Ghana recently made unpalatable yet avoidable headlines on some international news networks when a group of persons were arrested in the Volta Region for ostensibly assembling at a location.
It turned out that the arrested persons as they assembled exuded telltale features consistent with homosexuals.
In the modern world, setting the law enforcement action cannot pass the test for civility. Since when did a group of persons assembling to discuss whatever bothers them because they belong to a similar sexual orientation constitute a breach of the law?
The suspects having been denied bail earlier were recently granted same anyway.
The sour taste the law enforcement action left behind on the moral palate of the civilized world remains and would continue for a long time unless we review our human rights infringement of our compatriots as ‘we become progressive in our thinking and actions.’
In a fast changing world where certain generally held notions have been questioned and thrown overboard because they constitute infringements on the human rights of others, we cannot afford to hold on to same indefinitely.
It has become clear that as a country, we should start reconsidering our previous opposition to the sexual preferences of others.
We have observed that countries which continue to put up the opposing postures to the subject of LBTQI stand to lose out in the short and long run.
They are many who subscribe to the spirit of ‘live and let’s live’ considering any form of harassment against persons with varying sexual orientations as tendentious and untoward. We belong to this group of Ghanaians and would like the society to take a cue from that by steering away from antiquated bigotry.
We do not agree with the current stand of ostracisation of persons who are sexually different.
It is regrettable that our homophobic stance has been acknowledged internationally, a reality which threatens our standing in the comity of the civilized.
Some persons think we can as a country, detach ourselves from the rest of the world, a thinking which cannot inure to our international standing.
We should not expose our political leadership to international ridicule when such leaders turn up at gatherings outside our frontiers where retrogressive and outmoded thinking no longer have a place.
We do not want to hear reports about tomatoes or eggs being thrown at our leaders for the homophobic direction of their compatriots.
We must not continue to be on the wrong side of the world because the rather difficult task of reversing the impression about ourselves in the minds of most of the world can be costly.
Don’t we have more challenging subjects to occupy our minds than stretching our necks to peep into the bedrooms of consenting adults doing whatever pleases them?
The multifaceted challenges confronting us would be better addressed if we were to direct our energies to more productive issues than fighting a crusade in which we would be bruised badly in nearly all fronts.