Same-sex marriage in Nigeria

Legal status of
same-sex relationships
Marriage
Performed

Argentina
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Denmark:
· Denmark proper
Finland*
France
Iceland
Luxembourg
Mexico:
· CA, QR,
· DF
Netherlands:
· Netherlands proper1
New Zealand:
· New Zealand proper
Norway

Portugal
South Africa
Slovenia*
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom:
· England and Wales
· Scotland
United States:
· AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT,
· DE, FL, HI, ID, IL, IN,
· IA, KS2, ME, MD, MA,
· MN, MO3, MT, NV, NH,
· NJ, NM, NY, NC, OK,
· OR, PA, RI, SC, UT, VT,
· VA, WA, WV, WI, WY,
· DC, 22 tribes
 Uruguay

Recognized

  1. Can be registered also in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten
  2. Licensed in some counties in Kansas but same-sex marriage is not recognized by the state
  3. Only licensed in St. Louis (city), St. Louis County, & Jackson County (but only St. Louis (city) is required to).
  4. When performed in Mexican states that have legalized same-sex marriage
  5. Most counties in Alabama issued same-sex marriage licenses for several weeks after a federal court found that state's ban unconstitutional, but all stopped by 4 March 2015 following an order by the state supreme court
  6. Only if married in Michigan when same-sex marriage was legal

*Not yet in effect

LGBT portal

Nigeria recognizes neither same-sex marriages nor civil unions for same-sex couples. Homosexuality can land men up to 14 years in prison in Southern Nigeria and capital punishment for men in areas under Sharia Islamic Law. Proposals to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage compacted with severe penalties to those convicted of performing or participating in such, have twice surfaced. A similar bill is currently pending parliamentary approval.[1]

On January 18, 2007 the Federal Executive Council approved a law, Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2006, prohibiting same sex marriages and sent it to the National assembly for urgent action. According to the Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo, the law was pushed by President Olusegun Obasanjo following demonstrations for same sex marriage during the international conference on HIV/AIDS (ICASA) in 2005.

The proposed bill calls for five years imprisonment for anyone who undergoes, "performs, witnesses, aids, or abets" a same-sex marriage. It would also prohibit any display of a "same-sex amorous relationship" and adoption of children by gays or lesbians.[2] The bill is expected to receive little or no opposition in Parliament. The same-sex marriage ban would make Nigeria the second country in Africa to criminalize such unions. In 2005, the Ugandan constitution was amended to ban same-sex marriage.[3]

The same bill would also call for five years imprisonment for involvement in public advocacy or associations supporting the rights of lesbian and gay people. Included in the bill is a proposal to ban any form of relationship with a gay person. The intent of the bill is to ban anything remotely associated with being 'gay' or just gay in the country.[4]

In February 2006, the United States State Department condemned the proposal. In March 2006, 16 international human rights groups signed a letter condemning the bill, calling it a violation of the freedoms of expression, association and assembly guaranteed by international law as well as by the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and a barrier to the struggle against the spread of AIDS. Some sources claim that Nigeria has the world's third-highest population of persons with AIDS: 3.6 million Nigerians are infected with HIV.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ NIGERIA'S PROPOSED BAN ON SAME-SEX PARTNERSHIPS AN ASSAULT ON HUMAN RIGHTS
  2. ↑ "Nigeria: Obasanjo Must Withdraw Bill to Criminalize Gay Rights", Reuters AlertNet. March 23, 2006. URL accessed on March 26, 2006
  3. ↑ Uganda bans same-sex marriage
  4. ↑ Sogunro, Ayo. "Why You Should Be Worried About Nigeria's Anti-Gay Law". ayosogunro.com. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  5. ↑ of same-sex couples