The ‘Nightmare’ of Beg Gay Tunisia - DAWN

Contents:

• THE 'NIGHTMARE' OF BEG GAY TUNISIA
• TUNISIAN LGBT ACTIVIST: GAY COMMUNY IS PERSECUTED AS SO-CALLED PROGRSIV STAY SILENT
• TUNISIA HAS S FIRST OPENLY GAY NDIDATE FOR PRINT
• PROMENT TUNISIAN GAY RIGHTS ACTIVIST FLE TO FRANCE AFTER ATH THREATS
• POLICE ARRT LEADG GAY ACTIVIST CRACKDOWN ON TUNISIA RALLY

THE 'NIGHTMARE' OF BEG GAY TUNISIA

A 2019 study by the Arab Barometer showed that acceptance of homosexualy is low or extremely low across the regn. In Algeria, the 26 percent of rponnts who said beg gay was acceptable reprented the hight share the regn. Although there are signs that attus towards Tunisia's lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer people are improvg, activists say police grew embolned followg antiernment protts this year as the untry's enomy flailed amid the COVID-19 Interr Mistry and the leadg police unn did not rpond to requts for ment on activists' is a veteran activist who found his first LGBTQ rights group 2002, when tocratic Print Ze El Abide Ben Ali still led Tunisia.

Dpe mocratic gas sce the Tunisian revolutn, the untry remas socially nservative and there is ltle polil will to ph for crimalizg homosexualy. The bed number is five tim higher than prev years, acrdg to the Tunisia has sunk more eply to a polil and enomic crisis, wh Print Kais Saied takg on sweepg powers July that threatened the untry's mocracy, has bee more difficult for activists to keep LGBT rights on the Baabou thks that the crimalizatn of homosexualy is unlikely any time soon, he is more optimistic about "middle term" prospects.

TUNISIAN LGBT ACTIVIST: GAY COMMUNY IS PERSECUTED AS SO-CALLED PROGRSIV STAY SILENT

Belhadj, who was 38 years old at the time, was charged wh homosexual activy and taed the civil prison of Mornaguia, southwt of the Tunisian pal. Belhadj's story is all-too faiar Tunisia, where the crimalizatn of homosexualy ntradicts the right to privacy and nondiscrimatn that is supposedly enshred Tunisia's 2014 nstutn. "Yet homosexualy is crimalized unr Article 230 of the Tunisian penal , which dat back to the French lonial era.

His oral shows what is like livg as an LGBTQ person a untry where homosexualy is nmned and illegal, and the social stigma of beg exposed n have dire nsequenc on people's a recent terview wh Democracy Exile, Belhadj said that his se was overwhelmgly publicized whout his knowledge while he was prison.

"Belhadj's story is all-too faiar Tunisia, where the crimalizatn of homosexualy ntradicts the right to privacy and nondiscrimatn that is supposedly enshred the nstutn.

TUNISIA HAS S FIRST OPENLY GAY NDIDATE FOR PRINT

Ali Boselmi, the executive director of Mawjoud—"We Exist, " Arabic—a Tunisian NGO fightg for LGBTQ rights, nfirmed Belhadj's acunt of prison and scribed the majory of Tunisian society as homophobic. "After the revolutn 2011, thgs have changed, but homophobia persists. "When Mounir Baatour, who is also the head of Tunisia's Liberal Party, announced 2019 that he would n for the untry's princy, he beme the first openly gay printial ndidate not only Tunisia but throughout the Arab world.

PROMENT TUNISIAN GAY RIGHTS ACTIVIST FLE TO FRANCE AFTER ATH THREATS

After the revolutn 2011, thgs have changed, but homophobia persists.

The stigma of beg intified as gay led to more discrimatn public, cludg whenever he went out to bars and f, and equent harassment by police.

POLICE ARRT LEADG GAY ACTIVIST CRACKDOWN ON TUNISIA RALLY

Belhadj said that three bouncers at a mic venue Tunis beat him wh baseball bats a night after he attend a ncert there, bee they regnized him as the gay filmmaker who appeared on the news. Asked why the Tunisian ernment allows the NGOs to operate while the penal crimaliz homosexualy, Baatour said that there is a difference between civil and crimal law: "The civil law allows to create an associatn, but the crimal law nmns homosexualy.

"LGBTQ activists and human rights lawyers prott outsi a urt Tunis after filg a requt mandg the crimalizatn of homosexualy the untry, followg an appeal agast the sentencg of two Tunisians jailed unr the strict penal , Dec. A 22-year-old male Tunisian stunt was sentenced Tuday to one year prison for havg sexual relatns wh a man, acrdance wh Article 230 of the untry's penal , which crimaliz homosexualy.