Cameroon's president's daughter champions LGBTQ+ rights despite anti-gay laws

Same-sex relationships, while gaining global acceptance, continues to remain a hot-button issue in most African countries. Numerous countries on the continent have very little tolerance for the LGBTQ community and as such harsh laws are issued against them. However, the Cameroonian president's daughter; Brenda Biya has opted to come out as homosexual.

The scrutiny of the LGBTQ community in several African nations can be intense. However, the fear of public backlash and possible indictment has done very little to unnerve the Cameroonian President's daughter; Brenda Biya, who sexually identifies as Lesbian.

She, in fact, hopes that her coming out party will help inspire the acceptance of the LGBTQ community in the Central African country, as reported by the BBC.

Last week, she was photographed kissing and embracing Brazilian model Layyons Valença. She shared the picture on Instagram, which she captioned "I'm crazy about you & I want the world to know." This unsurprisingly spurred mixed reactions in her country.

"Coming out is an opportunity to send a strong message," she said. The president's daughter also noted that the gay laws initiated before her father's administration were in her words, "unfair." She also noted that she hopes that her "story will change it."

During her interview with France's Le Parisien, she admitted to posting the picture without prior notice to any of her family members. This infuriated her brother who gave her an angry phone call, as seen in the BBC's report.

The president, Paul Biya, and First Lady Chantal Biya eventually contacted and asked her to erase the picture. "Since then, it's been silence," she stated. The president and first lady have made no public comments.

Brenda revealed that she has been in a relationship with the Brazilian model for the past 7 months and has already taken her to Cameroon 3 times.

According to a BBC article from last year, over half of the 64 nations with laws that prohibit homosexuality are in Africa. This includes Cameroon, where a five-year prison sentence for homosexuality is the maximum penalty.