Mozambique

Mozambique has made significant progress in the recognition of the human rights of LGBTIQ people. Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized under the new criminal code that took effect in June 2015. In 2017, Mozambique’s courts ruled that LGBTIQ organizations can be legally registered. Discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation has been illegal since 2007 through Article 4 of the Labor Law (Law No. 23/2007), but the law does not explicitly protect trans and intersex people from discrimination. Transgender and gender nonconforming people are particularly vulnerable to discrimination because there is no existing procedure for legal gender recognition in Mozambique.

Societal attitudes toward sexual and gender minorities are broadly neutral, but some LGBTIQ people face ostracization from their families, and they face challenges accessing employment and education. During the 2024 electoral campaigning period, the leader of the opposition party PODEMOS pledged to address “the issue of sexual and ethnic minorities.” This marked the first time a presidential candidate explicitly addressed LGBTIQ issues, and it “created high expectations among the LGBTQIA+ community,” according to LGBTIQ group Lambda Mozambique. However, a month later, Lambda Mozambique decried this “promise without any substance,” noting that the electoral manifesto left out any demand for LGBTIQ equality.

The Ulayo Fest, an annual queer arts and culture festival, takes place every year during the second week of July, with a public Maputo Pride Week now scheduled for 2026.