ACCRA — Traditional healer Naa Busuafi used to feel empowered when leaving tribal ceremonies held on the outskirts of Accra, proud to be living out practices that colonists sought to eradicate.
But that pride has been replaced by fear and dread as a government bill intended to stamp out homosexuality has contributed to a violent backlash against LGBTQ+ people.
Ghana's proposed law would jail those promoting same-sex relations for up to a decade, coerce jail time or force what is referred to as conversion therapy for those caught having gay sex. It also would ban certain medical treatments such as hormone therapy."Are you trying to say that our culture is a sin, that our tradition is a sin?" asked Busuafi, who uses the pronoun"they.
Some in the country reject the label of LGBTQ+, saying it's a Western phrase that sounds alien to Ghanaians. Instead, some who would call themselves"gay" in the West identify in Ghana as"sasso," a term that relates to effeminate men."Kojo besia" is another similar label. University of Ghana journalism professor Audrey Gadzekpo, however, disputes that LGBTQ+ people were not a historical part of Ghana, given that British colonizers saw a need to ban homosexual acts.
For now, the challenge they face is often from other traditional people, and it's changing how they live and work. "That has not been sufficiently documented, and I think it's because there has been a systemic attempt to erase that in scholarship," said Adera, who has studied theology for a decade.Adera runs an interfaith church called the Cosmopolitan Affirming Community, whose ceremonies try to incorporate traditional chants and the cultural importance of nature in different tribes.
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