Confn, exasperatn and datg apps – my month as a gay reporter at the Qatar World Cup - The Athletic

Contents:

• WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY AND QATARI
• GAY PEOPLE LIVG UNR RADAR QATAR PREPARE WARILY FOR WORLD CUP
• CONFN, EXASPERATN AND DATG APPS – MY MONTH AS A GAY REPORTER AT THE QATAR WORLD CUP

WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY AND QATARI

As the first and currently only Qatari to publicly e out as gay, Mohamed­—a doctor who has lived the U. But given homosexualy is crimalized Qatar, he is likely to rema s only member for the foreeable future. In the months sce, Mohamed lnched the non-prof Alwan Foundatn to advance LGBTQ+ rights across the Middle East and pecially Qatar, where he says that secury operativ filtrate gay muni orr to torture and erce members to rm on others.

GAY PEOPLE LIVG UNR RADAR QATAR PREPARE WARILY FOR WORLD CUP

There are some people om really affluent fai that are gay and ’s almost public knowledge—but they’re really wealthy, affluent, and very nnected, so people jt don’t say anythg. Bee you uld be harmed, you n be gay bashed, you n be beaten, and people may not be able to help you.

(Beit) – Qatar Preventive Secury Department forc have arbrarily arrted lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people and subjected them to ill-treatment tentn, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch terviewed six LGBT Qataris, cludg four transgenr women, one bisexual woman, and one gay man. Doctor Nasser Mohamed, an openly gay Qatari activist, helped nnect Human Rights Watch to five of those terviewed.

“I saw many other LGBT people taed there: two Morocn lbians, four Filipo gay men, and one Nepale gay man, ” she said. A Qatari gay man who has experienced ernment reprsn, cludg arbrary arrt, said that secury forc surveilled and arrted him based on his onle activy. Homosexualy⚢✖ Male illegal, female uncertaCensorship✖ State-enforcedNon-bary genr regnn✖ Not legally regnizedDiscrimatn✖ No protectnsEmployment Discrimatn✖ No protectnsHog Discrimatn✖ No protectnsConversn Therapy✖ Not banned.

CONFN, EXASPERATN AND DATG APPS – MY MONTH AS A GAY REPORTER AT THE QATAR WORLD CUP

Homosexual activy Qatar is male illegal, female illegal, female uncerta Qatar is a nservative Mlim untry and homosexualy is illegal. The untry's laws and cultural norms heavily discrimate agast LGBTQ+ dividuals, and homosexualy is punishable by imprisonment or f. As a rult, gay marriage is not possible or regnized Qatar and LGBTQ+ dividuals are not afford the same rights and protectns as heterosexual upl.

N/A There are no specific laws or bans around MSMs donatg blood Qatar, however, homosexualy is illegal the untry. Namely: The World Cup is beg held a untry where people n be imprisoned or executed for beg gay.

Here’s what the report says, and reflects what gay Qatari Nasser Mohamed wrote for Outsports earlier this year.

He spoke openly about the importance of exprsg disapproval to any child who hts about homosexualy. In an terview wh German work ZDF, former Qatari soccer player and current World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman clared that beg gay is “haram” (a vlatn of Islamic law). “The mere fact that beg gay, or lbian, or trans is illegal Qatar and will open you up for prosecutn means is not a safe place for LGBT+ people to travel to and the ernment advice should clearly say that, ” said Andrew Boff, puty chair of the London Assembly and a leadg Conservative gay-rights mpaigner, acrdg to the BBC.

In the terpretatn of Sharia law that Qatar follows, sex outsi of marriage, cludg homosexualy, is punishable by jail time and, as a maximum sentence, ath by stong, though there isn’t available evince that such a punishment has ever been ed. Mohamed left Qatar his 20s for medil school “wh the tentn of never g back” bee of the limed life he led as a gay man there.

“If you’re an expat, you’re able to live your life like you want, ” a gay Arab man livg Doha told Rters.

But for me, an out and proud gay Qatari who had to flee my home, is a remr of the dangero and adly LGBTphobia that exists Qatar. Currently, homosexualy is illegal Qatar unr Article 296 of the penal wh punishment rangg om imprisonment of 3-5 years, and even DEATH. Bee of the homophobic laws and the daily social and legal obstacl that exist Qatari society, I had no other choice but to seek asylum the Uned Stat for my own safety.