00:00Imagine going to jail for not feeling sexual attraction.
00:03Well, a country has just passed a law that, at least on paper, could allow it.
00:08Niger has just become the first country in the world whose penal code explicitly includes sexuality within
00:15the behaviors it seeks to punish.
00:17How are they supposed to verify that? Now, can even not wanting to have sex be a crime?
00:21Before we get to that part, we'll explain why asexual people, that is, those who feel little or no sexual desire, are asexual.
00:27sexual attraction, they ended up involved in all of this.
00:29The military government of this African country adopted a penal code that punishes same-sex relationships.
00:36with penalties of up to 5 years in prison and fines of 175,000 euros.
00:41Niger had never directly criminalized homosexuality, although it did consider it a taboo and already persecuted LGBTQ people.
00:48other pretexts, such as public indecency.
00:50The new code progressed between February and March of this year, but went virtually unnoticed until a few days ago.
00:57when social media posts and news outlets brought this information to light.
01:02The issue is that, in an attempt to include all sexual orientations and gender identities in the ban,
01:08They went through the entire checklist and criminalized everything at once.
01:12The text says that any person who engages in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, or asexual practices,
01:20will be punished under this new regulation.
01:22They were so focused on fitting all the letters of the acronym that it seems they didn't even take 5 minutes.
01:28to google what sexuality means.
01:31Those who drafted such an absurd provision are the same ones who implemented a truly serious measure.
01:37The code punishes people who witness these relationships.
01:41It prohibits same-sex marriage and penalizes people who change the sex registered on their identity documents.
01:47The legislation also affects organizations and clubs linked to the LGBTIQ+ population.
01:52In other words, it targets both sexually diverse people and those who could lend them a hand in such moments.
01:58According to The Guardian and Routers, cases have already been filed against organizations that provide services to people living with
02:05HIV.
02:05And by the beginning of July, 16 LGBTIQ-MAS people had been arrested.
02:10Niger is ruled by General Abduraham Antiani, whose government says it rejects foreign interference.
02:17With this discourse, he presents diverse sexual orientations and gender identities as ideas imported from the West.
02:24and contrary to the values of the country.
02:26This is how it turns LGBTIQ+ people into the enemy of the moment and uses their rights to fuel that narrative.
02:32As if people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities hadn't always existed and in every
02:38cultures.
02:39But this was already happening before with other issues.
02:42In 2024 the government had already ordered the removal of comprehensive sex education content from schools.
02:48That same year he also ordered the removal of Yamaro, an application created by an NGO to provide information on sexual health
02:55and reproductive health for women and young people.
02:57In reality, Niger is just one of the countries joining a large wave of homophobia
03:01and setbacks against the rights of LGBTIQ+ people, which are growing in Africa.
03:06Neighboring countries such as Mali and Burkina Faso recently criminalized same-sex relationships.
03:12Uganda passed a law that even contemplates the death penalty in some cases.
03:16And Senegal doubled the maximum prison sentence to 10 years and also punishes the promotion of homosexuality.
03:22In Ghana, Parliament passed a bill that targets both LGBTIQ+ people and the organizations that defend them.
03:28your rights.
03:28A total of 32 African countries criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations.
03:34Did you know this? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
