one man, the msenge, will play the role of a female (for money or because he is impotent, not because he wants to), while the basha, the dominant partner, is assumed to have relations with women as well as men. The msenge is more heavily stigmatized than the basha by Tanzanian tradition.[4]
Homophobia is very high and now LGBT people are afraid of walking on the streets, there are no user friendly hosipitals where LGBT can access treatment and there are not prevention measure taken by the government to prevent HIV infection among the LGBT community.
In 2003, over 300 Tanzanians protested against the arrival of a gay tour group.[4]
In 2004, several Islamic groups in Zanzibar began an effort to cleanse the nation of activities it considered sinful, including homosexuality, which resulted in changes in the law which imposed harsher penalties for homosexual sex acts.[5]
The U.S. Department of State's 2010 Human Rights Report found that “gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) persons faced societal discrimination, which restricted their access to healthcare, housing, and employment."[6]
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c Ottosson, Daniel (May 2008). "State-sponsored Homophobia: A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults". International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA). pp. Page 37–38. http://www.ilga.org/statehomophobia/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2008.pdf. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
- ^ http://pewglobal.org/reports/pdf/258.pdf
- ^ "Tanzania". Sodomy Laws. http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/tanzania/tanzania.htm. Retrieved 11 February 2007.
- ^ a b c "Lesbian and Gay Tanzania". gaytimes. http://www.gaytimes.co.uk/gt/listings.asp?action=ShowCountry&CID=932. Retrieved 12 February 2007.
- ^ Nyambura, Helen (8 November 2004). "Secrecy, Stones and Insults: The Gay Life on Zanzibar". Reuters. http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/tanzania/tznews014.htm. Retrieved 11 February 2007.
- ^ http://paei.state.gov/documents/organization/160147.pdf
