Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Tanzania face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Homosexuality in Tanzania is a socially taboo topic, and same-sex sexual acts (even in private and consensual) are criminal offences, punishable with life imprisonment. The law also criminalises heterosexuals who engage in oral sex and anal intercourse.

According to the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project, 95 percent of Tanzanian residents believed that homosexuality is a way of life that society should not accept, which was the seventh-highest rate of non-acceptance in the 45 countries surveyed.

According to Afrobarometer 2020 poll only 10 percent of Tanzanians would be tolerant of someone with a different sexual orientation which is among the lowest in Africa but higher than a 2007 poll.

In recent years, Tanzania has become particularly hostile to LGBT people. In October 2017, it deported staff of several HIV/AIDS groups on the basis of "promoting homosexuality". Tanzania has a high HIV/AIDS rate and reportedly one million people are infected. The Government has increasingly resorted to homophobic rhetoric, alleging that homosexuality is "un-African". In 2018, a so-called "witch hunt" was declared against gay people in Dar es Salaam, where gay men were forced to endure anal examinations and torture. Tanzania has a poor human rights record. Government respect for freedom of speech and freedom of assembly is declining.

Despite this there have been several Tanzanian human rights campaigners, activists, lawyers and feminists like Maria Sarungi, Fatma Karume, Mwanahamisi Singano, Zara Kay, Khalifa Said, Goodluck Haule and many others who have openly supported LGBT rights whilst openly opposing state-sanctioned homophobia and dangerous rhetoric from government officials who have called for further persecution of these marginalized groups. Promoters of anti-LGBT campaigns have included the former president Magufuli, Paul Makonda, Ally Hapi, and Hamisi Kigwangalla.

History
Prior to colonisation, various modern-day Tanzanian ethnic groups accepted homosexuality or viewed it with indifference.

The Swahili people had traditions of acceptance towards homosexuality. Homosexuals are known as  (plural: ), and historically had certain social roles, such as drumming and playing music at marriages and other festivals. The word  was also used by women to refer to "friends". Over time,  relationships turned into economic relations, with poorer young men being paid by richer older men (, plural: ) for sexual relations. Socially, only the  were regarded as "homosexual", the  would usually have a wife.

Lesbians relationships were also commonplace in Swahili society. Lesbians (known as  or  (plural:  or ), literally 'grinders') also had certain societal roles, including doing tasks typically associated with men. Similarly to  relationships,  relationships were also defined for economic purposes, though less so. The older partner ( (plural: )) was typically wealthier and of a higher social class. Women who resisted marriage and were interested in education and careers were perceived as being , regardless of their actual sexual orientation. Collectively, homosexuals were called  (literally 'woman, not man').

Among the Maasai people, traditions of cross-dressing were common and typically performed at rituals. During initiation rituals, young male Maasai would often dress as women and wear the  (ear-rings worn by women to show that they are married) and other female garments.

Among the Kuria people, lesbian marriages were, and still are to some extent, quite commonplace. Though now not perceived as being "homosexual", these marriages are performed for economic and diplomatic purposes, such as when a family has no son.

Societal acceptance and tolerance of homosexuality and same-sex relationships quickly disappeared after the arrival of the Europeans. Laws punishing homosexuality were enacted, and over time homophobia has become deeply ingrained in the population. In 2015, Adebisi Ademola Alimi, then a lecturer at the Humboldt University of Berlin, discussed this omnipresent homophobia in, not only Tanzania, but in Africa as a whole.

Legality of same-sex sexual activity
Throughout Tanzania, sex acts between men are illegal and carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Sex acts between women are not mentioned specifically in mainland Tanzanian law. The semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar outlaws same-sex sexual acts between women with a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment or a TSh  fine. Heterosexual oral and anal sex is also illegal.

Mainland Tanzania
The Penal Code of 1945 (as revised by the Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act, 1998) of Human rights in Tanzania provides as follows:

According to Part I(3) of the Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act, 1998, "gross indecency" in Section 138A "means any sexual act that is more than ordinary but falls short of actual intercourse and may include masturbation and indecent physical contact or indecent behaviour without any physical contact".

Zanzibar
The Zanzibar Penal Code of 1934, as amended in 2004, provides as follows:

According to Section 4, "gross indecency" means "any sexual act that falls short of actual intercourse and may include masturbation and physical contact or indecent behaviour without any physical contact."

Family and relationship policy
Same-sex couples have no legal recognition.

A couple is eligible to adopt a child jointly only if the couple is married. A man may adopt a female child as a sole applicant only if "the court is satisfied that there are special circumstances which justify as an exceptional measure the making of an adoption order". There are no special restrictions on a female adopting a male child as a sole applicant. Only a Tanzanian resident who is at least 25 years of age may adopt a child. An LGBT person is not specifically prohibited from adopting. "Child" means a person under 21 years of age who has never been married.

Living conditions
There are no gay bars, although there are some places where gay men meet. Lesbians are less visible than gay men.

Discrimination and harassment

Protections
Neither the Constitution nor the statutes of Tanzania specifically prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Incidents
In November 2018, Paul Makonda, Dar es Salaam's Regional Commissioner, announced that a special committee would seek to identify and punish homosexuals, prostitutes and online fraudsters in the city. A 17-strong committee consisting of police, lawyers and doctors had been formed to identify homosexuals. The committee would scour the internet to identify videos featuring supposedly LGBT people. The Foreign Ministry stated that the planned crackdown did not have the support of the Government. Denmark, one of Tanzania's largest aid provider, withheld 65 million kr. (£7.5 million stg; US$9.8 million) over the programme.

In October 2017, the Government deported staff of HIV/AIDS groups for "promoting homosexuality".

The U.S. Department of State's 2013 Human Rights Report noted:

In 2003, over 300 Tanzanians protested against the arrival of a gay tour group. In 2004, several Islamic groups in Zanzibar began an effort to cleanse the nation of activities it considered sinful, including homosexuality. The law in Zanzibar that criminalizes same-sex acts was amended to impose harsher penalties for those activities.

International reaction

Universal Periodic Reviews
The United Nations Human Rights Council in October 2011 at its meeting in Geneva completed a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the human rights situation in Tanzania. At this UPR, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) publicly urged Tanzania to repeal its statutes that criminalize same-sex sexual activities. The UNCT said in paragraph 27 of its report:

Tanzania refused. Mathias Meinrad Chikawe, the Tanzanian Minister of State and Good Governance, said in Geneva,

Aid from the UK
In October 2011, at the Commonwealth Head of Government's meeting in Perth, Australia, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, said that the UK may withhold or reduce aid to governments that do not reform statutes criminalizing homosexuality. In response, Tanzania's Minister for Foreign Affairs and international cooperation, Bernard Membe, said,

In the Tanzanian Parliament on 11 November 2011, the Tanzanian Prime Minister, Mizengo Pinda, responded to a question from an MP about whether the Government was prepared to lose aid from the UK. He said:

His statement is biologically and scientifically counterfactual, as homosexuality has been observed among thousands of animal species, including Tanzania's national animal, the giraffe. Males of the species, especially, engage in high levels of same-sex sexual behaviour, with up to 94 percent of all acts of "mounting", being male-male.

In the Tanzanian Parliament on 20 June 2012, Membe responded to a question from MP Khatib Said Haji, about the position of the government on the pressure by Western countries demanding abolition of anti-gay laws. Membe said: "We are ready to lose aid and support from friendly countries that are now pushing for repeal of anti-gay laws in African nations" and that Tanzania was ready to go it alone rather than being subjected to humiliation and dehumanization.

Summary table

See also

 Human rights in Tanzania
 LGBT rights in Africa

Notes

References

Sources

External links
Interview: The LGBT community in Tanzania
UK government travel advice for Tanzania: Local laws and customs. Foreign & Commonwealth Office
WEZESHATZ – local LGBT group in Dar es Salaam

Human rights in Tanzania
Law of Tanzania
LGBT in Tanzania
Tanzania
Politics of Tanzania