Ghanaian musician and transwoman, Angel Maxine has disclosed that she recently relocated to Germany because Ghana did not provide a safe space for her music career.
According to Maxine, there are many unfavourable conditions for members of the LGBTQ+ community, making it necessary for her to vacate Ghana.
In a viral video online, Maxine revealed that she was dejected in the music industry as industry players did not want to work with her because she is a transwoman.
“I had to leave Ghana so I could find a safe space where I could continue to do my work. Being an openly transgender woman in Ghana is a warfare. I could not even walk on the streets, I couldn’t join the public bus, I couldn’t go to certain places and I could not perform at certain places.
“As a musician, I had people who did not want to associate with me because I was a transwoman,” she said in a video shared on X, formerly Twitter.
Ghana's first openly trans musician, Angel Maxine, says she recently left Ghana to live in Germany when Parliament passed the anti-LGBTQ bill to escape what she describes as daily bullying and harassment.
According to her, she couldn't walk on the streets, join public buses, or… pic.twitter.com/KV1kpahD2a
— EDHUB🌍ℹ (@eddie_wrt) April 8, 2024
Expressing concerns about the safety of members of the LGBTQ+ community, Maxine hopes that “one day all these things will stop so that queer people can live their lives freely and be opened, be happy and be able to also add positively to the society.”.
“I honestly feel bad for the future of LGBTQ rights in Ghana because as it stands now, we can see that everything going on is political propaganda. I don’t see why we should now have to run away from our country just to feel safe,” she stated.
Her relocation follows Parliament’s passing of the Anti-LGBTQI+ bill which prescribes punishment including jail term for persons engaging in or promoting LGBTQ+ activities.
The bill is currently awaiting President Akufo-Addo’s assent to be effectively implemented into law.
However, the President has decided to hold on with the assent until a determination by the Supreme Court is reached on two suits challenging the constitutionality of the bill.
