Behind the Mask

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

senegal

about senegal
official name: Republic of Senegal
capital: Dakar
head of state: President Abdoulaye Wade
state: multi party
population: 10,3 million
independence: from France in 1960
languages: French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka
religion: Muslim 92%, indigenous beliefs 6%, Christian 2% (mostly Roman Catholic)
currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF)
media: NA
legal wise
status of homosexuality: illegal
age of consent: NA
laws covering homosexual activity: Article 319, paragraph 3 of the Senegal Penal Code, in the edition of the law of n° 66-16 of 12 February 1966 bans homosexual conduct as follows:
"Sans préjudice des peines plus graves prévues par les alinéas qui précèdent ou par les articles 320 et 321 de présent Code, sera puni d’un emprisonnement d’un à cinq ans et d’une amende de 100.000 à 1.500.000 frnacs, quiconque aura commis un acte impudique ou contre nature avec un individu de son sexe. Si l’acte a été commis avec un mineur de 21 ans, le maximum de la peine sera toujoure prononcé."
("Without prejudice to the more serious penalties provided for in the preceding paragraphs or by articles 320 and 321 of this Code, whoever will have committed an improper or unnatural act with a person of the same sex will be punished by imprisonment of between one and five years and by a fine of 100,000 to 1,500,000 francs. If the act was committed with a person below the age of 21, the maximum penalty will always be applied" - Translation by Nigel Warner)
The Swedish Embassy were advised of a recent case in which the individuals concerned had been sentenced to imprisonment of between one month and a year.
Source ILGA)

background information and government attitudes: "But of course gay men and lesbians exist and make contact in the street. Society tolerates them. For example, they are not assaulted. But they are considered to bring shame upon their families. For example, when they die they are not buried in the same burial plot. They are buried separately. Only a few close relatives are present at their funeral. Islam condemns homosexuality and forbids believers from becoming involved. For this reason, legal recognition is not something which is going to happen overnight.

As regards the question of prisoners of conscience, the fact that Amnesty has taken up homosexuality in its mandate creates problems for our activists. We even have difficulties in discussing it in our meetings."

(message from an Amnesty International member in Senegal to Olivier Jablonski - 16th December 1998)
9.95: At UN 4th Conference on Women in Beijing opposed the (unsuccessful) proposal for inclusion of references to "sexual orientation" in the draft "Platform for Action"

Voted against granting ILGA consultative status at the UN in January 2002.

communication
mainline telephones: 116,000 (1997)
cellular telephones: 1,149 (1996)
internet country code: .sn
internet service providers: 1 (2000)
internet users: 30,000 (2000)
links and contacts
NA

j 'ai dit à ma femme que je suis hommosexuel après dix ans
Aout 4, 2005: Sénégal - Je conseillerais à tous mes amis gays qui vont lire mon histoire d, être fidèle aux leurs sentiments car une fois perdu le bonheur c'est pas facile de le retrouver. More...

gay taboos threaten senegal anti-aids push
March 31, 2005: In a country where doctors refuse to treat gay people and many gay men themselves take wives, experts fear that the reported 1% infection rate is highly sanitised. More...

senegal's gay community confronts social taboos
January 21, 2005: The meeting-place was at a noisy down-market street café where the waiter as well as the clients were gay, but where everyone was staunchly pretending not to be. Senegal's homosexual men are peeping out from behind the mask, but social and religious taboos run strong. More...

gays fight to be included in anti-aids campaigns
January 13, 2005: Senegal's fledgling gay movement is battling for recognition in the struggle against HIV/AIDS and hopes to win its first ever government grant to assist homosexuals living with the disease. More...

meeting 'cuts across our morals'
July 14, 2001: The Interior Ministry has moved to head off a mass meeting of Senegal's gays and lesbians. More...

gay organisation launched
January 2001: Groupe Andligeey recently has received some assistance from the Senegal National AIDS Program and the National Alliance Against AIDS, the Gay and Lesbian Times reported.
More...

an african taste
1998: Writing about Senegal in 1970, Michael Davidson describes his visit to the capital of the country, Dakar, that he made in 1958. The capital was the “gay” city of Africa, according to him. More...

gay man may not be buried at a muslim cemetery
1994: Residents of the town of Thies in Senegal prevented the burial of a gay man at a Muslim cemetery.