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LGBTQ rights in Sudan
LGBTQ rights in Sudan
	Sudan
Status	Illegal since 1899 (as Anglo-Egyptian Sudan)
Penalty	Min.: 5 years (1st offence); Max.: life imprisonment (3rd offence)
Military	No
Discrimination protections	No
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	No recognition of same-sex unions
Adoption	No

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Sudan face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity in Sudan is illegal for both men and women, while homophobic attitudes remain ingrained throughout the nation.^[2]

In July 2020, Sudan removed capital punishment for same-sex sexual activity,^[3] as well as corporal punishment. Sodomy remains illegal, and penalties of terms of imprisonment were retained. The maximum penalty, for a third offence, remains life imprisonment.^[4]

Law regarding anal sex

Sodomy, defined as anal sex whether the couple is same-sex or opposite-sex, is illegal in Sudan. The Offence is defined in Article 148 of the Criminal Act of 1991. The original wording (translated) of the sodomy law, as amended in 2009, follows:^[5]

(1)There shall be deemed to commit sodomy, every man who penetrates his glans, or the equivalent thereof, in the anus of a woman, or another man's, or permits another man to penetrate his glans, or its equivalent in his anus.
(2) (a) whoever commits the offence of sodomy, shall be punished, with shipping a hundred lashes, and he may also be punished, with imprisonment, for a term not exceeding five years;
(b) where the offender is convicted for the second time, he shall be punished, with whipping a hundred lashes, and with imprisonment, for a term, not exceeding five years;
(c) where the offender is convicted for the third timem he shall be punished, with death, or with life imprisonment.

— Article 148: Offence of sodomy, 1991 Criminal Act as Amended in 2009

There were no documented cases of executions for sodomy, prior to repeal of capital punishment for the offence.^{[citation needed]}

On 9 July 2020, Sudan abolished the death penalty as a punishment for anal sex.^[6]^[7]^[8] The Transitional Sovereignty Council also eliminated the imposition of 100 lashes and added two years to the sentence for a second offence. The penalty for a third offence was changed from death or life imprisonment to life imprisonment. A first offence is now punished with up to five years and a second offence with up to seven years.^[3]^[4]^[9] Sudanese LGBT+ activists hailed the reform as a 'great first step' but said it was not enough yet, and the end goal should be the decriminalisation of gay sexual activity altogether.^[3]

Historically

Nuba tribal society in the 1930s

Siegfried Frederick Nadel wrote about the Nuba tribes in the late 1930s. He noted that among the Otoro, a special transvestitic role existed whereby men dressed and lived as women. Transvestitic homosexuality also existed amongst the Moru, Nyima, and Tira people, and reported marriages of Korongo londo and Mesakin tubele for the bride price of one goat.^[10]

In the Korongo and Mesakin tribes, Nadel reported a common reluctance among men to abandon all-male camp life for a life of permanent settlement. While not directly attributing the observed preference for camp life, Nadel highlighted two features of tribal life, as he viewed them, in connection with the preference: that it was a "matrilineal society ... in which the fruits of procreation are not the man's", and "the strong emphasis on male companionship, ... [and] also, ... widespread homosexuality and transvesticism."^[10]^{: 299–300}

Politics regarding LGBT rights

On 4 February 2011 a vote was held in the United Nations on the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association's application for consultative status for the UN's Economic and Social Council.^[11] Sudan called for a No Action Motion to prevent voting on the consultative status for the LGBT group, and their motion passed 9–7, so the issue was not voted on.^[11]

Sudan has voted against every supportive resolution of LGBT rights at the United Nations.^{[citation needed]}

Social attitudes

Same-sex sexual relations policies have divided some religious communities. In 2006, Abraham Mayom Athiaan, a bishop in South Sudan, led a split from the Episcopal Church of Sudan for what he regarded as a failure by the church leadership to condemn homosexuality sufficiently strongly.^[12]

The U.S. Department of State's 2011 human rights report found that:^[13]

The law prohibits sodomy ...; however, there were no reports of antisodomy laws being applied. There were no known lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) organizations. Official discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity occurred. Societal discrimination against LGBT persons was widespread. Vigilantes targeted suspected gay men and lesbians for violent abuse, and there were public demonstrations against homosexuality.

In the 2019 Arab Barometer Survey, 17% of Sudanese said homosexuality is acceptable.^[14]

Rights groups

The first LGBT association of the country is Freedom Sudan, founded in December 2006.^[15] However, no internet presence has been seen from the group's Facebook page since 2013.^[16] Another group, Rainbow Sudan,^[17] was founded on 9 February 2012.^[18] Its founder, known as Mohammed, described the work and aims of the group:^[18] "...[W]e have groups that work online and offline. We form a small network of people working in an organized way to advance as much as possible LGBTQ issues, to show who we are, to stop discrimination, to see our rights recognized. We provide sexual education, psychological and emotional support, protection." Rainbow Sudan's internet presence ceased after January 2015.^[19]

Summary table

Same-sex sexual activity legal	(Sodomy, defined as anal sex, whether between persons of same- or different-sex, carries life imprisonment for a third offence)^[9]
Equal age of consent
Anti-discrimination laws in employment only
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech)
Same-sex marriages
Recognition of same-sex couples
Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples
Joint adoption by same-sex couples
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in the military
Right to change legal gender
Access to IVF for lesbians
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples
MSMs allowed to donate blood