The end of a colonial ban
The Supreme Court of Mauritius strikes down a colonial-era ban and decriminalises sex between men.
On 4 October 2023, a law that had survived for almost two centuries fell in Mauritius. The Supreme Court of the Indian Ocean island state declared Section 250 of the Criminal Code unconstitutional. The provision prohibited consensual anal intercourse between men, even in their own homes. Anyone convicted faced up to five years in prison.
The case had been brought by Abdool Ridwan Firaas Ah Seek, president of Collectif Arc-en-Ciel, the country's largest and oldest LGBTQ organisation. He was supported by the London-based Human Dignity Trust. His argument was clear. Being homosexual was not in itself prohibited in Mauritius. But the law made it a crime to live out that orientation and branded gay men as criminals. It also allowed the police to search homes on mere suspicion.
The state countered that it had long since passed laws against discrimination against homosexuals. The court was not persuaded. The section might appear neutral at first glance, but it specifically targeted gay men. And the constitutional ban on discrimination on grounds of sex included sexual orientation.
The judges also spoke plainly about the origin of the law. It did not reflect Mauritian values, they said, but was a legacy of British colonial rule. The irony: Britain itself had repealed a comparable ban back in 1967.
The United Nations welcomed the ruling the same day. Decriminalisation would make it easier for gay men to access HIV prevention and health care without fear of arrest. Mauritius thus joined a growing group of African states that have struck such colonial relics from their statute books. For the island's queer community, a long struggle had come to an end.