Opn: Dr. Nasser 'Nas' Mohamed sought asylum the US after g out as gay. Here's what he wants people to know about Qatar | CNN

bbc qatar gay

Dr. Nasser “Nas” Mohamed is said to be the first gay Qatari to e out publicly. He did to raise awarens about the existence and mistreatment of LGBTQ people Qatar before the 2022 FIFA World Cup. “Our voic and our journeys matter,” he says.

Contents:

QATAR HAS TAKEN 'REAL STEPS' FOR SAFETY OF GAY FANS, SAYS FOREIGN SECRETARY

The Brish broadster did what the players uld not gay-rights prott. * bbc qatar gay *

Image source, PA MediaQatar has taken "real steps" to ensure the safety of gay fans attendg the World Cup, Foreign Secretary Jam Cleverly has Cleverley told the BBC he had had "difficult nversatns" wh Qatari unterparts and had been clear how serly the UK tak the build-up to the tournament has seen ncerns raised over LGBT as well as broar human rights Qatar.

HOMOSEXUALY: THE UNTRI WHERE IS ILLEGAL TO BE GAY

UK verage kicks off wh foc on treatment of migrant workers and gay people, and rptn at Fifa * bbc qatar gay *

Asked whether Qatar was safe for gay fans, he said gay rights was an issue he had "brought up over a number of years" while workg wh the hosts preparatn for the event. "The Qataris know how serly we take this issue and they have taken real steps to ensure that gay football fans are safe and do feel secure and n enjoy the football. People found ways to prott agast Qatar's laws on homosexualy - wh a bear sportg rabow lac placed on top of a televisn mera durg one World Cup matchIt was the summer of 2021, and I was talkg to a senr Fifa, I asked, would the LGBTQ+ muny be ma to feel wele at the upg World Cup Qatar, a untry which homosexualy is illegal?

GAY ENGLAND FAN QATAR'S SECRET WORLD CUP DIARY

TIME speaks to Dr. Naser Mohamed, the first and currently only Qatari to publicly e out as gay, ahead of the World Cup. * bbc qatar gay *

A gay fan who took a greysled Pri flag to a gameexternal-lk was ma to throw the b; another was forced to unfurl his Pri banners by guards who approached him on the metro. 'Beg gay should not stop me supportg England'LGBTQ+ fans who chose not to travel to Qatar had to listen as Khalid Salman, one of the untry's World Cup ambassadors, scribed homosexualy as "damage the md" were some of many stori of LGBTQ+ fans and alli beg stopped or and the Qatari thori had given assuranc that wouldn't be the se. External-lkAnd Infanto's ments were part of a wir pattern, which signifint football figur amed the nversatn about the treatment of LGBTQ+ people the host natn as one of cultural and polil differenc, rather than basic human matter that gay Qataris had spoken out about their sire to live ee om harassment, such as Aziz, who told BBC News November: "I would like reforms that would say I n be gay and not worry about beg killed.

And after some of the ments by football's leadg power-brokers, how are gay people the game really seen by those ntrol? LGBTQ+ rights activists protted agast the Qatar World Cup outsi Fifa's mm Zurich on TudayA Qatar World Cup ambassador llg homosexualy "damage the md" is "harmful and unacceptable", says Human Rights Qatar ternatnal Khalid Salman told German broadster ZDF that LGBTQ+ people attendg the tournament should "accept our l". Homosexualy is illegal Qatar bee is nsired immoral unr Islamic Sharia said: "[Homosexualy] is haram.

OPN: DR. NASSER ‘NAS’ MOHAMED SOUGHT ASYLUM THE US AFTER G OUT AS GAY. HERE’S WHAT HE WANTS PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT QATAR

* bbc qatar gay *

However, Qatar 2022 chief executive Nasser al Khater has said the ernment would not change s laws on homosexualy, requtg visors "rpect our culture" Gulf State, where the World Cup will take place om 20 November to 18 December, has also been cricised for s human rights rerd and treatment of migrant Cup 'should not' have gone to Qatar - Sepp BlatterFifa recently wrote to petg natns askg them to "now foc on the football" stead of the petn's ntroversial letter, which was signed by Fifa print Gianni Infanto, was cricised by Human Rights Watch, Amnty Internatnal and LGBTQ+ mpaigners England and Wal, while 10 European football associatns - cludg those of England and Wal - said "human rights are universal and apply everywhere". "Human Rights Watch recently released a reportexternal-lk sayg that Qatari secury forc are ntug to arrt cizens who are gay, lbian, and transgenr, sometim forcg them to unrgo nversn 's ernment has said the report ntas false chary Stonewall's director of munitns and external affairs Robbie Santos said human rights were beg "disregard and disrpected". "Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Durg England match, Harry Kane wears a whe One Love pta's armband, wh a rabow sign support of the LGBT munyThe cisn to stage the World Cup Qatar, a untry where homosexualy n be punishable by ath, has been cricised by LGBT groups.

Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Welsh football fans will be travellg to their first World Cup sce 1958 - and have unveiled a flag supportg LGBT supportersMr Cleverly said he would be attendg the World Cup, addg that the UK has "credibly important partners the Middle East" Tatchell said he was "surround and terrogated" by thori followg the one-man prott, believed to be the first LGBT rights prott to take place any Gulf mpaigner said the foreign secretary should not attend the World Cup, and stead "highlight the ab beg rried out by the regime" planng to be at the event, Mr Cleverly would be "lludg wh a homophobic, sexist and racist regime", he digal, culture, media and sport secretary Lucy Powell h out at the foreign secretary's remark, scribg as "shockgly tone-af" said: "Sport should be open to all. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Kamala Harris has been a vol supporter of LGBTQ rightsUS Vice-Print Kamala Harris who is on a tour of three Ain untri - Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia - has drawn cricism over her support for LGBTQ Ghana, a speech llg for "all people be treated equally" she appeared to cricise a bill before the untry's parliament which crimalis advocy for gay rights and propos jail terms for those that intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, or untry's Speaker Alban Bagb later lled her remarks "unmocratic" and urged lawmakers not to be "timidated by any person" Tanzania, a former mister spoke agast US support for LGBTQ rights ahead of the vis and Zambia some opposn policians have threatened to hold is homosexualy still outlawed?

ALEX STT PRAISED FOR WEARG ONE LOVE ARMBAND DURG ROW OVER QATAR GAY RIGHTS PROTT

In the same month, the high urt Barbados stck out laws that crimalised gay July last year, the urts Antigua and Barbuda clared a law crimalisg same-sex acts between nsentg adults Febary 2021, Angola's Print Joao Louren signed to law a revised penal to allow same-sex relatnships and ban discrimatn on the basis of sexual 2020, Gabon reversed a law that had crimalised homosexualy and ma gay sex punishable wh six months prison and a large fe. Mozambique and the Seychell have also scrapped anti-homosexualy laws recent there are untri where existg laws outlawg homosexualy have been tightened, cludg Nigeria and 's parliament recently passed a law to crack down on homosexual activi, promptg wispread source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Campaign agast LGBTQ rights some Ain untri has tensified recent weeksAnd some untri, efforts to get the laws removed have May 2019, the high urt Kenya upheld laws crimalisg homosexual acts.

BEG GAY IS 'DAMAGE THE MD', QATAR WORLD CUP AMBASSADOR SAYS

In Febary his year Kenya's hight urt led that was wrong for thori to ban the gay muny om registerg a rights anisatn.

And many plac, breakg the laws uld be punishable by long prison of the 53 untri the Commonwealth - a loose associatn of untri most of them former Brish loni - 29 have laws that crimalise homosexualy. Although the origal Brish laws applied only to men, untri that crimalise homosexualy today also have penalti for women who have sex wh Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (Ilga) monors the progrs of laws relatg to homosexualy around the says the ath penalty is the legally prcribed punishment for same-sex sexual acts Bnei, Iran, Mrania, Sdi Arabia, Yemen and some northern stat of five untri - Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar, Somalia, and the Uned Arab Emirat - there is no legal clary and the ath penalty uld be source, AFPImage ptn, An Indian gay rights activist protts agast a urt lg 2013 upholdg a law which crimalis gay repealed the ath penalty for nsensual same-sex sexual acts observers note that the risk of prosecutn some plac is mimal. For example, a 2017 report on Jamai by the UK Home Office said that Jamai was regard as a homophobic society, but that the "thori do not actively seek to prosecute LGBT persons".

Activist groups say the abily of lbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) anisatns to rry out advocy work is beg rtricted. Image source, BBC/David CheemanImage ptn, "I don't feel I have to choose between beg a gay man and an England fan, " says PhilPhil, 39, is a lifelong football fan who's Qatar for his fourth World Cup a row. Qatar has said "everyone is wele", but as a gay man travellg a untry where same-sex relatnships are crimalised, he tells through his diary how the experience has been challengg.

5 SAFT PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2019 (AND THE MOST DANGERO)

I'm aware that my cisn to go to Qatar puts me the substantial mory of gay England fans - but if we're ser that the game is for everyone, I'm not gog to let Qatar's spible LGBT rights stop me om enjoyg the game that I love.

Listen to the 5 Mut On podst: The Secret Fan20:10 - Souq WaqifI spoke to a gay fan om the Netherlands a bar earlier.

I've met a uple of people who've said, "you're perfectly safe here, why do matter that you're gay? BBC broadster Alex Stt rried on wh the gay-rights monstratn that players had to abandon Monday at the World Cup Qatar.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* BBC QATAR GAY

5 Saft Plac For Gay Travelers In 2019 (And The Most Dangero).

TOP