Senegal: Demonstration to demand government tougher penalties for homosexuality

“No to homosexuality!” Around a hundred people demonstrated Friday in Dakar to demand that the new Senegalese government adopt a law toughening penalties for homosexuality in the country, while an organization launched an initiative to this effect among parliamentarians.

Chanting “Homosexuality will not exist in Senegal” and holding signs calling for “Zero tolerance” and the “criminalization” of homosexuality, the demonstrators marched along a road in a Dakar suburb, blocking traffic under the watchful eye of security forces, AFP journalists observed.

The rally was held at the request of the Islamic NGO Jamra, the “Noo Lank” collective, which presents itself as a “citizen initiative working to preserve societal values,” and a Senegalese rapper who participated in the march.

Tensions and discrimination against the LGBT+ community are common in Senegal, and the subject remains largely taboo.

In this 95% Muslim and highly observant country, homosexuality is widely considered a deviance. The law punishes so-called “unnatural acts with a member of the same sex” with imprisonment of one to five years.

The issue is also being used politically. In 2022, former opposition leader Ousmane Sonko—who became Prime Minister in the spring of 2024—made the fight against homosexuality a campaign argument for the legislative elections.

On Monday, leaders of the “And sàmm jikko yi” (“Together for the Safeguarding of Values”) collective, composed of numerous associations, met with the parliamentary group of the ruling Pastef party to present an initiative to table a bill to strengthen the crackdown on homosexuality.

The initiative is in the hands of Pastef deputies who will decide its fate.

In May 2021 and February 2022, thousands of people demonstrated in Dakar for tougher repression of homosexuality.

In December 2021, at the initiative of the “And sàmm jikko yi” collective, members of parliament introduced a bill that would have punished homosexuality with a prison sentence of five to 10 years. The bill was rejected by the Assembly’s bureau, which deemed the existing legislation too harsh.