From arrts to honor killgs to ld-blood murrs, when Mahmoud Hasso saw the rights of Syria's lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) muny trampled the btal civil war, he wanted to fd a way to tell the world.
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THE DOUBLE THREAT FOR GAY MEN SYRIA
LGBT Rights Syria: homosexualy, gay marriage, gay adoptn, servg the ary, sexual orientatn discrimatn protectn, changg legal genr, donatg blood, age of nsent, and more. * lgbt rights in syria *
A/HRC/29/23, 4 May 2015; Graeme Reid, “The Double Threat for Gay Men … Contue readg The documented ab clu forced nudy, rape, and anal or vagal “examatns” rried out by Syrian Government forc (and by armed groups), often as a tool of ercn or punishment tentn facili. ” See: Ree Erlich, “Gays jo the Syrian … Contue readg Wr large, throughout the nflict, terrori held by armed surgent groups have arguably been the most overtly hostile environments for LGBTQ+ Syrians, particularly areas held by vlent extremists.
S/2016/361, 20 April 2016; Michelle Nichols, “Gay Men Tell UN Secury … Contue readg Although sweepg claims should be approached utly, foreign-born armed group fighters were generally more zealo and punive LGBTQ+ matters than Syrian batants the same groups.
Unverified anecdotal reports dite that such ndns likely drove some gay men to jo IS, whether as fighters or admistrative functnari, as a form of preemptive protectn. [27]Razan Ghazzawi, “Delonisg Syria’s so-lled ‘queer liberatn’, ” Al-Jazeera (2017):; Ayman … Contue readg SDF manr Mtafa Bali subsequently downplayed the apparent PR stunt: “while emphasizg our ep rpect for human rights, cludg the rights of homosexuals, [we] ny the formatn of such a battaln wh the amework of our forc.
FDG SYRIA'S MR GAY: FILM HIGHLIGHTS ABE OF LGBT SYRIANS WAR
Lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people the Syrian Arab Republic face legal challeng not experienced by non-LGBT rints. Article 520 of the penal of 1949, prohibs "rnal relatns agast the orr of nature", and provis for up to three years' imprisonment. Vigilante executns, beatgs, torture, and vigilante attacks agast LGBT happen all the time Syria, cludg attacks by the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Mahmoud Hasso, a gay Syrian opposn activist and journalist who started the onle magaze Mawaleh, not that regardls of the oute of the civil war, work needs to be done the area of civil rights on behalf of all Syrians, not jt the LGBT muny. Miral Bredda, a secular lear of the Lol Coordatn Commte of Syria, said "Personally I see homosexualy as a private matter. But Syrian society would say "no way" if gays rose to claim their rights. Developg a civil society will take time." Nasraen Ahme, a member of the Free Syrian Army which works to brg down the ernment of Bashar al-Assad, said "If I was charge I would enforce tougher laws agast homosexuals. If someone said homosexuals should be stoned to ath as Iran and Sdi Arabia, I would not object." * lgbt rights in syria *
Followg the flux of Syrian refuge to Turkey the early years of the nflict, the untry me to host what was arguably the first anised Syrian LGBTQ+ movements and associatns, lnched large part by gay men Istanbul (see set: Milton of the Syrian LGBTQ+ Movement Turkey). Several important factors have facilated mobilisatn wh the Syrian LGBTQ+ muny Turkey: Homosexualy has long been crimalised the untry, although social stigma persists, pecially more nservative, outlyg areas. [29]In 1858, Sultan Abdul Majid I crimalised homosexualy, th grantg homosexual adults the right to engage sexual activy whout threat of legal, Turkey has a long rerd of receivg and grantg protectn stat to sexual mori om plac such as Iraq and Iran; the untry has creasgly acted as a crossroads for migratn om Asia and Ai to Europe, which — recent years — has cid wh a rise the numbers of LGBTQ+ asylum seekers.
* lgbt rights in syria *
” This ncept unrwrote LGBT Rad, a statn that was meant to lnch on 17 May (the Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia) 2013, as the first Arab rad statn addrsg gay issu. [38]Amélie Zacur, “Gay Refuge From ISIS, ” The Daily Beast (2017):; “‘No place for people like you’: An analysis of the needs, … Contue readg LGBTQ+ refuge Lebanon report that employers, abers, and others explo their fear of lol thori to erce them to hostile, unsafe, and abive profsnal and personal relatnships. [44]“The Global Divi on Homosexualy: Greater Acceptance More Secular and Affluent Countri” Pew Reaerch Center (2013): … Contue readg Such attus have rulted stigmatisatn and harassment, vlence, and honour killgs.
Notably, no legal provisn specifilly prohibs women om wearg men’s cloth for the oppose purpose, an illtratn of the way that homosexual women are ls visible than their male unterparts — even legalised persecutn.
For stance, when the popular uprisg epted 2011, affluent Damascene gay men were well-known wh LGBTQ+ circl for hostg LGBTQ+ parti at farms and villas near the pal, unr the watchful observatn — and implic protectn — of thori. In general, the cultural ele Syria’s most smopolan ci, Damasc and Aleppo, have shown some toleratn for semi-overt exprsns of homosexual inty, yet this acceptance has been extend only to the privileged few, and has not translated to a regnn or acceptance of llective LGBTQ+ inty more broadly.
Durg Syria’s civil war, many people have been subjected to sexual vlence, rultg ongog trma. Many of the victims are men and they have scribed how such vlence gets worse if they are nsired gay, or “soft” as the lol term translat. * lgbt rights in syria *
[70]Hannah Lucda Smh, “How Jihadists are blackmailg, torturg, and killg gay Syrians, ” (2013): In other s, Government of Syria secury agents and Islamist armed group batants have posed as gay men on social media or datg applitns orr to entrap LGBTQ+ dividuals — a procs that has sometim culmated -person meetgs leadg to arrts, kidnappgs, beatgs, blackmail, ransom mands, [71]Amélie Zacur, “Gay Refuge From ISIS, ” The Daily Beast (2017): and even killgs. [72]Jam Kirchick, “ISIS Go Medieval on Gays, ” The Daily Beast (2015): As illic war enomi proliferate si Syria, the risk of extortn over sexual or genr inty will grow. [73]Graeme Reid, “The Double Threat for Gay Men Syria, ” Human Rights Watch (2014): Although same-sex relatnships are legal Turkey, homophobic attus are nohels wispread and LGBTQ+ refuge have reported troublg cints, cludg beg pelted wh rocks or beg followed the street and attacked.
LGBT Rights Al Lādhiqīyah, Syria: homosexualy, gay marriage, gay adoptn, servg the ary, sexual orientatn discrimatn protectn, changg legal genr, donatg blood, age of nsent, and more. * lgbt rights in syria *
[75]“Missg gay Syrian refugee found behead Istanbul, ” The Guardian (2016): … Contue readg In June 2019, another gay refugee, 22-year-old Muhammad Hamsho, was stabbed to ath Mers, southern Turkey. The Lebane Office for the Preventn of Crim agast Public Decency has been acced of targetg gay men[78]Joey Ayoub, “Lebane Police Arrt Four Durg Gay Club Raid, ” Global Voic, 2013, and performg illegal and purposefully huiatg abe, cludg reported e of “anal tts” — which have been banned by a recent cree and were scribed by the Lebane Doctors Syndite as a form of torture. [79]“Digny Debased: Forced Anal Examatns Homosexualy Prosecutns, ” Human Rights Watch (2016): … Contue readg Although Lebane navigatg arbrary teractns wh thori sometim have reurse to fay works, fluential polil party members, or other tsted termediari pable of preventg harsh and arbrary punishment or tentn, Syrian refuge seldom have accs to such mechanisms.