The First Daughter of Cameroon Comes Out on Instagram

On June 30, the first daughter of Cameroon, Anastasia Brenda Biya, posted about her girlfriend despite the strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the African nation.

The post featured Biya kissing Brazilian model Layyons Valença with a caption stating, “PS: I’m crazy about you & I want the world to know.” As of July 9, the Instagram post has been deleted, with Biya sharing a graphic of a woman with tape over her mouth on her Threads account and in an Instagram story. This post deletion follows the publishing of Biya’s interview with Le Parisien on July 9, Biya’s first public statement about her coming out. 

In this interview, Biya explains that she wanted to send a strong message with her public coming out. She hopes that this will inspire her father to change the laws around homosexuality in Cameroon, as well as encourage other queer people who are struggling in the country. “There are many people in the same situation as me who are suffering because of who they are,” Biya tells Le Parisien. “If I can give them hope, help them feel less alone, if I can send love, I am delighted.”

Leading Cameroonian LGBTQ+ activists have congratulated Biya on social media, with transgender activist Shakiro stating that Biya’s post could be a “turning point for the LGBTQ+ community in Cameroon” and that Biya is “now positioning herself as a voice for social change in a country where taboos are deeply rooted.”

In Cameroon, same-gender relationships are punishable by a “maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a fine,” according to Human Dignity Trust. Homosexuality has been criminalized in Cameroon since 1972 when an amendment was added to the country’s Penal Code that counted homosexuality as an offense.

This law has been routinely enforced, and many LGBTQ+ people in Cameroon have suffered systemic oppression and outright violence committed against them. Despite this, the U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon since 2022, Christopher Lamora, is an openly gay man, and one can hope that with these recent political figures being out that there will be a decrease in Cameroon’s criminalization of queer people. 

Photo courtesy of social media