Position of MPs on LGBTQ bill heartbreaking – Lecturer

A lecturer at the University of Georgia, Dr. Fatima Mohammed has expressed disgust about the position of the Members of Parliament (MPs) on the LGBTQ bill which has seen second reading in the House and debated on.

This comes on the back of the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin asking the opponents of the anti-gay bill in the House to rise up and be counted.

His question was after the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr/ Anyimadu Antwi presented the Committee report on the bill to the house for debate.

Religious leaders from both Christian and Muslim communities stormed the Parliament as the bill was being heard for the second time in the House.

Mr. Bagbin however added that considering the numbers in the house on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, he will still open the floor for the debate.

Speaking on the Starr Midday news, the College of Journalism and Mass Communication lecturer said human rights are not something you can pick and choose what you want.

“It is really heartbreaking because looking at our Parliament, we know a lot of Parliamentarians are lawyers and they know what human rights are and they understand what it means to go after the rights of individuals. So it is sad to hear that this bill is going forward and that the rights of LGBTQ rights are going to be infringed upon. They cannot live in dignity in their own country.

“We are talking about the rights of individuals here, we are talking about protecting the right to live in freedom and in dignity and the right to live and regard as human beings in their own country. These are people from all parts of the country and who are members of the society,” Dr. Fatima stated.

She continued: “So to criminalize their very existence is just disappointing and I am actually very sad that Parliamentarians who initially opposed the bill are currently in support of it. Of course, when the first version of the bill came out in 2021 it was actually described by media organizations across the world as the most homophobic bill that will ever see the light of day in the entire world.”

The lecturer stated that the current state of the bill is not good for Ghana as a nation and how Ghanaians boost how free the nation is a beacon of democracy.