Bangladesh, Oct. 23 -- As of mid-2025, roughly 31 of Africas 54 nations still criminalize same-sex relationships. The latest addition to that list is Burkina Faso, which enacted new legislation in September outlawing same-sex intimacy. For those who have followed the continents social and political currents, this development is neither surprising nor isolated. It reflects a broader wave of resistance to what many African societies view as Western moral intrusion-a pushback rooted in historical memory, cultural tradition, and religious conviction.

According to the latest Afrobarometer surveys, only 24% of respondents across 39 African countries say they would feel comfortable living next to someone in a same-sex relationship. In countries...