Gay rights in Tanzania

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Contents 1 Laws against gay sex 2 Protection based on sexual orientation 3 Recognition of same-sex couples 4 LGBT life in Tanzania 5 Footnotes

[edit] Laws against gay sex

In Tanzania, sex acts between men are illegal, and carry a penalty of 14 years in prison. Sex acts between women are not mentioned in Tanzanian law.

In Zanzibar, 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.^[1]

[edit] Protection based on sexual orientation

There is no protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation.

[edit] Recognition of same-sex couples

Same-sex couples have no legal recognition.

[edit] LGBT life in Tanzania

Tanzania has no organized gay community. There are no gay bars, although there are places where gay men meet, and lesbians are even less visible than gay men.^[2]

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.^[2]

In 2003, over 300 Tanzanians protested against the arrival of a gay tour group.^[2]

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.^[3]

[edit] Footnotes