By Maya Gebeily and Andrew Mills DOHA (Rters) - A group of Arab iends livg Qatar's pal Doha met up over cktails and snacks last week, exchangg opns as they flicked through profil of gay men on datg apps Tr and Grdr. The phone of one flashed wh a msage om a suor around the rner. The man his 20s leapt up om the table, leavg to meet his date face-to-face. The iends, who met up days before the soccer World Cup kicks off Qatar on Sunday, are part of a Doha gay scene that's managg to fly unr the radar a natn where same-sex relatns are illegal and punishable by up to three years of jail-time. We socialize together. We go out for dner. We go to parti. We go to the beach, said another gay man, om the Wt, who has lived the wealthy untry for over a . We don't make-out wh our boyiends public or wave rabow flags, but we certaly don't lower our voic. Rters spoke to four gay men Doha - the Wterner, two Qataris pl an Arab om elsewhere the regn - who said they lived the untry, a mag for foreign workers, bee they had well-paid jobs, pl iends or fay there. All four spoke on ndn of anonymy due to ncern over possible punishment om thori. But they said they uld live out their liv to some extent, meetg potential partners at private parti or via datg apps typilly blocked Qatar which they accsed via a VPN. It's not all sufferg, said a 30-year-old gay Arab man who has lived and worked Doha for nearly 10 years. In fact, the four exprsed worri about the wave of ternatnal cricism about gay rights Qatar brought by the World Cup, fearg they uld lose the eedoms they do enjoy should the opprobrium lead to a public backlash agast the LGBT+ muny once global attentn mov on. What about , who have lived Doha for years and ma Doha queer? the Arab man said. What happens when the World Cup is over? Do the foc on the rights stop? The men prent jt one snapshot of life for gay people the Gulf natn - and the four regnise their relative eedoms are a product of privilege; they n afford to live alone, host parti and meet partners high-end rtrants or nightclubs, where the strict l of Qatari society are often more relaxed. It's not like that for everyone. Other members of Qatar's LGBT muny have reported beg taed, some as recently as September, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said. The group also acced thori of orrg some transgenr women to attend nversn therapy. A Qatari official cricised the HRW report as ntag false rmatn and said the untry do not license or operate nversn centr. Nas Mohamed, a gay Qatari physician who has lived the Uned Stat for about a , weled the attentn the tournament has drawn to Qatar's rights rerd, sayg prompted him to speak out wily about his sexualy. When you're an LGBT person ( Qatar) and don't get to experience beg your full thentic self, then you jt lose your sense of self, Mohamed told Rters this month at a clic he operat San Francis. Other groups cludg Amnty Internatnal have also cricised Qatar for discrimatg agast the LGBT muny. A Qatari official said the untry do not tolerate discrimatn agast anyone, and our polici and procr are unrpned by a mment to human rights for all . NO DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION Qatar, a rich gas-producg natn, attracts workers om across the regn and the wir world. Qatari natnals make up jt 380,000 of s 2.9 ln populatn, wh the rt foreign workers, rangg om low-e nstctn workers to high-powered executiv. The four men terviewed by Rters said that there were strong fancial and reer centiv to ridg the untry, addg that life for gay people there was better than some other plac the Middle East. They ced Sdi Arabia and Iran, where men have been sentenced to ath for beg gay.. If you're an expat, you're able to live your life like you want, said the 30-year-old Arab man. At the same time, I know I n live like this bee I am privileged. I know gay men workers' mps wouldn't be able to live the same way. Qatari anisers of the World Cup have warned visors agast public displays of affectn but say that everyone, no matter their sexual orientatn or background, is wele at the event. Durg the tournament, medil practners will not ask patients about their extramaral sex, relign or any other stat, acrdg to the Yoef Al Maslamani, the healthre spokperson for the FIFA World Cup. In the 12 years sce Qatar was named host of the 2022 tournament, the untry has faced tensifyg cricism over s rights rerd on laborers, women and the LGBT muny. The furore has been fuelled by ments om public figur cludg former Qatar player and World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman who told a German broadster that homosexualy was damage the md . Qatar and FIFA had over a to troduce fundamental protectns based on sexual orientatn and genr inty, but failed to do so, said Rasha Youn, LGBT+ rearcher for Human Rights Watch. In 2020, Qatar assured prospective visors that the kgdom will wele LGBT visors and that fans will be ee to fly the rabow flag at the gam. But begged the qutn: what about the rights of LGBT rints of Qatar? (Reportg by Maya Gebeily and Andrew Mills; Edg by Prav Char)
Contents:
- GAY DOHA TRAVEL GUI
- BEG GAY DOHA
- 5 SAFT PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2019 (AND THE MOST DANGERO)
- GAY LIFE QATAR
- GAY LIFE DOHA?
- GAY PEOPLE LIVG UNR RADAR QATAR PREPARE WARILY FOR WORLD CUP
- GAY PEOPLE LIVG UNR RADAR QATAR PREPARE WARILY FOR WORLD CUP
- WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY AND QATARI
- GAY UPL VISG - DOHA FOM
GAY DOHA TRAVEL GUI
gay life Qatar, homosexualy Qatar, LGBT Qatar, human rights Qatar, homophobia Qatar * doha gay scene *
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. The uple also updated the list wh the bt and worst plac for gay travelers 2021, which n be viewed here. 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.
Toppg the LGBTQ+ Danger Inx is Nigeria, which is nsired the worst untry for vlence agast gay travelers. There, people n be put prison for up to 14 years jt for beg gay, and some stat even have the ath penalty unr Sharia law. In almost all s, the laws outlawg nsensual gay sex were put to place unr Brish le and were left place followg pennce.
BEG GAY DOHA
A group of Arab iends livg Qatar's pal Doha met up over cktails and snacks last week, exchangg opns as they flicked through profil of gay men on datg apps Tr and Grdr. The iends, who met up days before the soccer World Cup kicks off Qatar on Sunday, are part of a Doha gay scene that's managg to fly unr the radar a natn where same-sex relatns are illegal and punishable by up to three years of jail-time. Rters spoke to four gay men Doha - the Wterner, two Qataris pl an Arab om elsewhere the regn - who said they lived the untry, a mag for foreign workers, bee they had well-paid jobs, pl iends or fay there. * doha gay scene *
“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.
5 SAFT PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2019 (AND THE MOST DANGERO)
A group of Arab iends livg Qatar's pal Doha met up over cktails and snacks last week, exchangg opns as they flicked through profil of gay men on datg apps Tr and Grdr. * doha gay scene *
“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. Has ma great progrs wh legalized same-sex marriage, worker protectns and crimalizatn of homophobic vlence. “One reason for that is that there is a great al of variatn gay rights pendg on the state you’re , ” says Fergson.
You n see the entire rankg of the 150 untri here and also get 37 safety Swen, the saft untry the world for gay. Prime Mister Jt T promoted clivy by marchg Toronto’s Pri Para and beme the untry’s first Prime Mister to vis a gay bar. Ci like Lisbon and Porto have the bt gay scen the untry and Portugal is hopg to host the 2022 Europri, the world's biggt event celebratg gay pri Europe.
Wh an overall natnal attu that is relaxed and acceptg towards homosexualy, Belgium is known for havg a vibrant gay and lbian scene, particularly Bssels, ” says Fergson. It was ranked so highly 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, ” says Fergson.
GAY LIFE QATAR
“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. “This nservative Mlim untry means bs when to rejectg homosexualy, both s laws and general public sentiment.
GAY LIFE DOHA?
“Sdi Arabia is another of the untri on our list which implements the ath penalty for nsensual homosexualy unr their terpretatn of Sharia law, ” says Fergson. “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. “Iran ma #6 on the x, due part to s extreme punishments for homosexualy, which clu 100 lash for homosexual terurse or the ath penalty, and 31 lash for same-sex acts other than terurse, ” says Fergson.
“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. “Historilly, Barbados and some other Caribbean islands have had poor anti-LGBTQ+ legislatn and practic, largely left over om the Brish occupatn which put the laws place and rerced anti-gay attus. 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.
GAY PEOPLE LIVG UNR RADAR QATAR PREPARE WARILY FOR WORLD CUP
“Unr state terpretatn of Sharia law, homosexualy Malaysia rults up to 20 years prison, whippg and f.
“The punishments for homosexualy Malawi have earned this Ain untry spot #10 on our list, ” says Fergson.
Pro-LGBTQ+ anizatns are also banned by the ernment Malawi and general public sentiment regards homosexualy as off-lims. That said, the LGBTQ+ muny is margalized this untry and there are heavy nsequenc for beg homosexual, which clu seven years to life prison for any same-sex act, ” says Fergson.
GAY PEOPLE LIVG UNR RADAR QATAR PREPARE WARILY FOR WORLD CUP
Unfortunately, thgs may soon be gettg even worse for the LGBTQ+ muny, as the Ugandan ernment has recently lled to retroduce an anti-homosexualy bill, which would clu the ath penalty for same-sex acts, the midst of the recent murr of a gay Ugandan activist. “Same-sex relatnships are nsired to be taboo Pakistan and there are strict laws erng agast homosexualy. For example, homosexual terurse n rult up to 10 years prison wh a fe or life prison, ” says Fergson.
“In the Paltian terrori of Gaza and the Wt Bank, the anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment is taken very serly, wh homosexual acts rultg up to 10 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.
WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY AND QATARI
Currently, Kenyan law stat that same-sex terurse between mal rults 14 years prison, while all other homosexual acts between mal are punished wh five years imprisonment, ” says Fergson. “However, the crimalizatn of gay sex is beg discsed wh the ernment, which would likely bolster LGBTQ+ travel to the untry.
“In the Maldiv, homosexual acts and terurse, as well as same-sex marriage, earn eight years prison or 100 lash. 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 UPL VISG - DOHA FOM
Rankg 19th on our x, Ethpia outlaws same-sex relatns and ‘cent, ’ or homosexual, acts rult up to 15 years prison, ” says Fergson.