Laws Agast Gay Travelers In The Middle East? - One Mile at a Time

Contents:

• DUBAI: GAY TRAVEL ADVICE (OM A LOL)
• GAY DUBAI DUBAI CY GUI
• CAN I BE GAY DUBAI?
• TRAVEL SAFETY REPORT: 20 WORST PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2021
• WHAT HAPPENED WHEN FOUR GAY GUYS FROM TEL AVIV TOOK A VATN TO DUBAI
• GAY EXPAT REVEALS WHAT ’S LIKE TO LIVE DUBAI WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS PUNISHABLE BY 10 YEARS PRISON
• 5 SAFT PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2019 (AND THE MOST DANGERO)
• DUBAI GAY TRAVEL
• DUBAI FOR GAY UPLE - LGBTQIA+ TRAVEL FOM
• DUBAI NIGHTLIFE FOR GAY MALE TOURISTS - DUBAI FOM
• LAWS AGAST GAY TRAVELERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST?
• PERIL AND PRIVILEGE: GAY EXPAT NIGHTLIFE DUBAI
• GAY DUBAI

DUBAI: GAY TRAVEL ADVICE (OM A LOL)

To vtigate further we nnected wh Liam, a gay guy who lived Dubai for most of his life to learn more about the realy of beg gay Dubai and fd out what advice he had for gay travellers thkg about gog.

You did not see any gay reprentatn at all and was not talked about – you were put to the tegory of beg straight no matter what. Is there a huge difference between beg a gay expat Dubai vs a tourist vs a gay lol Dubai (someone whose fay has lived there for many generatns).

GAY DUBAI DUBAI CY GUI

For a lol whose fay has lived Dubai for generatns, beg gay has to be hidn and has to be secret, pecially strict Mlim fai: beg gay is totally forbidn.

Liam: There are plac that are sentially ‘gay bars’ Dubai (and I e the term ‘gay bars’ very loosely), however the are not labelled as such. The maly e about when someone who owns the ‘gay bar’ holds fluence wh the lol thori and so n operate this (discreet) way. The will not e up as legally, officially or outwardly facg as gay bars, clubs or events (bee fundamentally they are not) but they are popular wh the LGBTQ+ crowd.

CAN I BE GAY DUBAI?

Liam: I would avoid all public displays of behavur (this is forbidn straight, gay, lbian – UAE IS A MUSLIM COUNTRY) so ’s not a le jt for LGBTQ people. ) That said, ternatnal five-star brands tend to be the most acmodatg to gay travellers—and our Dubai gay scene gui purposefully clus the most luxur hotels where you are ls likely to enunter discrimatn.

TRAVEL SAFETY REPORT: 20 WORST PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2021

If upon arrival your bed preference is changed, we do not remend argug wh the assigned sleepg arrangements—this is an unfortunate circumstance of visg a lole where homosexualy remas illegal.

Now, whout further ado, here are our favoure upsle, Dubai hotels for a memorable gay Rishab LamichhaneAl Maha is an oasis of luxury tucked away amidst the sweepg sand dun and lh palm grov of the Dubai Dert Conservatn Rerve. This means that the more ual punishments for beg gay – beatgs, prolonged imprisonment, flogggs, torture, and chemil stratn – would be nsired to be gettg off lightly. They only dropped the proposal bee they feared a ntroversy that might rail the 2022 FIFA World Cup , no: not a gay-iendly regn.

And although there have been some improvements over recent years, more than 70 untri still have homophobic laws, acrdg to Equalx. Sce the Fergsons’ study on the most dangero plac for gay travelers 2019, several laws have changed—some for the better (Sudan), and some for the worse (Hungary, Poland). “It was ranked so poorly largely due to the extreme penalti for simply beg gay, which clu up to 14 years prison and the ath penalty stat unr Sharia law.

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN FOUR GAY GUYS FROM TEL AVIV TOOK A VATN TO DUBAI

This Middle Eastern kgdom is another on our list which n implement the ath penalty for nsensual homosexualy unr their terpretatn of Sharia law, ” says Fergson.

Unfortunately, imposed punishment for homosexualy is severe and the existence of gay people Malaysia was nied by their tourism mister as recently as March 2019, ” says Fergson.

“The punishments for homosexualy Malawi have earned this Ain untry as the number four worst untry for LGBTQ+ travelers, ” says Fergson. In fact, Jamai was lled the most homophobic place on Earth by Time magaze 2006 and LGBTQ+ people are sadly still the victims of homophobic vlence today.

GAY EXPAT REVEALS WHAT ’S LIKE TO LIVE DUBAI WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS PUNISHABLE BY 10 YEARS PRISON

“This oil-rich Middle Eastern untry enforc up to three years prison, floggg, and the ath penalty unr Sharia law for any acts of homosexualy.

“In Yemen, the punishment for beg gay for both men and women is prison time and 100 lash, wh ath by stong for married men, ” says Fergson. That said, the LGBTQ+ muny is margalized this untry and there are heavy nsequenc for beg gay, which clu seven years to life prison for any same-sex act, ” says Fergson.

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

“One possible sign of posive chang the untry is that the print recently pardoned a gay uple who were sentenced to a 15-year prison term. In Tanzania, any homosexual acts rult 30 years to life prison, and there has been a recent ernment crackdown on LGBT activy wh the untry. “Publicly, homosexualy is a taboo topic, so LGBTQ+ travelers choosg to vis Sudan should proceed wh utn and rema discreet wh regards to their sexualy.

“In the Paltian terrori of Gaza and the Wt Bank, the anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment is taken very serly, wh homosexual acts rultg up to ten years prison, ” says Fergson. “Groups advotg for LGBTQ+ rights are threatened by the erng thori Palte, who nsir homosexualy to be ‘a blow to, and vlatn of, the ials and valu of Paltian society. “Iran ma number 15 on the x, due part to s extreme punishments for homosexualy, which clu 100 lash for terurse or the ath penalty, and 31 lash for same-sex acts other than terurse, ” says Fergson.

Unfortunately, thgs may soon be gettg even worse for the LGBTQ+ muny, as the Ugandan print has recently been rampg up the anti-gay rhetoric to help w vot an upg electn. “Same-sex acts rult up to three years prison wh a fe, and posssn of homosexual materials rults up to two years prison wh a fe. The Netherlands also ranked number one the latt Gallup Poll wh 92% of rponnts sayg that the cy or area where they live is a good place for gay and lbian people.

DUBAI GAY TRAVEL

“Ci like Lisbon and Porto have the bt gay scen the untry and Portugal me send place s bid to host the 2022 Europri which is the biggt event celebratg gay pri Europe.

As I was relaxg on a direct flight I took wh three of my iends to Dubai Internatnal Airport, I uldn't help but wonr: Would we be able to meet gay men the seasi Emirati cy whout gog unrground? Jt Then, Flights From Israel to Dubai Began' A Mlim Woman and a Gay Jewish Man Are the Perfect Couple This Show Visg Dubai Is Like Standg on the Sil of a Gang Rape We found a real drag kgdom at a rooftop bar on top of a central hotel which has a gay lp every Friday night. At first I thought this was my first enunter wh explic homophobia, but turns out that the ronavis rtrictns the cy ban dancg.

DUBAI FOR GAY UPLE - LGBTQIA+ TRAVEL FOM

Durg the nversatn, enhanced wh genero quanti of alhol, the picture beme clear: Immigrants to Dubai, particularly the gays among them, are often fleeg Arab or Eastern European untri where they had a much harr time. We fd a real drag kgdom at a rooftop bar which has a gay lp every Friday nightSamir, tall and rather shy, told me how he left his parents Moroc and hasn’t seen them for almost two years. People at the Mall of the Emirat Dubai, May 28, Ahmed Jadallah/RtersThere’s another place for gays to meet that’s a lot ls lorful but a lot more hectic: Grdr, the gay datg app.

Ined, should you be unlucky enough to be ught engagg homosexual activy the regn, reports claim that punishment n range om 10 years prison, f, portatn and even the ath penalty. Dpe this, Dubai is host to a thrivg unrground gay scene, wh men flockg to unofficial LGBT clubs wh ltle fear of the nsequenc, acrdg to Detaed Dubai. It’s 2am and the club is packed wh a sea of sweaty, gay men gettg their groove on to a Madonna classic — and I’m one of them.

Dpe beg nservative by Wtern standards, this is where alhol and sex-starved Arabs flock to drov to get their fix — and that clus the gays.

DUBAI NIGHTLIFE FOR GAY MALE TOURISTS - DUBAI FOM

At my publishg pany, I’m told no uncerta terms to avoid g gay referenc wh stori which — when wrg celebry, pop culture and fashn — was particularly difficult. On the surface ndns for gay Dubaiians might seem bleak, but thanks to some quickly acquired gay iends I learn quickly that, spe the legali, a vibrant gay scene flourish.

Enterg via an unrground r park on a Saturday eveng, my male iend and I enunter the uneven door polici that are rife throughout gay venu (a vague attempt to curb gay activy). Passg on that offer, I quickly meet an equally forward New Zealanr workg as crew for Emirat Airl (where a large portn of the cy’s gay ntgent work). Though I had a boyiend (an English expat) for the bulk of my time the cy, my gay iends played the field extensively and I know om their rpective tal that there was no shortage of actn.

LAWS AGAST GAY TRAVELERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

Ined, wh a meltg pot of party-lovg Asi and Brs, lubrited wh large quanti of booze, no matter if you’re gay OR straight, bedhoppg is a cert. While Dubai has bee somethg of a gay Mec for Arabs om surroundg untri where there are even harsher views on homosexualy (you n’t get much harsher than the ath penalty, after all) gays the cy n’t afford to rt on their lrels. Bee the mentaly here is that gay men need to be terred om homosexual activy, police raids of clubs and private parti are mon.

The hard le taken by Dubai officials has led to var reports of jtice makg ternatnal headl, but unfortunately, there are untls s of gay persecutn that undoubtedly still rema undocumented.

In an attempt to help terme the worst plac for gay travelers, the duo created the 2019 LGBTQ+ Danger Inx, rankg the world’s most dangero—and saft—untri for gay travelers.

PERIL AND PRIVILEGE: GAY EXPAT NIGHTLIFE DUBAI

The journalists looked at the top 150 most-vised untri the world by the number of g tourists, then ranked them g eight factors, cludg laws agast gay relatnships, legal protectn agast discrimatn and more. “In 2018, India managed to annul Sectn 377, a Brish lonial-era law prohibg ‘unnatural acts, ’ orr to legalize nsensual gay sex, ” says Fergson, who pots out that ancient Indian lerature such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana have many referenc to LGBTQ+ hero cludg transgenr warrrs and two queens who ma love orr for one queen to get pregnant wh an heir for their kgdom. “Long story short, this pots to the fact that was likely the Brish fluence that largely led to Indian homophobia the first place, ” she says.

GAY DUBAI

“We found this to be a b ironic as the reason for many of the harsh homophobic laws untri throughout the world is largely leftover om laws created durg Brish le, ” says Fergson.