A section of the Demonstrators
WOMEN GROUPS from various communities in the Tamale Metropolis have joined other religious bodies in the country to wage a relentless war against gays and lesbians.
The women, from various religious denominations, on Saturday took to the streets to demonstrate against the upsurge of homosexuality and lesbianism in the Tamale metropolis, which they claimed could incur the wrath of God on the town.
They condemned western powers for encouraging the act and imposing foreign cultural values on Ghanaians in the name of promoting human rights and development through support for poverty alleviation programmes.
The Interfaith Women Association, comprising Muslim Women of Northern Region, Presbyterian Women, Council of Catholic Women, Anglican Women, Market Women’s Association, and Women’s Wing of the NDC, NPP, CPP, PNC and the Police Wives Association, organized the demonstration.
The charged demonstrators carried placards, some of which read: ‘Gay life is an Abomination’, ‘Man Should not Marry a Man’, ‘Man to Man-No, Woman to Woman-No’, ‘Homosexuality is Animal Life’ and ‘Western Powers Keep Your Money and your Gay life’.
The demonstrators later converged on the Jubilee Park, where Hajia Hajara Telley, President of the Inter-Faith Women Association, presented a petition to the Northern Regional Minister and called for public exposure of women and men who engaged in what she termed the shameful and inhumane act.
“Indulging in homosexual acts is a taboo in African culture and societal make up; it is against our rich culture and tradition, and reduces human beings to the level of animals,” she added.
Hajia Telley opined that gay and lesbian practices were an affront to Biblical and Quran teachings, and warned that as women they were not going to sit unconcerned for such practices to pollute the moral fibre of society in the name of poverty reduction.
She therefore called on the conference of African States of Government to unanimously reject the practice, even if it meant losing some level of support from western powers, calling the bluff of the British Prime Minister, David Cameron’s threat to withhold United Kingdom’s aid to governments that do not reform legislation banning homosexuality.
The Interfaith Women’s Association President tasked Ghanaians to die of lack of support for the nation’s development needs, rather than reduce themselves to the level of animals.
She called on district assemblies in the country to take up the issue in their deliberations, as well as develop strategies to report and handle such cases.
Hajia Hajara Telley further called on heads of educational institutions to ensure that moral education lessons included talks about lesbianism and homosexuality as a taboo and against the country’s tradition and culture.
She also advocated for strict supervision of students on scholarship by Ghana’s missions abroad.
She appealed to Parliament to pass a law banning gay and lesbians and called on government, NGOs and departmental heads to collaborate with bishops, priests, pastors and Imams to fight against the practice of homosexuality in the country.
An Assistant Director at the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (NRCC), Mohammed Habib, who received the petition on behalf of the minister, commended the women for the peaceful demonstration and promised to deliver the information to the appropriate office for prompt action.
From Stephen Zoure, Tamale
