Gay-iendly: Marrakech for homosexuals » Travelgui Marrakech

Contents:

• DOZENS OF GAY MEN ARE OUTED MOROC AS PHOTOS ARE SPREAD ONLE
• GAY MEN ABED MOROC AFTER PHOTOS SPREAD ONLE
• WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE GAY … MOROC?
• GAY-IENDLY: MARRAKECH FOR HOMOSEXUALS
• MOROCN GAY MEN TO SERVE FOUR MONTHS FOR POSG CLOSE TOGETHER FOR PHOTOGRAPH
• GAY MOROC

DOZENS OF GAY MEN ARE OUTED MOROC AS PHOTOS ARE SPREAD ONLE

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe ia was to show the hypocrisy of Morocn society by showg how many gay men are livg quietly straight society. It backfired S/Agence France-Prse — Getty ImagPARIS — At least 50 to 100 gay men were outed Moroc over the last two weeks, rights activists say, after the men were intified on lotn-based meetg apps while shelterg at home amid a ronavis at least three s, men were kicked out of their ho, L. ”In Moroc, a North Ain kgdom where homosexualy and sex outsi marriage are crim, gay people are pafully acctomed to the feelgs of peril and rejectn, and many keep their sexual inti unr, their ver has been blown a way that would be crimal most Wtern societi, rights advot say.

”What mak this episo particularly paful, gay lears say, is that was igned by someone who had also been sgled April 13, a Morocn transgenr Instagram personaly based Istanbul, Naoufal Mosa or Sofia Talouni, was sulted about her sexual orientatn.

In a rage, she released a profany-laced vio enuragg women to download the lotn-based meetg apps, like Grdr and Pla Romeo, which are ually ed by gay subsequent vios, she said her aim was to reveal the hypocrisy of Morocn society by showg her attackers how many gay men were livg their vicy, perhaps even their own people followed Ms. Mosa’s lead and created fake acunts on the apps to gather photos of gay men, which they then posted on private and public Facebook pag, settg off the homophobic attacks igned a firtorm of cricism, both of Ms. Mosa pelled him to acknowledge that he was gay, threateng to post revealg photos showg him wh another gay man.

GAY MEN ABED MOROC AFTER PHOTOS SPREAD ONLE

That’s when she got angry and suggted downloadg gay meetg apps, which led to the outburst of anti-gay vlence. “My datg life Moroc was somehow OK as long as my partner and I were beg super discreet and ut, ” said one gay man who asked to be intified only by his ials, N.

Abllah Taia, a proment gay thor and one of few to publicly clare his sexual orientatn Moroc, says that the state keeps people a gray area, makg them vulnerable to abe and discrimatn and forcg many to hidg.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE GAY … MOROC?

”Moroc’s Interr Mistry did not rpond to a requt for outg episo is seen by many as stroyg a agile balance that the untry’s unrground gay culture has built laborly over the years, ma even worse a time of uncertaty and enomic hardship. But they do have some support at Bezad, the print of the Pan-Ain Organizatn for the Fight Agast AIDS, said that while Moroc’s laws were unlikely to change, s health mistry enurag associatns like hers to help vulnerable populatns, cludg gay people. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Same-sex relatns n be punished wh up to three years prison MorocGay men are beg harassed and abed Moroc after photos taken om gay chat apps were circulated spread after a social media fluencer told her followers to make fake acunts on apps to see how mon homosexualy is.

Homosexualy is illegal the nservative Mlim untry, which is lockdown bee of rtrictns mean many men are unable to leave their hom where fai abe them, activists man, a stunt who returned om France durg the lockdown, killed himself after beg intified as gay, Morocn media LGBT anisatns who support gay men Moroc have told BBC News that men are beg harassed and are at risk the untry after the photos el Mouti ns a Facebook group lled The Morocn LGBT Communy, which giv advice and support to LGBT people, many of whom nceal their number of men reportg abe and askg for help has creased sce the onle mpaign began, says Mr Mouti, who left Moroc to study for a PhD the man ntacted the Facebook group to say he feels like "a ad man". Everyone knows now that I'm homosexual, and my neighbour sexually harassed me, so I cid to flee, " he told the group. "You might also be terted :The outgs began when transgenr mol and fluencer Sofia Taloni ed an Instagram Live to enurage women Moroc to set up fake acunts on gay chat dog so, she said they would disver how many men e the platforms, cludg potentially "their hbands and brothers" said her aim was to ll out hypocrisy Morocn society by showg people how many men are secretly gay the men e apps cludg Grdr as a way to nnect private, bee LGBT anisatns or meetg plac are illegal activists are enuragg men to close their acunts to protect themselv.

You might be lockdown wh homophobic fay, and wh Ramadan, people are very ncerned about moraly, and thgs might get heated, " Mr Mouti explas. "The Morocn thori should immediately step to protect LGBT people's privacy and repeal anti-LGBT laws that n only fuel this homophobic behavur, " said a statement on Monday. Jamaa el Fna, Marrakech’s ma square, is the cy’s primary gay cisg spot after dk.

GAY-IENDLY: MARRAKECH FOR HOMOSEXUALS

For those who heard about the se of Ray Cole—a Brish tourist arrted last year Marrakech, Moroc, on spicn of mtg “homosexual acts” and sentenced to four months’ hard time a Morocn jail prr to his early release— is perhaps difficult to image that Moroc was somethg of a gay paradise for whe men of standg the aftermath of World War II.

Somethg of the gay scene moved to Marrakech, but suffice to say, is far removed om Tangier’s heyday and very much nfed to the margs. Gay life tak place the pths of certa hammams (Turkish baths) and the back rows of cemas, if people happen to know the right spots; needls to say, cisg plays an important role. There are no gay bars, but a mix of gay and straight patrons n be found clubs that ter primarily to Wterners.

Seen this light, the se of Ray Cole n be said to be another part of the story of the wherg away of gay life Moroc, or at the very least, the end of turng of a bld eye to .

MOROCN GAY MEN TO SERVE FOUR MONTHS FOR POSG CLOSE TOGETHER FOR PHOTOGRAPH

But what is more signifint about Cole’s se is that monstrat the te realy for gay men Moroc, namely, that while the laws on homosexualy are enforced nsistently, there is evintly a double standard employed their applitn. The lerature available to potential gay travelers to Moroc—of which there is a great al sce, spe of laws and social norms there, Moroc remas a prime statn for package holiday-goers om Bra, France, and Germany—is very clear settg out what is and isn’t acceptable. Gay upl should rea om public displays of affectn and would be advised to seek out hotels and riads (a tradnal hoe wh an terr urtyard) known to be gay-iendly.

The arrt of Morocns for “homosexual acts” occurs every day and go unreported. The scen of Cole’s fay greetg him at Bra’s Gatwick Airport ntrast starkly wh how gay men are treated Morocn society: looked down upon, rejected by their fai, dismissed wh the Maghrebi Arabic slur zamel.

“More than [Cole’s] own se, what happened to him shows how vulnerable gay Morocns are, ”Abllah Taïa, a Morocn wrer and filmmaker who now liv exile, wrote The Guardian, “They are at the mercy of anyone. ” To the qutn of what is like to be gay Moroc, then, the answer very much means one thg to a Wtern visor and que another to Morocn natnals, who are nsired by their society and their state to be of lser value. What’s It Like to Be Gay … Poland?

GAY MOROC

What’s It Like to Be Gay … Romania? Moroc has been and remas a popular statn for LGBTQ+ travelers spe beg an Islamic untry where homosexualy is illegal and punishable by law.

Homosexualy is seen by most of the populatn as a threat to the “tradnal valu” that support the expectatn of heterosexual norms and Mlim teachgs. As a nservative Mlim untry where homosexualy is illegal, there aren’t any official “gay hot spots” or LGBTQ+ celebratns.