LGBT rights in Tanzania
Encyclopedia
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.
, 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)
“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.”
(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.
“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]
, an autonomous island which is part of Tanzania, the law was changed in 2004 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.
The above needs to be clarified. Prior to 2004 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.
based on sexual orientation
.
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.
Homophobia is very high and now LGBT people are afraid of wolking 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.
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.
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."
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
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.
Law regarding same-sex sexual activity
In TanzaniaTanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, 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
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
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]
Zanzibar
In ZanzibarZanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
, an autonomous island which is part of Tanzania, the law was changed in 2004 to clarify the legality of homosexual acts. While sodomy
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
and "unnatural acts" were already illegal, the new law imposes a penalty of 25 years in prison for sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
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.
The above needs to be clarified. Prior to 2004 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.
Discrimination protections
There is no protection against discriminationDiscrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
based on sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
.
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.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.
Homophobia is very high and now LGBT people are afraid of wolking 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.
In 2004, several Islamic groups in Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
began an effort to cleanse the nation of activities it considered sinful, including homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, which resulted in changes in the law which imposed harsher penalties for homosexual sex acts.
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."
See also
- LGBT rights in AfricaLGBT rights in AfricaLesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender rights in Africa are limited in comparison to other areas of the world, with the BBC estimating that homosexuality is outlawed in 38 African countries...
- Human rights in AfricaHuman rights in AfricaHuman rights as a legal concept is a relatively recent notion in Africa. The United Nations System, international law and the African Union have certainly all contributed to the establishment of a human rights system in Africa, which has positively and indispensably influenced the advancement of...
- www.wezeshatz.org