You can do whatever you want with LGBTQ+ people and get away with it
In a country that had never before made same-sex relations a crime, Niger's military government has moved swiftly to imprison dozens of people under a sweeping new penal code — part of a widening regional pattern in which political power is consolidated through the targeting of the most vulnerable. Enacted in February 2025 under a regime that came to power by coup, the law does not merely punish identity; it dismantles the public health infrastructure that kept people alive. When a state forces a population into hiding, it does not erase the conditions of their existence — it simply makes those conditions more dangerous and less visible.
- At least 40 people have been arrested and 16 imprisoned — including military officers — under a law that imposes up to ten years in prison for same-sex relations and up to twenty for organizing a gay marriage.
- HIV prevention organizations have shuttered entirely, cutting off access to condoms, testing, and PrEP medication for a population already living in a country that recorded 32,000 new HIV infections in 2023.
- LGBTQ+ people have gone underground, and public health workers warn that fear itself becomes a vector — when people cannot seek care without risking arrest, disease spreads unseen and untreated.
- The regime frames the law as an assertion of African sovereignty against western values, but analysts observe that scapegoating a marginalized group is a well-worn instrument of authoritarian consolidation.
- Niger joins Uganda, Senegal, and Ghana in a rapidly accelerating sub-Saharan trend — half of the world's 66 countries that criminalize same-sex relations are now on the African continent, and international calls for repeal have gone unanswered.
Niger had never criminalized homosexuality — until February 2025, when the military government of General Abdourahamane Tchiani, who seized power in a 2023 coup, enacted a penal code making same-sex relations punishable by up to ten years in prison. Within months, at least 40 people had been arrested and 16 imprisoned, among them high-ranking military officers. The law extends further still: organizing a gay marriage carries up to twenty years, and organizations working with LGBTQ+ communities — directly or indirectly — face prosecution and heavy fines.
The consequences for public health have been immediate and severe. HIV prevention services have halted operations. Access to condoms, testing, and PrEP medication has effectively vanished for the populations who needed them most. As one anonymous worker in HIV services put it, people in hiding cannot protect themselves — and the virus spreads in the dark. Niger recorded an estimated 32,000 new HIV infections in 2023, and last week the country voted against the UN's political declaration on HIV/Aids, one of only eight nations to do so.
The regime has framed its policies in the language of African values and sovereignty, casting LGBTQ+ rights as a western imposition. But political scientist Larissa Kojoué offered a sharper reading: leaders across the continent have learned that targeting a marginalized group is a reliable tool for consolidating power, one that carries little political cost. "There is no culture that encourages violence against innocent people," she noted, "but on the continent you can do whatever you want with LGBTQ+ people and get away with it."
Niger is not acting in isolation. Uganda criminalized same-sex acts with the possibility of the death penalty in 2023. Senegal doubled its maximum sentence and criminalized the promotion of homosexuality. Ghana has moved against organizations that identify with or advocate for LGBTQ+ communities. Half of the world's 66 countries that criminalize consensual same-sex acts are in Africa, and the trend is accelerating. International human rights organizations have called for repeal. The regime has not responded. The arrests continue, the clinics remain closed, and the people stay hidden.
In Niger, a country that had never before criminalized homosexuality, at least 40 people have been arrested in recent months under a penal code enacted in February that makes same-sex relations punishable by up to a decade in prison. Sixteen men, some of them high-ranking military officers, are now imprisoned. The arrests have created what those working in public health describe as a toxic environment—one where people are disappearing into hiding, where organizations that once provided HIV testing and prevention services have been forced to shut down, and where the infrastructure of care that kept a vulnerable population alive is simply gone.
The new law carries teeth beyond the criminalization of homosexuality itself. Anyone organizing or participating in a gay marriage faces up to 20 years in prison. Organizations working with LGBTQ+ communities—whether directly or indirectly—can be prosecuted for up to 20 years and fined heavily. The penal code also strips access to the practical tools of disease prevention: condoms, HIV testing, and PrEP, the medication that prevents infection. An anonymous source working in HIV services described the situation plainly: when people go into hiding out of fear, they cannot protect themselves. The virus spreads in the dark.
This criminalization did not emerge in a vacuum. General Abdourahamane Tchiani seized power in a coup in July 2023 and was sworn in as president in 2025. His military government has dissolved all political parties and aligned Niger with Mali and Burkina Faso in the Alliance of Sahel States, breaking away from the regional economic bloc. The regime has wrapped its policies in the language of sovereignty and African values, framing LGBTQ+ rights as a western imposition. But as political scientist Larissa Kojoué observed, this framing obscures what is actually happening: political leaders are using the targeting of a marginalized group to consolidate power. "There is no culture that encourages violence against innocent people," she said, "but on the continent you can do whatever you want with LGBTQ+ people and get away with it."
The public health consequences are already visible. Niger recorded an estimated 32,000 new HIV infections in 2023. Last week, the country voted against the UN's political declaration on HIV/Aids—one of only eight nations to do so. While western and central Africa has achieved a 49 percent decline in new infections between 2010 and 2022, sub-Saharan Africa remains disproportionately affected, accounting for 64 percent of all people living with HIV globally. Forcing people underground and eliminating access to prevention services does not make disease disappear; it makes it harder to track, harder to treat, and easier to transmit.
Niger is not alone. Uganda enacted an anti-homosexuality law in 2023 that made same-sex acts punishable by death. Senegal doubled its maximum prison sentence for same-sex relations to 10 years and criminalized the "promotion" of homosexuality. Ghana has criminalized groups that promote gay rights or identify as LGBTQ+. Globally, half of the 66 countries that criminalize consensual same-sex acts are in Africa. The trend is unmistakable, and it is accelerating. International human rights organizations have called on Niger's authorities to repeal the provisions, but the regime shows no sign of relenting. The arrests continue. The clinics remain closed. The people stay hidden.
Citações Notáveis
The climate here is truly toxic. LGBTQ+ populations are keeping a low profile and have gone into hiding because they are at risk.— Anonymous HIV services worker in Niger
Political leaders are using this to advance their own political agenda. They claim African values and sovereignty, all the while undermining human rights.— Larissa Kojoué, political scientist and pan-African activist
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does a military government in Niger suddenly decide to criminalize something that was never illegal before?
It's partly about consolidating power. When you seize control through a coup, you need to show strength and rally support. Targeting a marginalized group—one without political power to fight back—is a way to do that. You wrap it in language about sovereignty and African values, and suddenly you're not persecuting people; you're defending the nation.
But there's a public health angle here that seems almost reckless. They're eliminating HIV prevention services.
Exactly. The people making these laws either don't care about the consequences or they're willing to accept them as the cost of their political agenda. When you force people into hiding, they can't access testing, can't get medication, can't protect themselves. The virus doesn't care about ideology. It just spreads.
Is this happening elsewhere in Africa?
It's a pattern. Uganda, Senegal, Ghana—they've all passed similar laws in recent years. Half of all countries in the world that criminalize same-sex relations are in Africa. What's happening in Niger is part of something larger.
What do the people being arrested face?
Prison sentences of up to 10 years for same-sex relations. If you're involved in organizing anything related to LGBTQ+ communities, you can face 20 years. Some of the people arrested are military officials themselves. The regime is using the law to consolidate control across all levels of society.
Can this be reversed?
Not quickly. The military government dissolved all political parties and rewrote the constitution. They're aligned with neighboring countries doing the same thing. International pressure exists, but it hasn't stopped them. The people most affected are the ones who have to survive in the meantime.