| Part of the LGBT rights series |
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Mozambique does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions. The Family Code of Mozambique recognizes de facto unions but only for opposite-sex couples and bans same-sex marriage. Some protests for the legal recognition of same-sex marriage occurred in 2006, as discussions on this issue were ongoing in South Africa.
While many modern-day Mozambican cultures historically practiced polygamy, there are no records of same-sex marriages as understood from a Western perspective being performed in those cultures. However, there is evidence for identities and behaviours that may be placed on the LGBT spectrum. [1] Contemporary oral evidence suggests that same-sex relationships were "common" and "prevelant" among Tsonga miners in South Africa and southern Mozambique in the early 20th century. [2] In 1912, Swiss-born missionary Henri-Alexandre Junod described "elaborately organized homosexual relationships among miners". The younger partner, known as nkhonsthana in the Tsonga language, was "used to satisfy the lust" of the older partner (nima). [2] "He received a wedding feast, and his elder brother received a bride price." Junod described a dance in which the nkhonsthana donned wooden or cloth breasts, which they removed when paid to do so by their nima. A Tsonga local told Junod at the time: "Each of these nima would propose a boy for himself, not only for the sake of washing his dishes, because in the evening the boy would have to go and join [him] on his bed. In that way he had become a wife. The husband would make love with him. The husband would penetrate his manhood between the boy's thighs. Fidelity was expected, and jealousy on occasion led to violence." He added that male couples "would quarrel just as husbands and wives do", and when asked whether the nkhonsthana wished to become someone's partner, he replied, "Yes, for the sake of security, for the acquisition of property and for the fun itself." [2]
These "mine marriages", which also occurred among miners in South Africa and Zimbabwe, [3] were "accepted, indeed taken for granted by women (including wives) and elders at home, and relationships might extend beyond a single work contract". [2] However, these relationships differed strongly from the Western understanding of same-sex marriages, as men who entered these "mine marriages" continued to marry women and "conform, or appear to conform, to gender expectations", and would not consider themselves as homosexual or bisexual, or "unfaithful to [their] marriage vows". [4] This practice gradually disappeared as Mozambique became more modernized and exposed to Western culture and homophobia in the 20th century. [5]
In July 2006, a few months before same-sex marriage was legalised in neighbouring South Africa, the Agência de Informação de Moçambique newspaper reported that a group of gay men in Maputo would petition the Assembly of the Republic to legalise same-sex marriage. In October 2006, human rights activist Alice Mabota urged Mozambique's gay and lesbian citizens "to organise and fight for their rights", but added that her organisation, the Mozambique Human Rights League, would not campaign on specific issues such as the legalisation of same-sex marriage. "It would be gay people themselves who should raise such a demand, if they wanted to marry", Mabota said. Activist Danilo de Sousa stated at the time "that few Mozambican gays are open about their sexuality. Many lead a semi-open (or semi-closed) life, while the majority keep their sexual orientation completely clandestine, or even deny it. One often finds homosexuals married to members of the opposite sex, merely to please their family and society." Activist Danilo da Silva, founder of the LGBT advocacy group Lambda Mozambique, also said that "Mozambican gays should concentrate on removing any clause from the country's laws that might be used to criminalise gays, and to introduce measures that ban discrimination on the base of sexual orientation." Silva did not call for the legalisation of same-sex marriage but rather suggested a "gradual recognition of the rights of gay partners living in de facto unions". [6]
While same-sex marriage remains illegal, Mozambique has made significant strides on LGBT rights. Reforms to the employment law were passed in 2007 forbidding employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and in 2015 the Criminal Code was amended to remove vague references to "practices against nature", which were interpreted as banning same-sex sexual relations. [7] Nevertheless, LGBT people still face discrimination and violence, [8] and laws do not permit or recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions. [9]
Article 8 of the Family Code of Mozambique, passed by the Assembly of the Republic in 2019 and published in the Boletim da República on 11 December 2019, [10] defines marriage as the "voluntary and singular union between a man and a woman, for the purpose of starting a family, through a full communion of life". [a] The Code further defines the family as "the fundamental element and the basis of every society", and article 2 states that the "singular, stable, free and notorious union between a man and a woman is recognized as a family entity". [10] As a result, same-sex couples are unable to marry in Mozambique. The Family Code also introduced de facto unions (Portuguese : união de facto) for opposite-sex couples after three years of continuous cohabitation, [11] defined in the Family Code as a "singular connection existing between a man and a woman, with a stable and lasting character" between partners capable of marrying but who have chosen not to. [10]
The Constitution of Mozambique does not explicitly address same-sex marriages, but Article 119, which defines the family as "the fundamental unit and the basis of society", states that: [12] [13] [14]
The Catholic Church opposes same-sex marriage and does not allow its priests to officiate at such marriages. In December 2023, the Holy See published Fiducia supplicans , a declaration allowing Catholic priests to bless couples who are not considered to be married according to church teaching, including the blessing of same-sex couples. [15] The Episcopal Conference of Mozambique issued a statement that "irregular unions and same-sex unions should not be blessed in Mozambique", but encouraged "all ordained ministers to show closeness and accompaniment to those living in irregular unions". [16] [17]
As the Anglican Church of Southern Africa was discussing the possibility of blessing same-sex unions, dioceses in Angola and Mozambique split to "form a more conservative Anglican province" in 2021. Known as the Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola, it does not offer blessings to same-sex unions. [18] [19]
A September 2013 Lambda Mozambique survey of people in the cities of Maputo, Beira and Nampula found moderate levels of support for the legal recognition of same-sex unions: [20] 37% of Maputo residents, 18% of Beira residents and 28% of Nampula residents supported same-sex marriage. A Lambda 2017 survey found that support for same-sex marriage had increased in all three cities; 47% in Maputo, 38% in Beira and 42% in Nampula. [21] [22]
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Africa to the southwest. The sovereign state is separated from the Comoros, Mayotte and Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel to the east. The capital and largest city is Maputo.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in South Africa since the Civil Union Act, 2006 came into force on 30 November 2006. The decision of the Constitutional Court in the case of Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie on 1 December 2005 extended the common-law definition of marriage to include same-sex spouses—as the Constitution of South Africa guarantees equal protection before the law to all citizens regardless of sexual orientation—and gave Parliament one year to rectify the inequality in the marriage statutes. On 14 November 2006, the National Assembly passed a law allowing same-sex couples to legally solemnise their union 229 to 41, which was subsequently approved by the National Council of Provinces on 28 November in a 36 to 11 vote, and the law came into effect two days later.
iSimangaliso Wetland Park is situated on the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, about 235 km (146 mi) north of Durban by road. It is South Africa's third-largest protected area, spanning 280 km (170 mi) of coastline, from the Mozambican border in the north to Mapelane south of the Lake St. Lucia estuary, and made up of around 3,280 km2 of natural ecosystems, managed by the iSimangaliso Authority. The park includes:
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in South Africa have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. South Africa has a complex and diverse history regarding the human rights of LGBTQ people. The legal and social status of between 400,000 to over 2 million lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex South Africans has been influenced by a combination of traditional South African morals, colonialism, and the lingering effects of apartheid and the human rights movement that contributed to its abolition.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Brazil rank among the highest in the world. Same-sex couples in Brazil have enjoyed the same rights guaranteed to heterosexual ones since 16 May 2013, including marriage and adoption. On June 13, 2019, the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is a crime akin to racism.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Portugal since 5 June 2010. The XVIII Constitutional Government of Portugal under Prime Minister José Sócrates introduced a bill for legalization in December 2009. It was passed by the Assembly of the Republic in February 2010, and was declared legally valid by the Portuguese Constitutional Court in April 2010. On 17 May 2010, President Aníbal Cavaco Silva ratified the law, making Portugal the sixth country in Europe and the eighth in the world to allow same-sex marriage nationwide. The law was published in the Diário da República on 31 May and became effective on 5 June 2010. Polling suggests that a significant majority of Portuguese people support the legal recognition of same-sex marriage.
The legal status of same-sex marriage has changed in recent years in numerous jurisdictions around the world. The current trends and consensus of political authorities and religions throughout the world are summarized in this article.
Articles related to Mozambique include:
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Angola have seen improvements in the early 21st century. In November 2020, the National Assembly approved a new penal code, which legalised consenting same-sex sexual activity. Additionally, employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been banned, making Angola one of the few African countries to have such protections for LGBTQ people.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Africa are generally poor in comparison to the Americas, Western Europe and Oceania.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Mozambique face legal challenges not faced by non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity became legal in Mozambique under the new Criminal Code that took effect in June 2015. Discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment has been illegal since 2007.
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The Catholic Church has intervened in political discourses to enact legislative and constitutional provisions establishing marriage as the union of a man and a woman, resisting efforts by civil governments to establish either civil unions or same-sex marriage.
Angola does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions. The Family Code of Angola recognizes de facto unions but only for opposite-sex couples and bans same-sex marriage.
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