Military-run Niger has enacted a new penal code criminalising same-sex relations with heavy jail sentences, following other west African countries in adopting tough anti-LGBTQ legislation.
Although a taboo subject, same-sex relations had not been a criminal offence in Muslim-majority Niger.
General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of the military government, has pushed an anti-Western agenda since seizing power in July 2023, criticising some Western values.
Under Niger's new law, same-sex relations will be punishable by a jail term of between five and 10 years and a fine.
It sets out the same penalty for anyone committing or trying to commit "an indecent or unnatural act, or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA+) practices", or anyone who "artificially changes or attempts to change their birth sex".
It adds that "anyone who enters into marriage with a person of the same sex" faces 10 to 20 years' imprisonment.
It stipulates the same sentence for "any person who manages, directs, operates, finances or participates in clubs, societies, organisations or associations for homosexuals or LGBTQIA+ people".
The penal code reform was initiated under Niger's previous civilian president Mohamed Bazoum under pressure from Muslim groups and lawmakers. Bazoum was overthrown in the 2023 coup.
The enactment of the new code took effect in February but had gone unnoticed in the country until social media and media outlets announced in recent days a "large-scale crackdown".
Justice Minister Alio Daouda said recently that Niger had legislated "in full responsibility and sovereignty" because same-sex relations do not "conform to its social and cultural values".
He said he had already outlined Niger's position at the last session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Last year, two women were handed jail terms for "public indecency" -- the term used at the time to prosecute possible same-sex relationships -- after prosecutors appealed their initial acquittal, according to a source close to the case.
Prosecutors had sought a three-year jail sentence against them.
In 2024, the government removed some sex-education lessons from the school curriculum, saying the material "undermines the values" of the country.
It also ordered the removal of an app raising awareness about women's sexual and reproductive health, designed by NGOs.
Niger is the latest country to adopt or increase such penalties.
Burkina Faso has put in place five-year sentences for same-sex relations, Ghana recently said it would impose three-year terms, and Senegal last month doubled its maximum penalty for same-sex relations.
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