Four Gay Mauritian Men Aim To Overturn Anti-Gay Laws

Homosexuality is taboo in Mauritius, which currently convicts people for having same-sex relations with up to five years in prison.

Four young gay men are challenging this law in the country’s top court.

“Treating gay sex as a crime promotes homophobia and violence against LGBT+ people, the lead complainant in a bid to overturn a colonial-era law against sodomy in Mauritius said on Tuesday”, reports Reuters.

“Gay and bisexual men face a lot of physical and verbal violence in society,” 29-year-old Najeeb Ahmad Fokeerbux told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview.

Fokeerbux is one of the four gay men to challenge the archaic law.

“It manifests itself on the roads, in educational settings especially in schools, even while you are travelling on the bus. People can just start shouting abuse or even attacking you”, he continues.

“We know that homophobia won’t end with the law being scrapped. But it’s a step in the right direction,” he said.

“All we want is the same rights are everyone else. The right to choose the partner we want. The right to have the freedom to love who we want. The right to live with them in dignity.”

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