Niger Becomes First Known Country to Explicitly Criminalize Asexuality
Taking effect in June 2026, the updated Penal Code explicitly outlaws "Asexual (LGBTQIA+) acts" and practices, punishing offenders with five to 10 years in prison alongside heavy fines.
By Hanxue Jiang
Asexuality still tends to be neglected in queer rights conversations partially because of the idea that it couldn’t be “actually impacted”. But this year, Niger has just become the first known country to criminalize asexuality and asexual acts.
What Happened?
In March 2025, Niger's ruling junta, the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), promulgated the Charter of Refoundation, whose Article 25 prohibits and punishes "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual (LGBTQIA+) practices or any other unnatural behaviours".
Taking effect in June 2026, the updated Penal Code explicitly outlaws "Asexual (LGBTQIA+) acts" and practices, punishing offenders with five to 10 years in prison alongside heavy fines.
The legislation details include:
The Asexuality Ban: Article 390 of the updated code explicitly lists "Asexual" acts alongside lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex practices.
Penalties: Anyone convicted of committing, or attempting to commit, these acts faces between 5 and 10 years in prison, in addition to a fine ranging from 10,000,000 to 100,000,000 West African CFA francs (about $17,000-174,500 USD as of June 26).
Broader Offenses: The law also punishes anyone who participates in, officiates, or witnesses a same-sex marriage with the same 10-to-20-year prison term faced by the couple themselves, as well as anyone who attempts to artificially change their birth sex.
Why Does It Matter?
This is the first nation in the world to explicitly criminalize asexuality, and the laws being passed also came into effect during Pride Month.
Demagogues and authoritarian regimes frequently look to neighboring or culturally aligned nations for blueprints on how to restrict human rights. The regional trend in West Africa (with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger all introducing severe anti-LGBTQ+ crackdowns within a short window) proves that discriminatory legislation rarely stays contained within one border. This means asexuals across the world can be impacted by legislation as well, like the rest of the LGBTQ+ communities.
It also means that governments have the power to classify people with certain identities or behaviors as “abnormal,” “unnatural,” “dangerous,” and “in need of punishment and fixing” at will. Supporting a marginalized group, whether you identify with it or not, is supporting all kinds of lifestyles and identities. It is important for us to support each other as queer people or allies to prevent more laws like this from being passed elsewhere.
What You Can Do Locally
Support Local Nonprofits: Orgs like AforAce help to educate others on asexuality & serve the ace community.
Lobby for Asylum Pathways: Write to your local representatives to demand faster, safer refugee and asylum pathways for LGBTQIA+ individuals fleeing persecution in West Africa.
Champion Asexual Visibility Locally: Educate your community on how the "A" in LGBTQIA+ was weaponized in this law, ensuring that local queer advocacy remains explicitly inclusive and protective of asexual people.
Support Digital Rights Groups: Help fund international digital security organizations that provide free, secure VPNs and encrypted communication tools to queer individuals living under hostile regimes.
Maintain Media Pressure: Keep sharing updates and creating content about Niger’s crackdown to prevent the international community from looking away, which helps deter the regime from aggressive enforcement.
The criminalization of asexuality in Niger reminds us that asexuality as a marginalized identity and “non-traditional” lifestyle could be impacted by state regulations just like other queer identities. It also warns us that no identity is “safer” than others because it is more “normal” and “seen”, or “invisible” and “not harmful”, as long as the authorities are still trying to dictate how people should live.
The fight for LGBTQIA+ rights is not complete until every identity is recognized and protected. It is important to stand together and support one another as members of or allies in queer communities.
