By staff writers © Afrol News http://www.afrol.com/features/36319 Changing Times In colonial times, Senegal’s metropolis Dakar was famous for its open and tolerated homosexual prostitution market, and as late as in the 1970s, as many as 17 percent of Senegalese men admitted having had homosexual experiences. Now, Dakar is West Africa’s centre of gay oppression. The
Senegal is an ‘African success story’. Its stable government has never experienced a coup d’état; it’s one of the most prosperous countries in the region, and it has more than 80 political parties. Senegal is a tolerant Muslim society, with wide religious freedoms, a taste for sexy fashions, and even legal prostitution. But when Senegal’s first gay organization, Groupe Andligeey, tried to have a meeting in 2001 in Dakar the nation’s Interior Ministry prevented it. Various Senegalese Muslim brotherhoods exercise a strong political influence in the country. The government and culture consider homosexuality as a moral crime, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $3,000 fine. LGBT citizens live in fear of disclosure and arrest. There has been made significant progress in dealing with HIV. Less than 5% of its population is HIV-positive.
Name: Senegal
Population: 11658000
Capital: Dakar - Pop. 2167000
Area: 196723 sq. km/ sq. miles
Language: French, Wolof
Religion: Muslim, Christian, Animism
Status of Homosexuality: Illegal
Telephone Country Code: 221
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