World News for Students of English

02-03-2022 07:00

In Ghana, the so-called ‘Family Values Bill’ plans to limit already strict anti-LGBT+ laws that criminalize same-sex relationships.

LGBT+ activists call the bill ‘Anti-Human Bill’ because it means that a person who fights for LGBT+ rights could face prison time of up to 10 years. If the government passes the law, those who hold out as lesbian, gay, non-binary, transgender, and transsexual, can be three to five years in prison. Those who receive or perform surgery for gender reassignment will have the same punishment.

Critics say that the bill pushes no family values, and it breaks the wholeness of the country. However, it has strong support among lawmakers, and no politician has come out publicly against it. More than 70% of Ghana’s 30-million population are Christian, and Christian leaders strongly support the bill.

Difficult words: hold out (to last in a difficult situation), non-binary (an identity that is neither male nor female), gender reassignment (the process that involves surgery and hormone medicine, and it changes a person’s physical sexual characteristics to match their gender identity).

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