Gay rights in middle east
26/03/2023
Original: French
Written by: Mathilde Verrier
Translated by: Lisa Selmadji
Despite growing claims for the recognition and acquisition of rights as adv as for the protection of LGBTQIA+ persons worldwide, homosexual relationships are still, even today, criminalized in 69 countries. In 11 countries, they are punishable by death. Considered immoral or unnatural, same-sex relationships are treated as a crime, and this, mainly in the Middle East region. The recent state by the NGO Human Rights Watch, published on the 21st February 2023, stresses the urgency and need for action in favour of LGBTQIA+ citizens in these regions, in particular denouncing online hunting practices. In some countries, to obtain a sentence, sometimes even a death penalty, politicians are suspected of using social media to track and objective homosexual men in particular, in order to assemble evidence and secure a seemingly justified conviction. How to explain the stigmatization and persisting discriminations against LGBTQIA+ persons in the Middle East countries?
A several political and legal framework, conducive to violence towards LGBTQIA+ communities
Although in the view of some Middle East
Everything you need to know about existence gay in Muslim countries
When the US supreme court ruled in favour of same-sex marriage last year, the White House welcomed it with rainbow-coloured lights and many people celebrated by adding a rainbow tint to their Facebook profile.
For the authorities in Saudi Arabia, though, this was cause for alarm rather than celebration, alerting them to a previously unnoticed peril in their midst. The first casualty was the privately sprint Talaee Al-Noor educational facility in Riyadh which happened to own a rooftop parapet painted with rainbow stripes. According to the kingdom’s religious police, the institution was fined 100,000 riyals ($26,650) for displaying “the emblem of the homosexuals” on its building, one of its administrators was jailed and the offending parapet was swiftly repainted to equal a blue rainbow-free sky.
The case of the gaily painted school shows how progress in one part of the world can include adverse effects elsewhere and serves as a reminder that there are places where the connection between rainbows and LGBT rights is either new or yet to be discovered.
In Afghanistan, only a few years ago, there was a craze for decorating cars with ra
International Federation
for Human Rights
International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia: In the Encounter of Fundamentalism, Dignity, Struggle, and Courage. Living one’s sexual orientation without fear is a human right. Living one’s gender self in safety is a human right. The rights of LGBTQI+ people are human rights.
17 May 2024. On this World Time Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) reaffirms its constant support for LGBTQI+ people and rights defenders and continues the fight against all forms of discrimination and oppression.
The criminalisation of homosexuality and trans-identity is a devastating reality in over 60 countries. In these countries, the LGBTQI+ community is exposed to severe penalties, sometimes even up to the death penalty. These laws contribute to the marginalisation and stigmatisation of these minorities. In addition to criminalising sexual acts, gender expression is also criminalised.
In several Maghreb and Middle Eastern countries, the criminalisation of same-sex sexual relations and trans-identity is often rooted in a French or British colonial her
Which countries impose the death penalty on gay people?
Around the world, queer people continue to confront discrimination, violence, harassment and social stigma. While social movements have marked progress towards acceptance in many countries, in others homosexuality continues to be outlawed and penalised, sometimes with death.
According to Statistica Research Department, as of 2024, homosexuality is criminalised in 64 countries globally, with most of these nations situated in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 12 of these countries, the death penalty is either enforced or remains a possibility for private, consensual homosexual sexual activity.
In many cases, the laws only apply to sexual relations between two men, but 38 countries own amendments that include those between women in their definitions.
These penalisations represent abuses of human rights, especially the rights to freedom of phrase, the right to develop one's hold personality and the right to life.
Which countries enforce the death penalty for homosexuality?
Saudi Arabia
The Wahabbi interpretation of Sharia law in Saudi Arabia maintains that acts of homosexuality should be disciplined in the sa