Brenda Biya, daughter of Cameroon’s president, hopes that her decision to come out as a lesbian will contribute to changing the country’s laws that ban homosexuality.
Biya, who splits her time between the United States and Switzerland, made her announcement in an Instagram post on June 30. In an interview published by French newspaper Le Parisien on Tuesday, the 27-year-old revealed that she had not informed her family prior to posting a photo of herself kissing her girlfriend.
“There are plenty of people in the same situation as me who suffer because of who they are,” Biya stated. “If I can give them hope, help them feel less alone, if I can send love, I’m happy.”
Cameroon’s penal code currently punishes same-sex relations with up to five years in prison. Her father, President Paul Biya, 91, who has led the country for four decades, has not publicly addressed her coming out.
Biya noted that the anti-gay law was established before her father took office in 1982, and she hopes her story can help bring about legislative change. “It may be too soon for it to disappear completely but it could be less strict. We could first eliminate the prison sentence,” she suggested in the interview.
Bandy Kiki, a Cameroonian LGBT rights activist based in Britain, expressed her happiness for Biya and noted that her coming out affirms the existence of LGBT individuals in Cameroon. However, she highlighted a significant issue: “Anti-LGBT laws in Cameroon disproportionately target the poor. Wealth and connections create a shield for some, while others face severe consequences.”