The last few hours have brought to the fore front of our minds and thoughts the strife many of us have been dealing with for the last 3 years.
Ghana has come to a weird place where our constituition and democracy has been with one bill contested to its very core.
The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2024 is yet to be assented by the President and until that happens it is still just a bill.
The updates from parliament are damning as the bill comes the closest it has, to being passed and the Media continues to fail us with irresponsible journalism inciting violence and bigotry.
Our existence as Ghanaians is transcendent of generation, age and now bill.
Drama Queens remains committed to creating safe spaces where self expression is paramount, valued and curated. We are committed to reflecting in our stories, productions, research, projects and work the diversity that is the human and Ghanaian experience and will now more than ever in our organizing, documentation and research continue to prioritize the safety, security and contributions of our vibrant community. Until expressly relayed all scheduled activities will continue with due diligence in planning.
Drama Queens has always been a Pan-Africanist, Intersectional Feminist Youth Led organisation and in keeping with these we believe in the complete freedom of all people from all forms of oppression; draconian, capitalist, religious, imperialist or otherwise.
We believe in the constant negotiation of power until the people at the most vulnerable intersections of class, race, ethnicity, ability, gender, gender expression, sexuality and finance are all free; as the most privileged members of society.
The path to such complete freedom is in learning and decolonising our minds consciously and deliberately. In speaking up in the face of injustice and resisting in all the little and tangential ways we can all forms of oppression.
To be Ghanaian is to be a freedom fighter, and while we acknowledge the collective responsibility we all have in ensuring our communal security, we also acknowledge the fact that taking a stance often comes at a risk to self and encourage you to constantly assess your personal safety and mental wellbeing, taking as many precautions as you deem necessary.
The biggest threat of the Bill is not in the document but in the emboldening power it gives to the already depraved Ghanaian masses without legitimate avenues to express their frustrations at a failing socio-economic environment. That is what makes this move by the Bagbin led Parliament most disappointing. Human rights for all people is the basis of our constitution and should remain the basis of our democracy. This bill is in contravention of Article 12; which provides for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, Article 21 (1)(a) which enshrines our freedoms of expression and free speech as well as Article 108 which ensures that parliament should not pass bills /policies which bring undue cost to the people of Ghana. This move by the Ghanaian government contravenes multiple international decrees and policies and should be repealed expeditiously. (IJN)
Last last we are here, we’ve been here since and we’ll continue to exist and thrive,
xoxo
The DQ team.