“Un-African” or Unjust? The Politics of Homophobia in Senegal

In recent years, Senegal has become central to debates over LGBTQ+ rights in Africa, as rising homophobia and harsher legislation have drawn both domestic support and international concern. The resurgence of public hostility against homosexuality in the twenty-first century marks a turning point, transforming what was once characterized by relative tolerance to a highly visible and increasingly politicized movement against queer identities. While anti-LGBTQ rhetoric is often framed as a defense of religious and cultural values, these attitudes also reflect postcolonial anxieties about Western influence, as queerness is often labeled as a purely Western phenomenon. As the Senegalese government moves to expand legal penalties for homosexuality, raises critical questions about the relationship between national identity, state power, and human rights arise– particularly in light of Senegal’s obligations under international law.

Anti-LGBTQ sentiments in Senegal remain deeply rooted in the nation's history. For over sixty years, Article 319 of Senegal’s Penal Code has outlawed “acts against nature,” a euphemism commonly used to criminalize same sex relations. Article 319 is still in effect today, acting as the foundation for Senegal’s legal stance against homosexuality. Still, Senegal was long considered one of the most tolerant African nations towards gay individuals until 2008, when Icôn Magazine published a story detailing an alleged marriage between two men, framing queerness as a growing social threat amongst Senegalese youth. The wildly successful article sparked a widespread and aggressive campaign against gay rights throughout the nation, primarily led by politicians, religious leaders, and newscasters. 

This anti-LGBTQ movement believes homosexuality to be a “degradation of morality and disrespect for religious values,” referring to the nation’s predominant adherence to Islam. Beyond religion, many Senegalese citizens frame same sex relations as a Western import, and political discourse frequently positions the  points West as the origin for the LGBTQ movement. As such, queerness is consistently seen as “un-African” and referred to by political leaders as a means of neocolonialism, asserting that the West has pushed for gay rights in order to corrupt African society. Many postcolonial African authors have come to adopt a vision of a “single heterosexual African sexuality” to claim moral superiority. These social and cultural attitudes are reinforced through legal mechanisms. 

The rise of homophobia in Senegal has contributed to the further criminalization of the gay community. Longwithstanding legislation under Article 319 states that homosexuality is punishable by up to five years of prison and a maximum fine of 1.5 million francs. In 2021, the Senegalese Parliament proposed a bill to strengthen existing anti-gay laws by enacting longer prison sentences for proclaimed offenders. Although this bill did not pass, it saw widespread public support and President Bassirou Diomaye Faye brought the promise of harsher penalties to the forefront of his election campaign in 2021. Support for such legislation is further reflected in extreme public displays of homophobia in Senegal, suggesting that anti-gay legislation is representative of Senegal’s overall public opinion. In 2023, for example, a mob exhumed the body of a man who was believed to be gay, publicly desecrating his body through the streets before burning it in the town square. Homophobic chants are also commonly heard at anti-LGBTQ protests, where participants justify their stance by claiming it prevents the spread of HIV. Such developments illustrate how the social enforcement of anti-LGBTQ norms– through public violence and public support for homophobic legislation– reinforces state legitimacy, as the government’s stance is not imposed from above, but enacted by society itself. 

Human Rights Watch notes that anti-gay political rhetoric has also been on the rise in recent years, citing attempts in 2022 and 2024 to implement harsher penalties for homosexuality. But after multiple failed legislative proposals, Parliament successfully ratified a bill in March 2026 which doubles the criminal sentence for engaging in same sex relations. While the bill still awaits President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s approval, political scholars expect him to sign it given his past support for similar legislation.

Although Senegal’s widely conservative public has shown support for the increased criminalization of homosexuality, the recently ratified bill has also faced some opposition. Some scholars argue that the bill violates freedoms of expression and association, contending that anti-LGBTQ legislation attempts to dictate the private lives of Senegalese citizens. However, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Senegal has been involved with since 1978, asserts that “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy.” This tension emphasizes the gap between Senegal’s commitment to international human rights commitments and its domestic legal trajectory, suggesting that state legitimacy is being negotiated between external pressures and internal demands to uphold socially dominant norms. The Secretary General of the International Federation for Human Rights has further criticized the new bill, arguing that “further tightening repression will only fuel violence, fear, and impunity. Senegalese authorities have an obligation to protect all persons without discrimination…” International denunciations of the legislation reveals how the legislation not only legitimizes discrimination at the domestic level, but also risks intensifying homophobia-fueled hostilities, reducing the government’s fundamental responsibility to ensure equal protection and safety for all citizens. Despite such criticisms, Senegalese politicians continue to defend the bill. Many supporters assert that discouraging same sex relations will lessen the spread of HIV– though studies show that homophobia stigmatizes the disease and discourages individuals from getting tested and accessing care. 

Ultimately, the intensification of anti-LGBTQ measures in Senegal underscores a broader struggle over the meaning of national identity in a postcolonial context, as the restriction of individual rights is often justified as a resistance to Western influence. Yet, as activists and scholars have suggested, such legislation conflicts with Senegal’s duty to protect the privacy and equality of its citizens. As such, the ongoing criminalization of homosexuality cannot be understood solely as resistance to neocolonialism, but a strategic deployment of state power to regulate identity and reinforce political legitimacy that raises critical concerns about the limits of the state and the protection of fundamental rights. Ultimately, the implementation of new anti-LGBTQ legislation reveals a nuanced relationship between state power and public identity, revealing the difficulties faced by the Senegalese state to cater to public opinion and simultaneously abide by its duties to international law.