Current Version
| Region | Mozambique |
| Issue | Serving openly in military |
| Status | Lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned |
| Start Date | Jun 29, 2015 |
| End Date | (none) |
| Description | In Mozambique, LGB people do not appear to be expressly banned from military service, and consensual same-sex conduct has been clearly decriminalized since the revised Penal Code came into force on 29 June 2015. By contrast, transgender people appear to be de facto barred from open service, since Mozambique has no clear legal gender-recognition framework, no express military protection for gender identity, and no confirmed policy permitting service in an affirmed gender. |
| Sources | https://360mozambique.com/development/president-enacts-law-extending-mandatory-military-service-from-two-to-five-years/ https://web.archive.org/web/20231217163822/https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2015-07-06/mozambique-new-penal-code-removes-colonial-era-dispositions-against-homosexuality/ https://mdn.gov.mz/index.php/document-category/legislacao/leis-e-decretos-leis/ https://www.undp.org/mozambique/events/bridging-legal-gap-advancing-transgender-and-intersex-rights-mozambique https://www.sparkblue.org/system/files/2025-03/Promoting%20LGR%20for%20Transgender%20and%20Intersex%20Persons%20Meeting%20Report.pdf |
Revision History (9)
| Old Value | New Value (Current) | |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Legal | Lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned |
| Description | Mozambican law requires all citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity to serve at least five years in the military. | In Mozambique, LGB people do not appear to be expressly banned from military service, and consensual same-sex conduct has been clearly decriminalized since the revised Penal Code came into force on 29 June 2015. By contrast, transgender people appear to be de facto barred from open service, since Mozambique has no clear legal gender-recognition framework, no express military protection for gender identity, and no confirmed policy permitting service in an affirmed gender. |
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| Sources | https://360mozambique.com/development/president-enacts-law-extending-mandatory-military-service-from-two-to-five-years/ https://web.archive.org/web/20231217163822/https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2015-07-06/mozambique-new-penal-code-removes-colonial-era-dispositions-against-homosexuality/ | https://360mozambique.com/development/president-enacts-law-extending-mandatory-military-service-from-two-to-five-years/ https://web.archive.org/web/20231217163822/https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2015-07-06/mozambique-new-penal-code-removes-colonial-era-dispositions-against-homosexuality/ https://mdn.gov.mz/index.php/document-category/legislacao/leis-e-decretos-leis/ https://www.undp.org/mozambique/events/bridging-legal-gap-advancing-transgender-and-intersex-rights-mozambique https://www.sparkblue.org/system/files/2025-03/Promoting%20LGR%20for%20Transgender%20and%20Intersex%20Persons%20Meeting%20Report.pdf |
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edited by DaisyGeekyTrans. Fixing start year.
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0 | Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Start Date | Jun 29, 2016 | Jun 29, 2015 |
edited by DaisyGeekyTrans. Adding start date of decriminalisation as it would be DADT at best if homosexuality was illegal.
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0 | Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Start Date | (unknown) | Jun 29, 2016 |
| Sources | https://360mozambique.com/development/president-enacts-law-extending-mandatory-military-service-from-two-to-five-years/ | https://360mozambique.com/development/president-enacts-law-extending-mandatory-military-service-from-two-to-five-years/ https://web.archive.org/web/20231217163822/https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2015-07-06/mozambique-new-penal-code-removes-colonial-era-dispositions-against-homosexuality/ |
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edited by DaisyGeekyTrans. Fixing the status. Although technically it’s more “illegal to not serve”.
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0 | Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned | Legal |
| Description | While it claims mandatory service for most people there, However, Trans People cannot serve. | Mozambican law requires all citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity to serve at least five years in the military. |
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| Sources | http://schoolserver.xsce.org:3000/wikipedia_en_all_2015-05/A/LGBT_rights_in_Mozambique.html | https://360mozambique.com/development/president-enacts-law-extending-mandatory-military-service-from-two-to-five-years/ |
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edited by Canadianstudent03. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/countries-that-allow-transgender-members-in-the-military-1.4222205
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0 | Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Legal | Lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned |
| Description | mandatory for all people there. | While it claims mandatory service for most people there, However, Trans People cannot serve. |
Show Difference | ||
| Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned | Legal |
| Description | only lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals are able to serve openly. | mandatory for all people there. |
| Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Sources | No | http://schoolserver.xsce.org:3000/wikipedia_en_all_2015-05/A/LGBT_rights_in_Mozambique.html |
| Old Value (Original) | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Illegal | Lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned |
| Description | No | only lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals are able to serve openly. |