On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Mauritius declared a law criminalizing sodomy as being “unconstitutional”. The court ruled that the provision of the Mauritius criminal code criminalizing sodomy discriminates against gay men based on sex.
The court’s ruling was based on claims brought forth by “Collectif-Arc-en-Ciel”(CAEC) on behalf of Abdool Ridwan Firaas Ah Seek who asserted that his right to freedom from degrading treatment was violated as the law empowers law enforcement to search his premises without substantial evidence of a crime, based solely on suspicions.
While Mauritius has laws prohibiting discrimination of homosexuals, Section 250 makes expressing homosexuality a crime. The plaintiffs argued that the criminalization of sodomy led to gay people being branded as criminals in society.
The court observed that Section 250 violated provisions of the Mauritius Constitution which emphasize equal rights and liberty. Drawing parallels with similar landmark LGBT rights cases in the U.S., the court interpreted “sex” as inclusive of “sexual orientation”. Section 250, despite appearing neutral by prohibiting only a specific sexual act, was found to be discriminatory towards gay men and accordingly was declared unconstitutional.
The decision was welcomed on social media and by LGBTQ+ rights groups. According to the Human Dignity Trust, this ruling reduces the number of countries criminalizing homosexuality to 65. This advancement follows certain opposition and public discourse witnessed in other African countries’ efforts towards eliminating laws that stigmatize the LGBTQ+ community.