Behind the Mask

BEHIND THE MASK a website on gay and lesbian affairs in Africa

cameroon

about cameroon
official name: Republic of Cameroon
capital: Yaounde
head of state: President Paul Biya
state: unitary republic, multi party presidential regime (opposition legalised in 1990)
population: 15, 8 million
independence: from France and Britain in 1961
languages: French (official), English (official) and 24 other African languages are spoken
religion: Traditional African 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20%
currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF)
media: NA
legal wise
status of homosexuality: illegal
age of consent: 21
laws covering homosexual activity: There are several laws covering sexual activity in Cameroon. It has a sodomy law, but both same-sex male and female sexual contact are illegal.
Section 347 of the Penal Code criminalises sexual contacts with members of the same sex with a penalty of 6 months to 5 years' imprisonment and a fine of up to CFA 200.000. If one of the persons involved is under the age of 21 the penalty is doubled. (ILGA report 2000)
background information and government attitudes: NA
communication
mainline telephones: 75, 000 (1997)
cellular telephones: 4, 200 (1997)
internet country code: .cm
internet service providers: 1 (2000)
internet users: 20, 000 (2000)
links and contacts
NA

le thème de l'homosexualité primé au festival international yaoundé tout court
November 3, 2005: le thème de l'homosexualité était à l'honneur lors du Festival international de courts-métrages Yaoundé tout court, qui s'est tenu du 24 au 29 octobre. More...

expediency the name of the game in trying to secure the release of yaoundé eleven
September 20, 2005: Bureaucratic delays and a precarious legal status of gay people in Cameroon are the two main factors that impede the release of the Yaounde 11. More...

violences policières au cameroun
Septembre, 2005: En raisondu tabou, la plupart des attaques dont les personnes homosexuelles sont la cible ne sont pas signalées. Plus...

efforts to secure the release of yaounde 11 hampered by lack of human rights movement
August 17, 2005: The detained group has not been charged and no one is aware if they would ever go on trial and now human rights groups are worried about their plight more than before. More...

dans la peau d'un gay
June, 2005: Thierry Rolland est le nouvel éspoir masculine; il a joué le role principal dans la court - métrage qui traite de la délicate question de l,hommosexualité. Plus...

a group arrested after they were found in a bar on suspicion that they are gay
May 25, 2005: 17 young Cameroonian gay men have been jailed since the 21 May after they were caught at a bar in Yaounde. More...

January 2005: the difficulties of minorities in cameroon: cameroonian homosexual in asylum battle. More...

l'(homo)érotisme chez calixthe beyala
Janvier 9, 2004: Femme nue Femme noire est donc la sa première fiction érotique de Calixthe Beyala. Une publication qui vaut à l'auteure des critiques mais aussi, de l'admiration. Consciente du fait qu' "En Afrique, l'érotisme existe mais la chose n'est pas en soi nommée". Plus...
english version

to be or not to be a lesbian in cameroon's soccer teams
November 2003: Sybille Nyeck interviews a woman soccer player in Cameroon and discovers a catalogue of homophobia, discrimination, blackmail and abuse. More...

être ou ne pas être lesbienne?
Le dilemme des footballeuses Camerounaises
Plus...

joseph: a courageous cameroonian lesbian
November 2002: Homophobia is among those attitudes that are fed by ignorance and which create more and more social uprootedness. But not everyone has the same reaction when faced with what should be denounced as the absurdity of this century. More...

joseph, une courageuse lesbienne camerounaise

my gay brother was condemned to three years of imprisonment
November 2002: Sybille Ngo Nyeck interviews Florence Monevondo about gay life in Cameroon and the fate of her gay brother. More...

mon frère gai avait eté condamné a trois ans d'emprisonnement

update
May 2000: In strictly legal terms, there are indications that there is currently nobody in prison under the provisions of Art. 347* of the Penal Code, according to Behind The Mask's correspondent in Cameroon. 'But do not take my word for it.' More...

bafia
1998: Homosexuality in the Bafia [Fia] traditions, according to Tessman, tied in with a broader religious belief structure. More...