Calls for same-sex couples to be allowed to marry civilly are gathering momentum in Mauritius, three years after the country’s Supreme Court struck down a colonial-era law criminalising consensual sex between men.
LGBTQ+ organisation OUT Moris is leading a national campaign calling for equal access to civil marriage, with international support now coming from the UK-based Peter Tatchell Foundation.
The campaign focuses specifically on civil marriage, rather than requiring religious organisations to change their beliefs or ceremonies.
Mauritius currently does not recognise same-sex marriage or civil unions.
From Decriminalisation To Marriage Equality
Mauritius reached a major LGBTQ+ rights milestone in October 2023 when its Supreme Court ruled that Section 250 of the Criminal Code was unconstitutional insofar as it criminalised consensual sexual activity between adult men in private.
The law dated back to 1838 and carried a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.
The Court found its application discriminatory on the basis of sexual orientation, marking the end of one of the country’s most significant colonial-era restrictions on LGBTQ+ people.
Now, activists are pushing for the next major step.
OUT Moris launched its “Finn ariv ler” campaign in May, calling for a serious national conversation about opening civil marriage to same-sex couples.
The organisation argues marriage equality is about equal legal recognition and protections, rather than changing religious marriage practices.
Human Rights Commission Adds Weight To Campaign
The campaign gained further momentum following a position paper from Mauritius’ National Human Rights Commission.
The Commission noted that Mauritian marriage law contains no explicit prohibition stating that two people of the same sex cannot marry.
It also raised concerns that refusing to register marriages between same-sex couples could amount to discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The analysis followed complaints from two same-sex couples challenging their exclusion from civil marriage.
While the Commission’s position does not itself legalise same-sex marriage, activists see it as an important legal and human-rights argument in favour of reform.
International Support Arrives
The Peter Tatchell Foundation has now publicly backed the campaign.
Pliny Soocoormanee, the Foundation’s Executive Officer and a Mauritian national, said the demand was fundamentally about equal treatment.
“LGBT+ people are not asking for any special rights,” he said. “We are simply asking for equal rights.”
Soocoormanee entered into a civil union with his partner, Jayraj Juggessur, in the United Kingdom last year.
“My relationship is legally recognised in the United Kingdom, but it is currently not recognised in Mauritius,” he said.
“That is why this issue matters to me personally.”
He also stressed that campaigners are not demanding changes from religious institutions.
“We are not asking religious institutions to officiate same-sex weddings or to change their beliefs,” Soocoormanee said.
“We are asking the State to treat its citizens equally.”
Activists Call For Government Engagement
Soocoormanee has urged the Mauritian Government to engage with organisations including OUT Moris, Young Queer Alliance, Collectif Arc-en-Ciel and the National Human Rights Commission.
OUT Moris welcomed the international backing, describing it as further evidence that the campaign for civil equality extends beyond national borders.
The organisation’s central argument is that same-sex couples should be able to access the same legal protections and responsibilities as different-sex couples through civil marriage.
That can include issues such as inheritance, next-of-kin status, property, family recognition and legal protections when relationships end.
Mauritius Could Mark Another African Milestone
Marriage equality remains extremely limited across Africa.
South Africa remains the continent’s only country where same-sex couples can currently marry nationwide, having legalised marriage equality in 2006.
Elsewhere, activists are increasingly using courts and human-rights bodies to challenge exclusion.
In Botswana, for example, a same-sex couple is currently challenging the constitutionality of the country’s Marriage Act, arguing that its exclusion of same-sex couples is discriminatory.
Mauritius has already taken one significant step by dismantling its colonial-era criminalisation of consensual same-sex intimacy.
Campaigners are now asking whether equal civil marriage could be next.
For OUT Moris, the message is deliberately simple: civil equality does not require religious uniformity.
It requires the State to treat couples equally before the law.
