From Afghanistan to Malaysia, these are the 61 countries that still criminalize homosexuality
04/09/25
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Street life, Kabul, Afghanistan
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There are nearly twice as many countries that criminalize homosexuality than countries that have marriage equality.
Today, over five dozen countries still have laws making same-sex sexual relations illegal. Most of them are in Africa — and the majority inherited their laws from European colonization. Those colonial laws remain in place even after the countries that implemented them overturned them, though they're not always actively enforced.
These are the countries that criminalize consensual sex acts between same-sex couples.
(Written by Ryan Adamczeski; art sourced by Nikki Aye)
Bamiyan Bazaar, central Afghanistan
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Though the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan unofficially punished same-sex sexual activities, the Taliban re-criminalized acts between men as well as between women under the Penal Code of 1976 after taking control in 2021. The maximum penalty under its interpretation of religious law is death.
Central market square, Beni Isguen, Algeria
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Algeria criminalizes same-sex sexual activities between men as well as between women under article 338 of the 1966 Penal Code. Sentences include up to three years in prison and a fine.
Sadarghat District, Dhaka, Bangladesh
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Section 377 of Bangladesh's Penal Code 1860 criminalizes "carnal intercourse against the order of nature," levying a sentence of ten years to life in prison.
Bandar Seri Begawan Central Market, Darussalam, Brunei
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Same-sex sexual activity became illegal in 1906 under British colonization. Now, chapter 22 of Penal Code 1951 in Brunei criminalizes same-sex sexual activities between men as well as between women, while also criminalizing transgender people's expression. Sexual relations between men are punishable by death, and sexual relations between women are punishable by whipping or caning.
Gitaza market, Tanganyika Lake, Burundi
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Article 567 of the Burundi Penal Code criminalizes sexual relations between men and sexual relations between women with up to two years in prison and fines.
Bangang market, Mbouda, West Cameroon
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Sexual relations between people of the same sex is criminalized under Article 347 of the Cameroon Penal Code of 1967. Sentences range from six months to five years in prison, as well as fines.
Street market, Faya, Chad
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Homosexuality was not criminalized in Chad until 2017, when a new penal code went into effect, Chad Penal Code 2017. The National Assembly voted 111 to 1 to punish same-sex sexual relations with three months to two years in prison, and fines.
Harbor of Moroni, Comoros, Africa
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Article 318 of the Penal Code of the Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros, 1995 criminalizes same-sex sexual activities, levying punishments of two to five years in prison and fines.
Busy street, Asmara, Eritrea
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Articles 310 and 311 of Eritrea's Penal Code 2015 criminalize same-sex sexual acts, levying sentences of five to seven years in prison. The code was inherited from Ethiopia, which inherited its code from British colonization.
Craft market, Malkerns, Eswatini
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Eswatini inherited its criminalization of sodomy from Roman-Dutch common law. While LGBTQ+ people face discrimination, its common law restrictionsdo not have specified sentences, and it is not enforced.
Market row, Jinka, Ethiopia
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The Criminal Code of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Proclamation No. 414/2004, articles 629 and 630, criminalize same-sex sexual relations with up to 15 years in prison. These relations, even when consensual, are considered acts of aggression against victims.
Local market, Banjul, Gambia
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Gambia's 1933 Criminal Code that criminalized same-sex sexual relations with up to fourteen years in prison was amended in 2014 to include life in prison for cases of "aggravated homosexuality."
Rafah, Gaza Strip (January 2024)
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The Occupied Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip also gets its laws criminalizing homosexuality from British colonization. Section 152(2) of the British Mandate Criminal Code Ordinance No. 74 of 1936 criminalizes same-sex sexual relations as "carnal knowledge against the order of nature" with up to ten years in prison.
Makola Market, Accra, Ghana
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Despite Ghana's constitution including freedom of speech, Criminal Code 1960 (amended 2003), section 104, goes beyond criminalizing same-sex sexual relations with up to three years in prison and also punishes "unnatural carnal knowledge."
Corner market, St. George's, Grenada
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Sexual activities between men are criminalized in Grenada under Criminal Code of 1987, article 431, levying up to ten years in prison.
Local port, Conakry, Guinea
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Penal Code of the Republic of Guinea, 2016, article 274 criminalize same-sex sexual relations with sentences ranging between six months and three years in prison.
Public art, Georgetown, Guyana
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Guyana's Criminal Law (Offences) Act, 1998, articles 352, 354, levy two years in prison for "gross indecency" between men, life for "buggery." It is the only country in South America or the mainland Americas to criminalize homosexuality.
Mir Emad Mosque, Kashan, Iran
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Iran is the one nation that is known to actively enforce the death penalty for same-sex sexual relations. The Islamic Penal Code of Iran, 2013, articles 233-41, liwat (sodomy); tafkhiz (thigh sex); and musaheqeh (lesbian intercourse). Iran also levies up to 100 lashes for other sexual acts.
al Mutanabbi street market, Baghdad, Iraq
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Iraq’s parliament passed an anti-LGBTQ+ amendment to the country’s existing “Law on Combatting Prostitution,” No. 8 of 1988 in April, 2024. The new law punishes same-sex relations with a penalty of between 10 and 15 years in prison, or up to 7 years in prison and a fine for “promoting homosexuality,” which is undefined.
The law also levies between 1 and 3 years in prison for people who undergo or perform gender-affirming medical interventions and for “imitating women.”
Local vendors, Kingston, Jamaica
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Jamaica initially adopted British buggery laws from the 1800s, including the Offences Against the Person Act of 1864, which punishes same-sex sexual relations with up to ten years in prison and hard labor.
DIani Market, Mombasa, Kenya
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The Penal Code of Kenya, Revised Edition 2012, sections 162 and 165, criminalizes sexual activities between men, with sentences of five years for "indecent practices between males," or fourteen years for "carnal knowledge against the order of nature."
Fish market, SOUTH TARAWA, KIRIBATI
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Sexual relations between men are criminalized under the Kiribati Penal Code, Revised Edition 1977, section 153, 155. It levies a sentence of up to 14 years in prison, but it is not enforced.
Market breezeway, Kuwait City, Kuwait
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Article 193 of Kuwait's Penal Code (Law No. 16 of 1960) criminalizes sexual relations between men of full age (21 years and older), levying a prison sentence of up to seven years.
Food market, Batroun, Lebanon
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Lebanon's Criminal Code of 1943, article 534, prohibits sexual activities that "contradict the laws of nature" with punishment of up to one year in prison. Despite several courts ruling that this should not be used to arrest LGBTQ+ people, it is still used to harass them.
Grain stand, Monrovia, Liberia
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Penal Law - Title 26 - Liberian Code of Laws Revised, 1978, article 14.74. criminalizes same-sex sexual activities with up to three years in prison. Oral and anal sexual activities are banned for everyone who "are not husband and wife or living together as man and wife though not legally married."
Martyrs Square, Tripoli, Libya
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The Libyan Penal Code of 1953, as amended by Law No. 70 (1973), articles 407 and 408, criminalizes same-sex sexual relations with up to five years in prison.
Roadside stand, LILONGWE, MALAWI
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Malawi's Penal Code of 1930, sections 153 and 137A, which was amended in 2010 to include women, criminalizes "carnal knowledge against the order of nature," attempts to commit "carnal knowledge against the order of nature," and acts of "gross indecency." Men are punishable by up to 14 years in prison, and women are punishable by up to five years in prison.
Jalan Alor night food market, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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The Malaysia Penal Code, 2006, section 377A, 377B, and 377D, criminalizes sexual relations between men, threatening public whippings and up to 20 years in prison.
Indoor market, Male, Maldives
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Maldives Penal Code, Section 410, 411, 412 criminalizes sexual intercourse with a person of the same sex, indecent acts with a person of the same sex, and unlawful marriage with 6 months to 8 years in prison, and up to 100 lashes for "unlawful sexual intercourse."
Fish market, Nouakchott, Mauritania
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Mauritania's Penal Code of 1983, articles 306, 308 criminalizes same-sex sexual relations. Men face death by stoning, and women face up to two years in prison.
Djemaa el Fna square market, Marrakesh, Moroco
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Article 489 of the 1962 Moroccan Penal Code criminalizes "lewd or unnatural acts with an individual of the same sex," punishable by 6 months to 3 years in prison.
Intha Fisherman, INLE LAKE, MYANMAR
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Myanmar inherited laws from British colonial rule, Penal Code 1861, section 377, which criminalizes same-sex sexual relations as "carnal knowledge against the order of nature" with up to 20 years in prison.
Busy road, Lagos, NIGERIA
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The Criminal Code Act (Chapter 77), 1990, sections 214, 215, 217 criminalizes same-sex sexual activities with up to 14 years in prison, or in some states, death by stoning. Additionally, the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2013 explicitly outlaws marriage equality and LGBTQ+ businesses.
Hapta Souq cattle market, Nizwa, Oman
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Omani Penal Code No. 7/1974, articles 33, 223 criminalizes same-sex sexual activity with up to three years in prison.
street market, Peshawar, Pakistan
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The Pakistan Penal Code (XLV of 1860), section 377, originally developed under the British Raj, criminalizes same-sex sexual relations with up to ten years in prison. The country also has a fundamentalist understanding of Islamic law, meaning it is possible to get the death penalty.
Wamena street market, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, Indonesia
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Sexual relations between men is criminalized under Papua New Guinea's Criminal Code Act 1974, section 210, 212. Though it levies punishment of up to 14 years in prison, it is not often enforced.
Souq Waqif, Doha, Qatar
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Penal Code, Law No. (II) of 2004, articles 296, 298. criminalizes same-sex sexual relations in Qatar and "leading, instigating or seducing a male anyhow for sodomy or dissipation" with up to three years in prison. The country's interpretation of Sharia law applies to Muslims, who could receive the death penalty, though this has never happened.
Related:British gay man ‘tortured’ in Qatar is almost out of HIV medicine, family says (exclusive)
Fruit market, Castries, St. Lucia
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Saint Lucia's Criminal Code, No. 9 of 2004, sections 132, 133. criminalizes sexual relations between men. Though it levies a prison sentence of five to ten years, it is not enforced.
Ferry terminal, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines
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Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Criminal Code, 1990 Edition, sections 146 and 148 criminalizes same-sex sexual activities, with up to ten years in prison.
Umu cooking technique, Upolu, Samoa
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The Samoa Crimes Act 2013, No. 10, section 67 criminalizes sexual relations between men with up to seven years in prison, though it is not enforced.
Produce market, Thoif, Saudi Arabia
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There is no written law in Saudi Arabia on same-sex sexual relations, so the country draws interpretations from Islamic religious law, which can have punishments of flogging or death. People have also received similar sentences for cross-dressing.
Soumbedioune fish market, Dakar, Senegal
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Senegal's Penal Code of 1965, article 319 (para. 3). comes from French colonization, criminalizing same-sex sexual relations with up to five years in prison.
Yongoro market, Freetown, Sierra Leone
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The Offences against the Person Act 1861, section 61 criminalizes sexual relations between men, imposing a sentence of ten years to life in prison.
Open air market, Batuna, Solomon Islands
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Solomon Islands' Penal Code (Revised Edition 1996), sections 160-162 criminalizes same-sex sexual relations. Though it threatens up to 14 years in prison, it is not enforced.
Livestock market, Hargeisa, Somalia
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Somalia's Penal Code, Legislative Decree No. 5/1962, articles 409 and 410 criminalizes same-sex sexual activities with up to three years in prison, though areas controlled by al-Shabaab (the Islamic Emirate of Somalia) can impose the death penalty.
Konyo Konyo Market, Juba, South Sudan
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South Sudan's Penal Code Act 2008, section 248 criminalizes same-sex sexual relations as "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" with up to ten years in prison, though there is no known case of the law being enforced since it gained independence in 2011.
City market, Kandy, Sri Lanka
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Article 365 of the Sri Lankan Penal Code stems from British colonization, criminalizing same-sex sexual acts as "against the order of nature" with up to ten years in prison. However, while the nation's Supreme Court does not have the authority to overturn the law, it has ruled it to be "incompatible with the current times."
Vegetable stand, Atbara, Sudan
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Though Sudan initially imposed whippings and the death penalty for same-sex sexual relations, the country amended its Penal Code 1991 (Act No. 8 1991), sections 148 and 151 to include sentences of five years to life in prison.
Suq Al Hamidiyah, Damascus, Syria
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Syria's Penal Code of 1949, article 520 criminalizes same-sex sexual relations as "carnal relations against the order of nature" with up to three years in prison. The exact legal state of LGBTQ+ rights in the country remains unclear after the fall of the Assad regime in 2024.
Maasai tribe gathering, Arusha, Tanzania
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Homosexuality was treated with indifference before colonization. The Penal Code of 1945, as amended by the Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act of 1998, section 138A, criminalizes same-sex sexual relations as acts of gross indecency and "carnal knowledge against the order of nature." Sentences range from 30 years to life in prison.
Central market, Lome, Togo
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The German Empire first made same-sex sexual activities illegal in Togo in 1884. Penal Code of 13 August 1980 (amended 2000), article 88 criminalizes them with up to three years in prison.
Street life, Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Same-sex sexual relations and transgender people were mostly accepted in Tonga before the introduction of Christianity. The Criminal Offences Act, 1988 Revised Edition, sections 136, 139, 142 criminalizes sexual relations between men with up to ten years in prison or whipping, though there is no evidence of it being enforced.
Men impersonating women "whilst soliciting for an immoral purpose" is also criminalized with fines and up to a year in prison.
Medina aisle, Tunis, Tunisia
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Tunisia criminalizes liwat (sodomy) and musaheqeh (sex between women) with up to three years in prison under Penal Code of 1913 (as modified), article 230. There are reports of authorities arbitrarily detaining people for questioning based solely on their appearance.
Tolkucha bazaar, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
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The Criminal Code of Turkmenistan No. 222-I of June 12, 1997 (as amended up to November 9, 2013), article 135 criminalizes sexual activities between men with two years in prison, or five to ten for repeated offenses. It is one of just two post-Soviet countries that still criminalize homosexuality.
Government Building, Funafuti, Tuvalu
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Tuvalu was not documented to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people before the arrival of Christianity during British colonization. Sexual relations between men are criminalized under Tuvalu's Penal Code, Revised Edition 2008, section 153-155 with up to 14 years in prison, though there is no evidence of it being enforced.
Banana market, Kitwa, Uganda
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Uganda's highest court upheld a law criminalizing same-sex relationships in April, 2024. The Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 (AHA23) punishes individuals who engage in same-sex sexual relations with prison sentences of up to 20 years, making certain instances punishable by death.
Related:Uganda used the U.S. Supreme Court's anti-abortion ruling to outlaw being LGBTQ+
Expo2020, Dubai, UAE
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Sexual relations between men are criminalized in the U.A.E. under Penal Code Article 409, levying a minimum sentence of six months in prison with no maximum. Federal Law No. 7 of 2016, art. 359 criminalizes "any male disguised in a female apparel and enters in this disguise a place reserved for women or where entry is forbidden, at that time, for other than women" with up to one year in prison.
Sweets vendors, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
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Uzbekistan is the second of the two post-Soviet states that still criminalize homosexuality. Sexual relations between men are illegal under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 1994, article 120 with up to three years in prison.
Street life, Socotra, Yemen
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Same-sex sexual relations are criminalized in Yemen under Penal Code 1994, articles 264 and 268. Sentences for acts between unmarried men include 100 lashes and up to a year in prison; death by stoning for married men; and 100 lashes and up to 3 years in prison for women. It is actively enforced — a group of men were sentenced to death in 2024.
Soweto Market, Lusaka, Zambia
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Zambia inherited its laws criminalizing homosexuality from the British. Same-sex sexual relations are illegalin the country under the Penal Code Act (as amended by Act No. 15 of 2005), sections 155 and 156 with 15 years to life in prison.
Vegetable stand, Harare, Zimbabwe
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Same-sex relations and transgender people were commonly accepted in Zimbabwe before British colonization. Now, sexual relations between men are criminalized under Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (2006), section 73 with up to a year in prison and fines.
Khan Khalili night market, Cairo, Egypt
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Egypt and Indonesia both have anti-sex work laws that can disproportionately impact queer people, and Russia has a law banning "LGBTQ+ propaganda," but none explicitly ban same-sex sexual relations — for now.