Sarah Hegazi: How one gay Egyptian woman stood up to homophobia and paid the ultimate price | CNN

Contents:

• ARRTS AND TORTURE OF GAYS, LBIANS EGYPT ARE ‘SYSTEMATIC,’ RIGHTS REPORT SAYS
• GAY TRAVEL EGYPT
• EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS SYSTEMILLY ABE AND TORTURE GAYS, RIGHTS GROUP SAYS
• GAY CAIRO
• 'YOU N'T BE OUT': GAY EGYPTIANS NTUE TO FEAR PERSECUTN
• HOW ONE GAY EGYPTIAN WOMAN STOOD UP TO HOMOPHOBIA AND PAID THE ULTIMATE PRICE
• HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS URGE EGYPT TO HALT CRACKDOWN ON GAYS
• LIVG FEAR: EGYPT’S GAY MUNY

ARRTS AND TORTURE OF GAYS, LBIANS EGYPT ARE ‘SYSTEMATIC,’ RIGHTS REPORT SAYS

(Beit) – Egyptian police and Natnal Secury Agency officers arbrarily arrt lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people and ta them human ndns, systematilly subject them to ill-treatment cludg torture, and often ce fellow mat to abe them, Human Rights Watch said today. Human rights groups have documented wi-sle ab the wake of a September 2017 ncert by the Lebane band Mashrou’ Leila, whose lead sger is openly gay and which performs songs that support sexual and genr diversy.

I was taed a ge unr a stairway [at the prosecutor’s office], wasn’t even a prison cell, [but merely] a 3 by 2-meters ty room, wh 25 gay and transgenr people.

CAIRO — The Egyptian ernment ntu to target gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr people a "systematic fashn" through arbrary arrts, torture and other forms of abe, cludg forced "virgy tts, " Human Rights Watch said watchdog group acced police personnel and officers of Egypt’s Natnal Secury Agency of routely pickg up spected LGBT people off the streets and tag them “human ndns, ” often after illegally searchg their phon. Egyptian secury forc taed Hegazi 2017 after she raised a rabow pri flag at a ncert Cairo by the Lebane band Mashrou’ Leila, whose lead sger is openly gay. While homosexualy is not illegal Egypt, thori have been g a 1960s anti-prostutn law that ntas a clse agast “bchery, ” which Egyptian urts have terpreted to clu the weeks followg the 2017 Mashrou’ Leila ncert, thori arrted sr of LGBT people and hand out harsh prison sentenc, promptg the U.

GAY TRAVEL EGYPT

The Egyptian ernment is refg to regnize the existence of lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people, floutg s rponsibily to protect the rights of everyone. Homosexualy isn’t technilly illegal Egypt, but ’s still a nservative Mlim untry, and gays are discrimated agast and routely round up by the police. Bee homosexualy isn’t an official crime, laws battg prostutn and “habual bchery” are ed to jtify the imprisonment of gay men and lbians for six months to six years.

Gay Travel Tips EgyptNow that you’re good and sred, ’s time to say, don’t let that stop you om visg a untry that’s sanely rich amazg templ and tombs of the ancient world. ” The report’s ma fdgs clu arbrary arrts of people thought to be LGBTQ; entrapment of gay and bisexual men through social workg and datg apps; and torture and prolonged tament of sexual and genr mori state ctody. Their acunts allege systemic abe throughout the judicial system Egypt, one of approximately 70 untri around the globe that crimaliz homosexualy — whether explicly or jt but three of those prosecuted went by psdonyms the report, for fear of retaliatn by Egyptian thori.

Egypt is one of seven untri that forced anal exams to “prove” a person’s homosexualy, acrdg to Human Rights Ahmed, a 27-year-old transgenr man arrted 2019 and released last month, was placed a women’s prison where he was given an ID rd that said “female” and nied his genr-affirmg treatment, acrdg to the report.

EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS SYSTEMILLY ABE AND TORTURE GAYS, RIGHTS GROUP SAYS

A change powerWhile LGBTQ people have long been subjected to homophobia and transphobia Egypt, Youn said the suatn worsened after s current print, Abl-Fattah el-Sissi, took power 2014. Government monorgYoun said Egyptian thori actively monor social media and cy streets to crackdown on LGBTQ people and others who are prottg or anizg for civil rights, all of which are labeled as subversn or even Rights Watch said police will set up fake profil masqueradg as gay men on datg apps like Grdr and social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp an attempt to meet public or learn the nam and meetg plac of other queer people for future raids and arrts. Queer people will often talk for months onle before agreeg to meet public, bee — addn to police — they know that rapists, thiev and blackmailers also target gay men on the apps, knowg they won’t go to police if they’re attacked, acrdg to Human Rights Watch.

GAY CAIRO

Increasgly, he said, Egyptian lears are parrotg “moral” and psdoscientific rhetoric ed by Christian nservativ the Wt, accg queer people of recg children and stroyg humany or claimg homosexualy as a disease or mental illns that harms the immune system and fects said the Egyptian ernment regularly ni reports of human rights ab as pletely fabrited. To the world, you’ve been greatly cel, but I five, ” Hegazy wrote the note, which was published part The New York attend a memorial for Sarah Hegazy Amsterdam on June 19, Arroyo Fernanz / NurPhoto via Getty ImagKhalid said queer Egyptians worldwi share a sense of shock and trma around her story, knowg n happen to themselv and their said supporters of LGBTQ rights — whether private dividuals or ernment officials — have a role to play protectg lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer people enurag the ternatnal muny to support, promote and empower Egyptian LGBTQ anizatns by helpg to provi fundg and secure platforms where they n nnect and anize.

Homosexualy⚢✖ Illegal (other penalty)Gay Marriage⚭✖ UnregnizedCensorship✖ Imprisonment as punishmentChangg Genr✖ Legal, but requir surgeryNon-bary genr regnn✖ Not legally regnizedDiscrimatn✖ No protectnsEmployment Discrimatn✖ No protectnsHog Discrimatn✖ No protectnsDonatg Blood✖ Banned (fe ferral)Conversn Therapy✖ Not banned. N/A Age of Consent is unequal/applible practice, same-genr sexual behavr is punished by ernmental offils, meang that both age and nsent are irrelevant to the illegaly of homosexualy Egypt.

'YOU N'T BE OUT': GAY EGYPTIANS NTUE TO FEAR PERSECUTN

Governments the regn vary their disregard for human rights general — and LGBTQ rights particular — and they all participate dissematg homophobia through polici and the persecutn of the LGBTQ muny, often embolng abe and for Baatour, takg such a public stance on LGBTQ rights was worth .

He is workg wh lol and ternatnal human rights groups, cludg Human Rights Watch, Amnty Internatnal, and the Tunisian Human Rights League, to document vlatns agast the LGBTQ muny 120 people were arrted 2019 on the basis of homosexualy, acrdg to data he piled wh rights groups. “So, this ntext, for example, the attack on LGBT issu is arbrary; you don’t really know where the attack is g om, but ’s always there, ” she 7% of people Tunisia accept homosexualy, acrdg to a survey nducted by BBC News Arabic 2019.

HOW ONE GAY EGYPTIAN WOMAN STOOD UP TO HOMOPHOBIA AND PAID THE ULTIMATE PRICE

People Tunisia need to unrstand that jail don’t change sexual inty or orientatnIn the se of Tunisia, LGBTQ advot, cludg Baatour, phed for abolishg Article 230, which punish homosexualy for up to three years prison. ” Those nductg or approvg the exams falsely believe that homosexualy n be intified by the tone of the anal sphcter or the shape of the an of the dividual. ”By the end of 2017, around two people were beg arrted every other week Egypt on grounds of homosexualy, acrdg to Fouad — not his real name — one of the unrground founrs of a group lled Solidary wh LGBTQ Egypt that documents crackdowns.

Arrts cled later, acrdg to Fouad, as many LGBTQ dividuals ntued to hi their orientatns and inti, livg fear of another the long-standg crackdowns on homosexualy the Middle East and North Ai that range om imprisonment and the ath penalty Sdi Arabia to forcg thoands of gay people to unrgo genr reassignment surgeri Iran, there is hope wh the LGBTQ muny the regn.

HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS URGE EGYPT TO HALT CRACKDOWN ON GAYS

Homosexualy is not crimalized Egypt, but Law 10 of 1961 is ed to prosecute the LGBTQ muny on charg of bchery, which is punishable by up to three years the “rabow se, ” crackdowns were different.

“Buildg up om 2013 to this day, the attu towards gay rights began to slightly improve Egypt bee of the growg onle iativ llg for change, ” Fouad November, Egyptian Mister of Edutn Tarek Shawki lled for acceptance of transgenr dividuals to prevent abe. Workg at the LGBTQ rights anizatn MOSAIC Lebanon, Wali has wnsed how the protectn of gay rights has progrsed, a procs that began as early as 2004, when Helem, the first NGO offerg legal servic to the LGBTQ muny, was officially registered a untry where homosexualy is punishable by up to one year prison unr Article 534 of the penal , the Lebane gay muny felt more hopeful about llg for change durg the recent monstratns prottg the untry’s cmblg enomy and the explosn that rocked Beit last Augt. ” The article is often ed to crimalize homosexualy, but some judg, om ary and civil urts, nsir applible today, argug that gay sex “is not unnatural, ” acrdg to Bertho Makso, the executive director of LGBTQ rights group Proud Lebanon.

LIVG FEAR: EGYPT’S GAY MUNY

“Sometim this article has been ed as an exce to exclu the gay muny, ” Makso, who asked to be intified only by his first name, was among those impacted by the 32-year-old chef, who now liv the U. “We were taken to the police statn, where officers lled anti-gay slurs and slapped on our fac, yellg, ‘Aren’t you ashamed, don’t you know what you’re dog mak God mad? Although officers promised that Mar’s jtice rerd would not clu this cint, Mar received an arrt warrant three months later, crimatg him of homosexualy.

Tunisian LGBTQ activists were succsful havg open dialogu wh different polil parti, cludg wh the leftist-oriented groups that make up the Front Populaire (or the Tunisian Popular Front), which support the ncellatn of Article ’s movements the untry, cludg the Tunisian Associatn of Democratic Women, “were the ontl” when me to advotg for LGBTQ rights and ncelg Article 230, acrdg to Baatour, who is also the print of the Tunisian LGBTQ rights group Shams – Pour la Dépénalisatn L’homosexualé en Tunisie (Shams – for the Decrimilizatn of Homosexualy Tunisia.