They have lived together for eight months, hiding their relationship by pretending to be sisters even as they face gossip that risks spilling into hostility due to suspicions about their sexual orientation.
"What happens if we can get our marriages recognized, but we are not safe? Then what's the use of getting married?" said one of the women, a lesbian who spoke to Reuters in the capital Accra on condition that her and her partner's identities not be revealed out of safety concerns.
Their precarious situation has not been helped by a landmark ruling from December, approved by Head of the Vatican Church Pope Francis, to allow Roman Catholic priests to administer blessings to same-sex couples.
The move, which has been met with particularly strong resistance, and in some cases rejection — from African bishops — has fueled resentment rather than acceptance among Catholics in Ghana, the woman said.
The Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference has said that it cannot comply. Father Dominic Maximilian Ofori told Reuters he feared the Pope’s stance had annoyed many Ghanaian Catholics.
"Who are they trying to please?" he asked.
"When, say, a couple in a relationship that the church considers sinful, comes to a priest and asks the priest not to bless them as individuals who are struggling to live their lives, but to bless them within that relationship because they're not willing to walk out of that relationship, that is counterintuitive - biblically speaking, spiritually speaking, socially speaking. So this is what I refer to as the 'double-speak' of the document. You know, we have to be honest.’’
In January, Pope Francis said Africans were "a special case," in apparent acknowledgement of the pushback his decision unleashed.
One of the LGBTQ+ women — a former Methodist and an LGBTQ+ advocate — is not surprised by the backlash and sees church blessings as a luxury for the future, since Ghanaian gay people still struggle to live and identify as themselves openly.
There is no comprehensive data on the abuse LGBTQ+ people face in Ghana, but local news is filled with reports of suspected gay and transgender people suffering mob justice countrywide. Few such incidents make it to the courts.
The woman said opposition to the Pope's move had increased calls for the quick passage of a bill that would further criminalize same-sex relations and being transgender, as well as any advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights.
"One thing we would demand from people as a couple, is to love your neighbor,’’ she said.
‘’Because I believe that anybody, irrespective of your religion, understands what love is. And they practice it when they show love to other people. Why can't you show love to gay couples or gay people? Because they belong to families and they make up the community, the society that we live in.’’
Prison Sentence
Gay sex is already punishable by up to three years in prison. A coalition of Christian, Muslim, and traditional leaders has sponsored the new legislation, which is favored by most lawmakers that would punish the promotion of LGBTQ+ rights with up to 10 years in prison.
The bill also encourages those accused of homosexuality to submit to conversion therapy, which attempts to change sexual orientation, in exchange for reduced sentences.
Emmanuel K.G. Hailord, a student and LGBTQ+ activist, agreed with the woman that it would take a long time for socially conservative Ghana to change. He wants LGBTQ+ members in Ghana and elsewhere to start their own, more accepting branches, of the Catholic Church and other religions.
"You just need to be yourself, even though it's scary," he said. "It's sort of pioneering something for the next generation to understand that it takes risk to lay a better foundation."
The Ghanaian LGBTQ+ woman and her partner, a traditional priestess, look forward to a future where they can formalize their marriage in an LGBTQ+-friendly church, where God can witness their commitment to love each other forever.
"If you claim you love us, you should be able to show it, not by harming us, but by respecting and protecting us," she said. "Because this world is a small place. You never know when your gay neighbor might help you."
Forum