Monrovia – When US President Donald Trump remarked during his inaugural address on Monday, January 20, that his government would recognize two genders, male and female, Serina Nimely, a transwoman in a slum community downtown Monrovia said she was overcome with fear and tears.
“I cried over it as well,” said Serina, whose name has been changed to protect her identity. “If the US can now begin to discuss two genders, what about a poverty country like Liberia? And that even has effects on some of us that are staying in slum communities.”
President Trump’s remarks follow a campaign promise that his government would no longer recognize its transgender individuals.
“As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female,” said President Trump.
His remarks were met with applauses and standing ovation from his supporters.
According to the BBC, the US President took it a step further by signing an executive order to that effect.
Serina, 29, a beautician and owner of a beauty salon, said barely 48 hours following the remarks and executive order from President Trump, she was threatened while visiting a bar with a friend.
“The next day after the inauguration, which was on Wednesday, someone threatened me. We were at the club, and one boy seated next to us started saying, ‘the same thing Donald Trump doing in America, that’s the same thing we’re coming [to] do here,” she recounted.
Serina and her friend moved to a different seat, but the man followed.
“He came directly to me and said, ‘Oh, it’s because of what I was saying you changed your seat? Ya’ll just watch it–we’re coming for y’all.”
She said the threats towards her became incessant the following day, forcing her to close her beauty salon temporarily.
“I got another threat at my business the next day. It was like they were trying to create chaos, and if I had responded, a riot could have started. So I decided to close my business and go home,” she said.
Growing Threats Against Liberia’s LGBTQ+ Community
The LGBTQ+ community in Liberia continues to record instances of assault, harassment, and hate speech, according to the 2023 US State Department Report.
In 2024, the caretaker of the house of former CDC Chairman Mulbah Morlu threatened to burn down the homes of persons suspected of being gays along Tubman Boulevard.
In May 2023, Dominic Bropleh (name changed to protect his identity) accused FHI360 of outing his health status when the organization plastered his face on flyers across the country as an HIV+ individual.
In May 2021, members of a community watch team beat three men on suspicion they were gays in the Gobachop community of Paynesville. According to two of the survivors, the community watch team members threatened and assaulted them, rendering one of their friends unconscious.
In June 2021, Nuchie Michael, a teenager and a student at the St. Matthew United Methodist School in New Kru Town was expelled for cross-dressing.
In 2020, Cheeseman Cole, a disgraced ex-soldier from the Armed Forces of Liberia was arrested for reportedly brutalizing 27 men suspected of being gay.
In November 2019, partygoers were stoned and beaten over suspicions they were attending a gay wedding at an event hosted by Population Services International (PSI).
In September 2018, invitees at a PSI event in Sinkor were attacked and severely brutalized.
Though identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender is not not illegal in Liberia, it could could spur violent attacks against a person who publicly does so.
In May 2020, fashion model Tarus Cole fled the country over remarks that ‘99% of Liberian men are gay.’
Liberia’s gay community saw a glimmer of hope that they might make progress in achieving rights in 2012 when Hillary Clinton, then US Secretary of State, announced that “gay rights are human rights” and aid would be tied to how countries treat sexual minorities.
“…being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights,” Secretary Clinton said.
That hope was soon dampened when President Sirleaf, in an interview with the Guardian, defended the current law that criminalizes homosexuality.
Then, Jewel Howard Taylor, former first lady, Senator, and current Vice-President, introduced a bill to make homosexuality a first-degree felony. That bill did not pass.
Sirleaf later backpedaled on her earlier remarks in an interview alongside former Irish President Mary Robinson, saying, incorrectly, that no law criminalizes homosexuality in Liberia.
Liberian law criminalizes same sex sexual acts. Articles 14.74, 14.79, and 50.7 of the Penal Code of 1976 consider “voluntary sodomy” as a first degree misdemeanor , with a penalty of up to one year imprisonment.
In 2024, Representative Johnson N. Williams of River Gee County introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Act, calling for harsher penalties against LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies, aligning Liberia with Uganda and other nations with strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
“We Fear the Worst”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, activists told journalRAGE they fear a worsening situation amid what appears to be a shift away from human rights in U.S. foreign policy.
“Right now, we are just watching and waiting,” said one human rights activist. “We are really worried about our community.”
“I think this spells total doom for us,” another added.
The U.S. Embassy could not be reached for comment.
A 2021 pride month post from the US Embassy in Monrovia
Ripple Effect Moves in Hinterland
The threats against Serina are just the tip of the iceberg. In Nimba County, trans woman Rihanna Dahn (name changed) has already witnessed the ripple effect.
“They have started telling us, ‘Those acting like women, we’re coming for you now. If America is rejecting them, then who is Liberia to accept such acts?’” she said.
Rihanna lives in one of the thriving and bustling metropolis.
According to her, tensions flared during a recent community empowerment meeting when agents representing the Ministry of Internal Affairs called for the inclusion of all marginalized groups into the local government Act that is slated to land before the Legislature.
“The people–they said that concerning this Local Government Act, they want to include everybody on board, whether marginalized groups or sexual minorities–they want to include everybody on board because they are humans.
“They have the right to healthcare services and they have the right to education. That was how LGBTI people were mentioned. As soon they reached to that part, people wanted to know what’s the meaning of LGBTI. When I tried making them to understand, the whole place went upside down and they started to make reference to Donald Trump.”
As Rihanna explains, she giggles while mentioning the lifestyle alterations she has started to make in order to keep herself safe. “I used to plait my hair now I no longer do so. I have started to wear big jeans.”
The future looks grim for Serina, Rihanna, and others like Brad Kollie, a trans man from Bushrod Island. He said his landlord evicted him, citing Trump’s policy.
“My landlord said he was warned that if he accepted people like me, they would take his property and report him to the authorities,” Brad recounted.
‘Be Careful’
The trans community remains the most vulnerable in the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Last December, a trio of trans women were attacked in Paynesville.
President Trumps’s remark has placed the trans community on the edge, according to the executive director of the Trans Network of Liberia (TNOL) who asked for anonymity.
“We have advised everyone to be careful how they go about their daily life.”
This story was funded by the European Union under the Liberia Media Empowerment Project (LMEP). Its contents are the sole responsibility of journalRAGE and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
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