Gay rights activist, Bisi Alimi
• Bisi Alimi says society is forcing gay men to marry straight women
• According to him, gay men fear to tell their wives their true sexuality
• Bisi says men should be allowed to marry their male lovers to avoid the “pain” women face
Nigerian gay rights activist, Bisi Alimi, has stated that most gay men are not allowed to live their truth in societies that frown on same-sex marriage.
He explained that the problem has pushed many gay men who have fallen victim to the pressures from family and friends to have children settling with straight women who are not aware of their sexuality.
According to Bisi, who identifies as a gay man, the laws in his country, Nigeria, and most African nations criminalizes homosexuality.
He has therefore called on governments to freely allow gay men to marry their male partners in other to put an end to marrying straight women who are mostly not aware that their husbands are gays.
“Many will disagree with me especially straight women who are caught up in the web of getting married to gay men. In Nigeria, it is completely illegal for you to be gay. A gay man who is in a sexual relationship with another gay man cannot marry, if he does, he could end up in jail for 40 years.
“These men are left with huge depression and questions without answers… this man lives in a society where mom wants grandchildren, everybody wants them to get married but to who? So these gay men have gone to marry. In a society where you cannot marry the man you love because you are gay, you are left with no other option than to marry a woman because that’s what society expects from you,” Bisi said in a video shared with his over 15,000 followers on Instagram.
Touching on why some gay men keep their sexuality a secret from these innocent women, he intimated that they fear being judged or stigmatized.
The gay activist added: “Imagine me a gay man telling a girl that I am gay and want to marry her… most women in Nigeria will make so much fuss and noise about it. He gets shamed, stigmatized and possibly lose his job. His family will turn their backs against him and everything he spent his life building will go down the drain.”
“Next time before posting a comment on social media questioning why gay men are marrying straight women, think about the society you have contributed to create. Until we allow gay people to marry gay people… nothing will make them marry a woman. I am not saying this is the absolute solution but it is a process. It could be you a gay man will get married to, your sister, your Aunt or your best friend. If you want to save everybody of the pain and nightmare of a fake life, why don’t we all work together to allow everybody to live their truth as much as it doesn’t hurt anybody in the process,” Bisi Alimi charged.