Gay sex laws ruled unconstitutional by high court

[Pelican Press 0]

Gay **** laws ruled unconstitutional by high court

In a landmark ruling for gay rights campaigners, laws banning same-**** acts between men have been ruled unconstitutional in Namibia.

Convictions for the colonial-era offences of “*******” and “unnatural ******* offences” were rare but fuelled discrimination against gay men who lived in ***** of arrest.

No laws exist prohibiting **** between between women in Namibia.

Marrying someone of the same **** is still ******** in the southern ******** nation.

But if a same-**** couple weds abroad and one of them is not a Namibian citizen, their union is legally recognised.

After Friday’s judgement was read out at a high court in the capital, Windhoek, campaigners for

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“Welcome to a new Namibia. A born-free Namibia,” the group said on social media.

The term “born-free” was most famously used in neighbouring South ******* to describe the first generation of children growing up in the dawn of democracy after white-********* rule ended in 1994.

This court case was brought by a Namibian activist called Friedel Dausab, with backing from the British charity Human Dignity Trust.

“It won’t be a ****** to love anymore,” Mr Dausab said, reacting to the verdict. “I no longer feel like a ********* on the run in my own country simply because of who I am.”

Summing up his emotions, he told the Reuters news agency he was “just happy”.

The UN has also applauded the ruling, calling it a “powerful step” towards a more inclusive nation that would also improve access to health services and **** treatment.

Fearing a backlash to the ruling, the rights group Amnesty International is urging the Namibian government to ensure the safety and dignity of LGBTQ people.

It said it had already documented instances of “alarming” and “threatening” speech in the country during the run-up to the court case.

Namibia, first colonised by Germany, gained independence from South ******* in 1990 after a protracted war.

Several nations in ******* have repealed anti-LGBTQ laws in recent years, but South ******* is the only country where same-**** couples can marry and adopt.

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