Deborah Vanessa, often known as Sister Derby, is a human rights activist and musician from Ghana. She has stated that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is using the anti-LGBT+ bill as a political ploy to damage the president’s reputation.
On March 5, 2024, she made a hint in an interview with YouTuber Kwadwo Sheldon that attempts to push the law were not being made for the good of Ghanaians but rather as a means of harming the president’s reputation internationally.
She said that if elected, former president John Dramani Mahama would not support the bill. “The opposition party wants the incumbent president to seem bad, which is the reason. All they want is to ruin his name and place him in a difficult situation.
“If he had been in charge, he (Mahama) would not have passed this legislation. She added, “I believe he would have caused it to lag.” Sister Derby provided evidence for her assertions by highlighting the “careful wording” employed by influential NDC members.
She stated that rather than openly opposing same-sex marriage, they chose to voice their personal objections to the measure. “It’s clear from their remarks that they haven’t claimed to be the bill. They make really intelligent word choices. They are really picky. They say something like, “My faith forbids same-sex marriage.”
However, no one is requesting same-sex unions. Even now, no one is requesting marriages,” she remarked. The Ghanaian Parliament has approved the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which is now pending the President’s signature to become law.
I have a number of clauses that would severely restrict the rights of LGBT+ people, including incarceration for engaging in same-sex relationships, distributing LGBT+ materials, and joining LGBT+ organizations.
The bill has sparked a contentious debate; proponents contend it’s essential to uphold Ghanaian cultural norms, while opponents point to possible discrimination and abuses of human rights.
Source: 1FamilyRadio