Essay On Same-Sex Relations In Nigeria

One can consequently argue that one of the reasons for the repression of individuals who engage in same-sex relations in Africa is that of silencing same sex sexualities.

It has been revealed that in thirty-eight of the fifty-three African states, it is illegal to engage in consensual “gay” sex. Countries like Nigeria, Senegal, Malawi, and more recently Uganda have imposed the harshest of treatments against individuals find guilty of engaging in same-sex relations. The punishments used to discriminate against those who engage in same-sex relations in Africa largely come up from anti-sodomy laws left over from the colonial era, when colonial authorities were keen on regulating sexuality. These laws stay largely unchanged in postcolonial Africa

The People from Northern Nigeria are predominantly Muslims while the ones from southern Nigeria are mainly Christians. Irrespective of which part a Nigerian hails from, religion to a large extent, affects him orientationally, sociologically, culturally, spiritually and sometimes educationally. In other words, in Nigeria, Religion just as culture is seen as a way of life. Since the law makers are full-fledged Nigerians with various religious orientations, this section will therefore explore the judgements of Christianity, Islam and traditional beliefs on homosexuality (for they are the three common religions being practiced in Nigeria) and how these evolved to influence the enactment of the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition)

It does not, however, make itself clear on what defines the activity or what the punishments should be. As with many other Islamic laws, the religious schools that emerged during the middle of the 8th century C.E. would be required to clarify and create specific Islamic laws to give the Muslims clearer moral guideposts. Looking expressly at the Koran, there are seven mentions concerning homosexuality and the actions of the people of Lut. The Christian, Jewish, and Islamic traditions all tell the story of Lut (Lot) and till today refers to the story as that of 'Sodom and Gomorrah ' wherein God 's wrath was used against a city of sexually immoral people and the one man that God spared for his purity and faithfulness . In addition to the above, Peppler reveal that the Bible states that from the beginning of foundation, God made a man and gave him a wife (a woman) (stated in Genesis 1 verse 18). In another section of the bible, it is stated that a man shall leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife and the two of them shall be one flesh. From the above rationalization, Peppler