Relief in Angola as the decriminalization of homosexuality enters into force
GAYLES.TV.- «Relieved. We are relieved. In Angola, two years of waiting have passed until the code was approved, but now that the idea has come out, it is that they have finally complied, which was the most important thing«, Explains to EFE from Luanda, Carlos Fernandes, rights activist LGTB and leader of the Iris Angola Association. The approval of the decriminalization of homosexual relations dates back to February 2019when the Parliament The African country approved its first penal code since the independence of Portugal in 1975.
The two-year delay until the entry into force of this historic measure has been paradoxically caused by the fight against corruption, since since then the laws had to be debated again to increase the penalties initially contemplated for this type of crime, very widespread in Angola.
The wait for the Angolan LGTB community officially ended last 11 February, when, at last, the new regulations came into force. Previously, Angola was still governed by a corpus of laws dating back to nothing less than 1886 and that it punished, with sentences from six months to three years in prison, to those who practice «acts against nature«.
New penal code
Yes alright in Angola there was, in practice, no real legal prosecution against homosexuals - in fact, important public figures, including one of the sons of the former president, José Eduardo dos Santos (1979-2017), publicly acknowledge their homosexuality-, for the community this law supposes the «opportunity»To start fighting other structural barriers. However, he still has a lot to work on in other areas such as the protection of the trans community, which remains without official recognition even regarding the legal name change.
The new Angolan penal code not only eliminates potentially discriminatory mentions of «acts against nature“But, in a 180 degree turn, it goes on to punish homophobia. With the decriminalization of homosexuality, Angola joins the club of southern African countries that in recent years have been showing the continent that, despite the prejudices that still pervade a large part of their societies, the State can design more inclusive societies and tolerant.
Photographer: Iris Angola
