Mauritius’ highest court has made a landmark decision to decriminalize homosexual activity, asserting that the ban was a relic of colonial times and did not reflect the country’s indigenous values.
This prohibition on same-sex relations, initially imposed by British colonialists in 1898, had not been actively enforced in recent years.
The case was brought forward by Abdool Ridwan Firaas Ah Seek, a gay man who argued that the “offense of sodomy” violated his fundamental rights, including the right to liberty.
He claimed that he was “now free to love whoever I want to without fear”.
The Supreme Court ruled that this law did not “reflect any indigenous Mauritian values but was inherited as part of our colonial history from Britain”.
This significant ruling effectively means that people can no longer be arrested for engaging in same-sex relationships, but the legal status of such relationships will ultimately depend on parliamentary action to repeal the existing law.
It is important to note that the decision comes at a time when homophobia is on the rise, and some African nations are implementing stricter anti-gay legislation.
For instance, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni signed a controversial Anti-Homosexuality law in May, which included the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.”
This ruling is seen as a step forward for LGBTQ+ rights in Mauritius and may inspire other African countries that still criminalize same-sex relations to reconsider their laws.
Currently, there are 64 countries globally that have laws criminalizing homosexuality, with nearly half of them situated in Africa.
Source-BBC
