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IDNOWA Position Paper

Interfaith Diversity Network Of West Africa

Countering Anti‑LGBTIQ Legislation in West Africa Through Human Rights and Interfaith Solidarity

   Introduction

IDNOWA affirms that human rights are universal, indivisible, and inherent to all people. Across West Africa, a surge of anti‑LGBTIQ legislation threatens the dignity, safety, and freedoms of millions. These laws undermine constitutional protections, weaken democratic institutions, and contradict regional and international commitments to equality.

As an interfaith organisation rooted in the shared moral values of Christianity, Islam, and African Traditional Religions, IDNOWA rejects all forms of legislation that criminalise or stigmatise individuals based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Our work is grounded in the belief that compassion, justice, and human dignity are sacred principles across all faiths.

   Context: Rising Anti‑LGBTIQ Legislation in West Africa

Several West African countries have recently introduced or strengthened laws that:

  • Criminalise consensual same‑sex relationships
  • Restrict freedom of association, expression, and assembly
  • Ban or censor LGBTIQ‑related organisations and advocacy
  • Impose harsh penalties, including imprisonment
  • Encourage public reporting, harassment, and violence

These laws are often justified using religious or cultural rhetoric, despite the fact that many originate from colonial‑era penal codes rather than indigenous African traditions.

   Impact of Anti‑LGBTIQ Legislation

Human Rights Violations

  • Arbitrary arrests and detentions
  • Increased violence, blackmail, and extortion
  • Suppression of civil society and human rights defenders

Public Health Risks

  • Reduced access to HIV prevention and treatment
  • Fear of seeking healthcare due to criminalisation
  • Disruption of community‑based health programmes

Economic and Developmental Costs

  • Loss of workforce productivity
  • Barriers to inclusive development
  • Reduced international cooperation and investment

Social Fragmentation

  • Heightened stigma and discrimination
  • Breakdown of community trust
  • Increased vulnerability of marginalised groups

   IDNOWA’s Position: A Human Rights and Interfaith Mandate

IDNOWA’s stance is grounded in human rights principles and the shared moral teachings of West Africa’s diverse faith traditions. Across Christianity, Islam, and African Traditional Religions, core values such as compassion, justice, and the sanctity of human dignity are universal.

Our interfaith position affirms that:

  • Human dignity is sacred — no law should strip individuals of their inherent worth.
  • Compassion is a shared religious value — punitive laws that harm vulnerable people contradict the ethical teachings of major faith traditions.
  • Justice requires inclusion — discrimination violates the moral responsibility to protect all members of society.
  • Faith must not be weaponised — religious teachings should not be misused to justify state‑sanctioned harm.

Supporting Voices from African Faith Leaders

IDNOWA aligns with respected African religious leaders — Christian, Muslim, and Traditionalist — who have spoken publicly in defence of human dignity:

  • Nana Davis Mac‑Iyalla, Anglican human‑rights advocate (Ghana/Nigeria): “God’s love is for everyone. No one should be criminalised because of who they are or whom they love.”
  • Rev. Patricia Akpan, Christian minister and gender‑justice advocate (Nigeria): “Faith should never be used as a weapon. Our calling is to protect life, not to condemn people for who they are.”
  • Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu, Anglican priest and educator (South Africa): “Our faith calls us to stand with the oppressed, not to create new categories of people to fear or reject.”
  • Mama Grace Onibon, Yoruba Traditionalist elder and peace advocate (Nigeria): “In our traditions, every person is a child of the community. We do not cast people out — we restore them to wholeness.”
  • Archbishop Desmond Tutu (South Africa): “I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. I cannot worship a God who is homophobic.”
  • Imam Muhsin Hendricks (South Africa): “Islam is a religion of compassion. Criminalisation and violence have no place in our faith.”

These voices demonstrate that African religious leadership is diverse and that many leaders — including women and Traditionalists — affirm dignity, coexistence, and non‑violence.

   Strategic Priorities for Countering Anti‑LGBTIQ Legislation

A. Advocacy and Policy Engagement

  • Engage policymakers, parliamentarians, and regional bodies.
  • Provide evidence‑based briefs on the harms of criminalisation.
  • Support legal reform aligned with constitutional and human rights obligations.

B. Strengthening Civil Society

  • Build coalitions across human rights, feminist, youth, and disability movements.
  • Support grassroots organisations with training and security resources.
  • Promote safe platforms for community voices.

C. Public Education and Narrative Change

  • Counter misinformation with culturally grounded messaging.
  • Promote narratives rooted in shared values of dignity and coexistence.
  • Engage religious and traditional leaders in dialogue.

D. Protection and Support for Affected Communities

  • Expand access to psychosocial support, legal aid, and emergency assistance.
  • Strengthen community‑led safety networks.
  • Ensure non‑discriminatory healthcare access.

E. Regional and International Solidarity

  • Collaborate with ECOWAS, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and UN agencies.
  • Advocate for diplomatic pressure and human rights monitoring.
  • Mobilise international partners to support rights‑based development.

   Interfaith Engagement as a Pathway to Social Harmony

As an interfaith organisation, IDNOWA recognises that religious leaders hold significant influence in shaping public opinion and policy. Engaging them is essential to countering harmful legislation.

A. Reclaiming Faith from Extremism

IDNOWA works with faith leaders to:

  • Promote contextual, compassionate interpretations of scripture
  • Challenge the misuse of religion for political gain
  • Highlight teachings that emphasise love, mercy, and justice

B. Building Bridges Across Faith Communities

We foster collaboration among Christian, Muslim, and Traditionalist leaders to:

  • Issue joint statements affirming human dignity
  • Create safe spaces for dialogue
  • Reduce tensions and prevent religiously motivated violence

C. Supporting Inclusive Faith Leaders

IDNOWA:

  • Provides training on human rights and inclusive theology
  • Offers solidarity networks for leaders facing backlash
  • Amplifies voices that promote peace and coexistence

D. Grounding Advocacy in Shared Values

Our messaging draws on values that resonate across faiths:

  • The sanctity of life
  • Community care
  • Protection of the vulnerable
  • Rejection of violence and injustice

E. Faith‑Based Approaches to Public Health

We collaborate with religious institutions to:

  • Support non‑discriminatory HIV services
  • Reduce stigma in faith‑based health settings
  • Promote messages of care rather than punishment

  Recommendations to Governments

IDNOWA calls on West African governments to:

  • Halt or repeal anti‑LGBTIQ legislation
  • Uphold constitutional protections for all citizens
  • Ensure freedom of expression, association, and assembly
  • Protect human rights defenders and civil society
  • Adopt evidence‑based public health policies

  Conclusion

Anti‑LGBTIQ legislation threatens human rights, public health, and the moral fabric of West African societies. As an interfaith organisation, IDNOWA stands firmly for compassion, justice, and the protection of all people. We call on governments, religious leaders, civil society, and international partners to uphold the shared values that unite us — dignity, peace, and the belief that every human being deserves to live free from fear and discrimination.

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Becoming Whole: Why Spiritual and Sexual Identity Development Must Be Fought for Together

Interfaith Diversity Network Of West Africa

By Nana Davis Mac‑Iyalla

Across West Africa and throughout the diaspora, I have witnessed a truth that too many institutions still refuse to name: our spiritual lives and our sexual identities do not grow on separate branches. They are intertwined roots of the same human tree. When one is starved, the whole person suffers. When one is nourished, the whole person rises.

For LGBTQ+ people—especially those raised in deeply religious environments—this truth is not theoretical. It is lived in our bodies, our prayers, our silences, and our rebellions. It is lived in the long nights when we try to negotiate with a God we were taught to fear, and in the bright mornings when we finally meet a God who loves us without condition.

The Violence of Forced Fragmentation

Too many of us were taught that to be spiritual, we must amputate our sexuality. That to be faithful, we must lie about who we love. That to be accepted, we must shrink ourselves into theological closets built by other people’s fears.

This fragmentation is not accidental. It is a tool of control.

When a society demands that LGBTQ+ people choose between their faith and their identity, it is not protecting morality. It is protecting power. It is preserving a hierarchy where some bodies are deemed holy and others are treated as theological mistakes.

But we are not mistakes. We are not contradictions. We are not spiritual exiles.

We are whole.

The Courage of Integration

The journey toward integrating spiritual and sexual identity is not easy. It requires unlearning shame that was never ours. It requires confronting religious leaders who weaponize scripture. It requires rebuilding a spiritual home from the ground up—brick by brick, truth by truth.

But integration is also liberation.

It is the moment a lesbian woman in Ghana prays in her own language and realizes God never stopped listening. It is the moment a bisexual man in Nigeria stops apologizing for existing. It is the moment a queer youth in the diaspora discovers that their ancestors walked with spirits long before colonial doctrines arrived.

Integration is not about choosing between God and self. It is about refusing to believe they were ever in conflict.

Why Activism Must Embrace Both

Activism that focuses only on sexual rights but ignores spiritual trauma is incomplete. Activism that celebrates pride but avoids the wounds inflicted by churches, mosques, and temples leaves our people half‑healed.

We must build movements that understand:

  • Sexual identity development is a journey of truth-telling.
  • Spiritual development is a journey of meaning-making.
  • Both are essential to human dignity.

When we create spaces where LGBTQ+ people can explore both without fear, we are not just supporting individuals—we are dismantling systems that depend on our silence.

A Call to Faith Leaders

To my fellow faith leaders across Africa and the diaspora: neutrality is no longer an option. Silence is not compassion. Ambiguity is not pastoral care.

If your theology cannot hold the fullness of LGBTQ+ lives, then it is your theology—not our existence—that needs transformation.

A Call to Our Communities

To my LGBTQ+ siblings: your journey is sacred. Your questions are holy. Your desire to belong—to God, to community, to yourself—is not a weakness but a sign of your spiritual strength.

You do not need to choose between your faith and your identity. You deserve both. You were born for both.

Becoming Whole Is an Act of Resistance

In a world that profits from our fragmentation, wholeness is revolutionary. Every time we claim our sexuality and our spirituality in the same breath, we disrupt centuries of oppression. Every time we refuse to hide, we expand the possibilities for those who will come after us.

This is the work. This is the calling. This is the liberation we are building—one integrated life at a time.

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Spiritual Violence Against LGBTIQ People in West Africa

Interfaith Diversity Network Of West Africa

By Nana Davis Mac‑Iyalla

Across West Africa, many LGBTIQ people are not only fighting for their human rights—they are fighting for their spiritual survival. As an activist, a ceremonial leader, and someone shaped by both African tradition and global faith communities, I have witnessed how deeply spiritual violence wounds our people. It is a form of harm that is often invisible, yet its impact is profound and lasting.

Spiritual violence happens when religion, culture, or sacred authority is used to shame, silence, or erase LGBTIQ identities. It appears in sermons that condemn us, in families who pray for us to “change,” in traditional leaders who deny our place in ancestral narratives, and in laws justified by distorted interpretations of scripture. It is the quiet violence of exclusion, the loud violence of public humiliation, and the structural violence of institutions that refuse to see our humanity.

What makes spiritual violence particularly painful is that it strikes at the core of who we are. In West Africa, spirituality is not a separate part of life—it is woven into our birth, our names, our families, our communities, and our understanding of purpose. When someone tells an LGBTIQ person that they are “not of God,” they are not simply expressing an opinion; they are attempting to sever that person from their cultural and spiritual roots.

Yet the truth—our truth—is older and deeper than these harmful narratives.

Long before colonial laws and imported doctrines, African societies held diverse understandings of gender and sexuality. Our ancestors honoured people with unique spiritual gifts, including those whose identities did not fit rigid categories. Many LGBTIQ people today continue to carry that same spiritual depth, resilience, and calling. We are not outsiders to African spirituality; we are part of its living history.

As Executive Director of the Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa (IDNOWA), I have seen how reclaiming our spiritual dignity transforms lives. When LGBTIQ people hear affirming messages from faith leaders, when they encounter rituals that honour their existence, when they learn that their identity is not a curse but a gift—something shifts. Hope returns. Healing begins.

But healing cannot happen without truth‑telling.

We must name spiritual violence for what it is: a misuse of sacred power. No scripture, no tradition, and no deity calls us to harm one another. The weaponisation of religion against LGBTIQ people is not faith—it is fear. And fear thrives where knowledge is absent.

This is why our work is urgent. We must continue to educate, to challenge harmful narratives, and to create spaces where LGBTIQ people can reconnect with their spirituality without shame. We must support faith leaders who are courageous enough to stand for inclusion, even when it is unpopular. And we must remind our communities that human dignity is not negotiable.

As we approach IDNOWA’s 10‑year anniversary and our Human Rights Conference this August, I am reminded of how far we have come—and how far we still must go. Our movement is growing. Our voices are stronger. Our stories are being told. But the struggle continues, and we cannot do it alone.

Spiritual violence may be powerful, but so is our resilience. So is our truth. So is our collective determination to build a West Africa where every person—regardless of sexuality, gender identity, or faith—can live with dignity, safety, and spiritual belonging.

Our liberation is not a question of if, but when. And together, we are bringing that “when” closer.

Nana Davis Mac‑Iyalla

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IDNOWA Leads Bold Dialogue on Human Rights and Inclusion Amid Ghana’s Anti-LGBT Bill Debate

Interfaith Diversity Network Of West Africa

Press Release
For Immediate Release Date: 11 August 2025 Contact: Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa (IDNOWA) Email: info@idnowa.org

IDNOWA Leads Bold Dialogue on Human Rights and Inclusion Amid Ghana’s Anti-LGBT Bill Debate

Accra, Ghana — On 4 August 2025, the Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa (IDNOWA) hosted a landmark sensitization workshop aimed at promoting human rights awareness and fostering inclusive dialogue among religious and traditional leaders. The event comes at a critical time, as Ghana’s Parliament reconsiders the controversial anti-LGBT bill, raising alarm among civil society and international observers.

The workshop brought together a diverse group of faith leaders, human rights educators, and civil society representatives to explore the intersection of religion, culture, and inclusion. Through presentations, group discussions, and personal storytelling, participants examined the social and legal implications of the proposed legislation and reaffirmed their commitment to dignity and equality for all.

“This workshop is not just a conversation—it’s a commitment to justice,” said Davis Mac-Iyalla, Executive Director of IDNOWA. “We must continue to challenge exclusionary narratives and empower leaders to stand for compassion and equality.”

IDNOWA has been at the forefront of promoting inclusion across West Africa, using interfaith dialogue to dismantle stigma and build bridges between communities. The organization’s ongoing efforts include educational outreach, advocacy campaigns, and strategic partnerships with local and international stakeholders.

Key Outcomes:
Increased empathy and understanding among religious leaders.

Commitments to promote inclusive practices within faith communities.

Heightened awareness of the anti-LGBT bill’s risks to civil liberties.

Recommendations:
Continued engagement through follow-up workshops.

Development of tailored educational materials for faith communities.

Strengthened partnerships with advocacy groups to support inclusive policy dialogue.

This workshop underscores IDNOWA’s unwavering dedication to human rights and its strategic role in shaping a more inclusive West Africa.

For interviews, media inquiries, or further information, please contact: IDNOWA Communications Team 📧 info@idnowa.org 🌐 Visit our press page

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Liberia Methodist Church resist inclusion and diversity

Interfaith Diversity Network Of West Africa

Anti-homosexual protests storm Liberia United Methodist Church

Original story by Gloria Wleh from https://dubawa.org/anti-homosexual-protests-storm-liberia-united-methodist-church/

Liberia is a highly religious country with a Christian majority of 85% of the 5.2 million population. 

Article 14 of the Liberian Constitution provides for the “freedom of thought, conscience and religion and no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment thereof except as may be required by law to protect public safety, order, health, morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.”

Some Christian denominations practised in Liberia are Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, United Methodist, African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zionists, and several Pentecostal churches.

An American-based Christian organisation called Set Free Alliance said the Methodist is the largest Christian denomination in Liberia.

The Methodist church is almost everywhere in the world and was derived from John Wesley‘s teachings, which posit that salvation must produce holiness of heart and life. 

At its most recent 2020\2024 general conference held in the U.S., the United Methodist reached a decision, removing from its Book of Discipline all language that restricts or singles out non-heterosexual people for disparate treatment, effective upon the close of the conference on May 3, 2024.

The church also made its clergy free to preside over same-sex marriage or union ceremonies where they are legal. The church said they are also equally free to choose not to do so. The church says it remains neutral and inclusive, saying, “Sexuality is God’s good gift to all persons.”

Since then, the United Methodist Church in Liberia has been characterised by claims and counterclaims of homosexuality being adopted in the church of Liberia.

Barely a few months after the conference, in June this year, a protest was staged against same-sex marriage in the Methodist church in Nimba County by people believed to be members of the church. The aggrieved members claimed the Resident Bishop of Liberia, Samuel Quire, is gay, and he is trying to infuse same-sex marriage in the church.

Also, on Oct 13, 2024, a simultaneous protest occurred in two United Methodist churches in New Georgia and 72nd communities. The protestants alleged that Bishop Quire suspended their pastors and replaced them because of their stance against homosexuality. They also alleged that a gay wedding was officiated by the bishop on that same day, at one of the churches.

In response on Oct 14, 2024, Bishop Quire said the allegation of him officiating a gay wedding came from the New Georgia branch but was false.  

He stressed that the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church would not conduct any weddings or ordination of homosexuals.

Bishop Quire explained that two of the pastors of the New Georgia branch and a clergyman of the 72nd were suspended because they disobeyed the church’s book of discipline. He said he could not reveal their exact offenses because they were administrative decisions.

The bishop said the pastors rejected the suspension letters and decided to continue pastoring their different churches, which disrupted their churches’ services.

He said the “United Methodist Church of Liberia is not a gay church, nor will it ever adopt such an identity.” He added, “They firmly uphold the definition of marriage as the sacred union between one man and one woman– nothing more and nothing less.”