Egypt's anti-gay crackdown ma headl last September, but one year later, human-rights advot and LGBTQ Egyptians say the persecutn ntu.
Contents:
- 'YOU N'T BE OUT': GAY EGYPTIANS NTUE TO FEAR PERSECUTN
- MEET ANCIENT EGYPT’S FIRST GAY COUPLE. ALLEGEDLY.
- EGYPTIANS OUTRAGED OVER MOVIE PICTG GAY UPLE
- THE EGYPTIAN GAY LOVERS
'YOU N'T BE OUT': GAY EGYPTIANS NTUE TO FEAR PERSECUTN
* egyptian gay lovers *
Egypt's anti-gay crackdown ma headl last September, but one year later, human-rights advot and LGBTQ Egyptians say the persecutn 18, 2018, 4:00 PM UTCOmar* is a 30-year-old physician livg Alexandria, Egypt, the untry’s send largt cy. He is also a gay man who has spent most of his life what has bee one of the most dangero plac to be a sexual mory.
“It’s difficult to be gay Egypt, ” he told NBC News.
”A fan of Lebane alternative rock band Mashrou' Leila holds a rabow flag durg their ncert at the Ehniyat Internatnal Ftival Ehn town, Lebanon on Augt 12, Saidi / Rters fileHomosexualy is not explicly illegal this untry that bridg northeast Ai wh the Middle East, but people are routely arrted and imprisoned on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientatn and genr inty, acrdg to Amnty September was the worst crackdown the untry’s history, wh up to 76 people beg taed, acrdg to the human-rights anizatn.
MEET ANCIENT EGYPT’S FIRST GAY COUPLE. ALLEGEDLY.
The crackdown was sparked after a gay man wavg a rabow flag was arrted durg a ncert Cairo. The cint garnered ternatnal attentn, but one year later, gay Egyptians and human-rights advot say the persecutn ntu, and Egypt’s LGBTQ muny is livg fear.
EGYPTIAN LAWWhile same-sex sexual relatns are not explicly prohibed Egyptian law, a 2017 report by the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA) found that “the Law on the Combatg of Prostutn, and the law agast bchery have been ed liberally to imprison gay men recent years.
” As such, ILGA clus Egypt s list of 72 untri that crimalize, however, said, “It’s not jt gay, bisexual and transgenr people who the thori are after.
EGYPTIANS OUTRAGED OVER MOVIE PICTG GAY UPLE
“You don’t even necsarily need to be gay to get arrted, jt seen to be associated wh the LGBTQ muny. ”GAY LIFE IN EGYPTOmar said the LGBTQ muny has not always been so aggrsively targeted. The revolutn, he explaed, opened the floodgat to extreme polics Egypt and forced the gay muny unrground.
“There are spots that are, to some extent, gay iendly, but even the plac cled after 2011. They didn’t want to look like they were that iendly towards gay people, so they closed their bars and fés and left.
There have been wispread reports of Egyptian thori g gay datg apps to entrap gay men. Omar said his neighbor was then arrted and ported om police are not the only on g the apps to persecute gay men, acrdg to Omar. Those wh homophobic tents have also been known to e them.
THE EGYPTIAN GAY LOVERS
Last month, a newspaper showed screenshots of gay datg app Grdr wh the headle “Documentg the most dangero onle gay anizatn. ” Another Egyptian newspaper had an vtigate article about “Polari, ” or gay slang. The wrer claimed to be “exposg the secret dictnary of gay people Egypt” and ced rears to report anybody heard g the “language.
“I unt on the gay muny to survive, ” he said. ”“The ernment has targeted sexual and genr mori for heavy-hand reprsn, wh more than 230 lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people prosecuted on ‘bchery’ charg, ” the anizatn Magdi, a rearcher for Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Ai divisn, told NBC News the ternatnal muny should be dog more to protect LGBTQ Egyptians.