‘I am what I am’: Ghanaian trans woman defiant in face of anti-LGBT bill
06 February 2022 |
2:56 pm
In a dimly-lit room with racks of women's clothing, Ghanaian artist and LGBT+ activist Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi prepares herself for the day, pairing a dress with carefully applied makeup. Transitioning is not illegal in Ghana, but it will become so if a new law is passed, intended to tighten already strict anti-LGBT+ regulations which render same-sex relations illegal. Homophobia is pervasive in the West African country and trans people are generally considered to be gay.
Related
13 Sep 2017
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo on Tuesday visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja where they both met behind closed-doors.
28 Aug 2018
Buhari welcomes Ghanaian President to State House, Abuja
22 Oct 2018
Ghana is emerging as an influential player on the international fashion scene and Accra-based designer Bri Wireduah has hopes of making it big.
18 Feb 2019
Jeffrey Kwabena Yeboah is helping transform waste in Accra, Ghana into household furniture. The entrepreneur uses old tyres to make coffee tables and arm chairs for sale. Yeboah did not want to waste time searching for employment so he decided to start his own business instead.
13 May 2019
A Ghanaian company is disrupting hair-grooming for Accra's men by shaving off precious minutes for their busy clients with home and office-based visits.
5 Jun 2019
Ghanaian educator Sackey Percy has found fame on Instagram as 'Percy Jackson', the teacher who uses dancing in class to make learning easier and more entertaining for his students.
30 Jun 2019
Ghana recorded a 6.7 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the 5.4 per cent recorded in 2018. Collins Appiah, Economic Advisor at Services Integrity Savings and Loans joins CNBC Africa for more.
31 Aug 2019
The 9th annual Chale Wote Street Art Festival drew thousands of people together in an artistic celebration of the African continent and its history.
14 Dec 2019
Catch this week’s episode of Guardian Life’s weekly recap of the biggest entertainment news on GuardianTV. Join Violet Johnson as she brings you a fresh array of gist every week!
13 Jan 2020
Daniela Lourdes Falanga, her family's first male heir, was expected to follow the path of her mafia boss father. She overcame a brutal Naples childhood to become a prominent transgender rights activist.
30 Jan 2020
Traders in Ghana have labeled Abuja's decision to continue shutting its border as needless and un-African. On the contrary, Nigeria claims the border closure has spurred local production and reduced arms smuggling.
19 Apr 2020
Ghana is the seventh largest trading partner of China in Africa. Thousands of businesses and traders in the West African country rely heavily on products from China to serve millions of consumers but the outbreak of the Coronavirus especially in China means they can’t access goods to stay in business. They are beginning to feel the impact
Latest
1 hour ago
Oscar-winning actors Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche, as well as other French screen and music stars, filmed themselves chopping off locks of their hair in a video posted Wednesday in support of protesters in Iran.
1 hour ago
Ethiopia has announced that it has stopped issuing visas on arrival to travelers from Nigeria with immediate effect. Travelers from 41 other countries, mostly from Africa, will also be affected by the new directive.
1 hour ago
Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.
3 hours ago
UK Prime Minister Liz Truss admits she "could have laid the ground better" for her plan to reduce taxes for the wealthy. Four weeks into the job, she faces scrutiny from her own party over her handling of the scandal.
3 hours ago
Germany's world-famous Oktoberfest has kicked off for the first time since the pandemic. Despite fears that the event could lead to an increase in COVID-19 infections, there aren't any restrictions in place this year.
3 hours ago
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is a tale of state-of-the-art installations: brand new stadiums, hotels and other tourist facilities have popped up in the Gulf country as it prepares to host the football competition.