Members of the LGBTQ community celebrated exuberantly after Namibia's highest court annulled colonial-era laws criminalizing same-sex relationships on Friday, June 21.
The High Court in Windhoek ruled that the laws against "sodomy" and "unnatural sexual offences" were "unconstitutional and invalid," a decision applauded by LGBTQ rights organizations.
"We are not persuaded that in a democratic society such as ours… it is reasonably justifiable to make an activity criminal just because a segment, maybe a majority, of the citizenry consider it to be unacceptable," the judges stated in their ruling.
This landmark judgement overturns laws from 1927 that Namibia had retained even after gaining independence from South Africa in 1990.
Friedel Dausab, the activist who brought the case, expressed relief: "Because of this decision, I no longer feel like a criminal on the run in my own country simply because of who I am."
The London-based Human Dignity Trust hailed the ruling as "historic."
"LGBT Namibians can now look to a brighter future," said Tea Braun, the trust's chief executive.
The United Nations AIDS program, UNAIDS, also praised the decision as a "significant victory for equality and human rights."
"This decision… is a powerful step towards a more inclusive Namibia," stated Anne Githuku-Shongwe, UNAIDS regional director for East and Southern Africa.
No comments:
Post a Comment