The National Assembly of Senegal has amended the country’s constitution to define marriage exclusively as the union between a man and a woman, thus banning same-sex marriage.
Same-sex sexual activity has been prohibited in Senegal since 1965, five years after the country gained independence from France. Both men and women are affected by the law, which describes the activity as unnatural acts.
In March this year, Senegal’s National Assembly passed a bill that will double the maximum penalty for same-sex relations, making them punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Same-sex marriage has never been legal in Senegal, but the constitution’s wording around the matter has previously been vague. Now, Senegal amends constitution to ban same-sex marriage after all 129 members of the assembly vote in favour and zero against.
