While models from around the world are here in the Big Apple strutting their stuff for New York fashion week, a group of models halfway around the world narrowly escaped brutal punishment for doing the exact same thing.
In June of last year, seven male models and a makeup artist in the Sudan were charged with indecency and nearly sentenced to a public flogging because the men wore makeup in a fashion show for Sudanese Next Top Model. After a public outcry they ended up paying fines, but the story is a strong reminder that in many parts of the world anything perceived as a threat to traditional gender roles is not only still frowned upon but can actually be dangerous.
The sentencing in the Sudan comes on the heels of the murder of David Kato, one of only a handful of gay rights activists in the African country of Uganda. (Click here to see other LGBT Political Trailblazers.) Kato was killed just a month after successfully suing a Ugandan newspaper for publishing the names and addresses of Kato and other gays and lesbians in the country under the headline "Hang Them." Brenda Namigadde, a lesbian currently facing deportation from Britain, said she fears being tortured or killed if forced to return to the country, claiming that a number of her gay friends there have simply disappeared.
According to the International Lesbian and Gay Association sex between adults of the same gender remains a criminal act in 85 countries. A significant number of those countries are located in Africa and the Middle East.
As I noted on The Dylan Ratigan Show, while Egypt does not have an anti-sodomy law on the books like many of the countries on the list do, other laws have been used to target and arrest gays and lesbians there. For instance, the country has a laws against so-called debauchery, and violating religious teachings which Human Rights Watch points out was used to arrest 52 gay men at a club in 2001. Dubbed "The Cairo 52," despite the pleas of international humanitarian organizations 23 of the men were sentenced to hard labor. In 2004 an Egyptian college student was sentenced to seventeen years of hard labor as well, for posting a profile on a gay dating site. Targeting gays and lesbians who attempt to connect online has become increasingly popular among Egyptian authorities in recent years.
While I hate to be a "Debbie Downer," it must be said that amid the worldwide jubilation that greeted the news of Hosni Mubarak's retirement from his chosen profession of dictator, not all are celebrating. A big question mark remains regarding what this new era in Egypt will mean for gays and lesbians. There have been fears expressed among some in the LGBT community that the influence of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood demonstrated during the country's recent protests, could signal a new era of oppression. (Although if you can get sentenced to prison for posting a personals ad online, I guess it's worth asking how much worse can things get?) The organization's emphasis on combining religious ideology with policy should give all supporters of LGBT and women's rights pause, and apparently already is. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has cautioned world leaders about the group, in part for this very reason.
So as we celebrate Egypt's newfound freedom, let's not forget to remember those there and elsewhere in the Middle East, and here, struggling to live their lives freely. After all, true democracy can only exist when there is equality for all.
This piece originally appeared on TheLoop21.com for which Goff is a Contributing Editor.
Follow Keli Goff on Twitter: www.twitter.com/keligoff
Philip Seib: U.S. Public Diplomacy and the New Egypt
Samara O'Shea: Finding Out Your Fiancé Is Gay
Tom Krattenmaker: On Gay Rights, Should Conservative Christians Keep Fighting or Adapt?
Dr. Judith Rich: Lessons from Cairo, Part 2: Stand and Be Counted!
Oh, and these are just English sites. There are more in Arabic.
The Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies
http://wwwÂ.wwhr.org/Âcsbr_membeÂrs.php
Arab Forum for Sexuality, Education and Health
http://www.jensaneya.org/english/about.php?choosed=2
Gay ME
http://www.gaymiddleeast.com/index.html
Salaam Canada
http://www.salaamcanada.com/
Zolah
http://wwwÂ.zolah.orgÂ/ - In English and Arabic
Women Living Under Muslim Laws
http://wwwÂ.wluml.orgÂ/
http://wwwÂ.wluml.orgÂ/section/rÂesource/laÂtest
AssociatioÂn for Women's Rights in DevelopmenÂt
http://bitÂ.ly/ezEG87
Mussawah Egypt info page
http://wwwÂ.musawah.oÂrg/np_egypÂt.asp
Nazra
http://en.Ânazra.org/ÂAbout_NazrÂa.html
GLAS - Gay and Lesbian Arab society - check out that last link
http://www.glas.org/
Arab Lesbians Online
http://www.glas.org/lazeeza.html
Bekhsoos
http://www.bekhsoos.com/web/
Marrakesh.net
http://www.marrakesh.net/
Gayegypt.com
http://www.gayegypt.com/
Bint al Nas - qu.eer lesbian literary journal
http://www.bintelnas.org/
Queer Jihad
http://www.well.com/user/queerjhd/
Thanks for posting.
The real agenda is to make apelike brutality the only force in society. All people who are kind and civilized are to be silenced and oppressed. Only cruel brutality is acceptable behavior in the fascist right wing world view.
Because women cannot be trusted to be brutal they must be silenced and controlled. Men who are not brutal are bullied and terrorized and punished for being nice.
Gay people consist mostly of strong women and gentle men and are therefore threatening to the fascist world order. This is the real reason for oppression of women and gay people.
How long it took US and Europe to reach this level? You cant expect everyone else to catch up with you just because you did.
Now that the TREND is NOT to judge gays and lesbians, you are JUDGING everyone else who is not in favor of the homosexuality!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The gov does not chase gays and lesbains who post Ads, they chase them if they are caught in act in public places.
I hope to see a wider perspective from the west in the future on issues of the rest of the world.
Thanks
May
There are so many things wrong with what you just wrote I don't even know where to begin.
There's nothing narrow about championing human rights.
*Face palm*
you are not getting it, Egypt is a muslim country, their people are extremely devoted to their religion. It is not a question of equality. Homosexuality in Islam and Christianity and in all religions is forbidden. You cannot ask people to change their religious beleifs. It is not a political issue nor a society issue. It is directly related to whether it is allowed or not!!!!!
Keli, I agree with freedomfries25, go to Egypt, get to know the people and their beleifs and their culture I am sure you will have different opinion.
as straight, are the worlds biggest practitioners of male on male sex. I'll let the ladies explain
their side. I'm cute ,small and blond and I've been having sex with Muslim men exclusively
for like 30 yrs now. I could write a book.
Cultural relativists like you have blood on your hands for excusing this kind of behavior.
So many confuse democracy with liberty and equal rights. There is far more to a free society than simply voting and it remains to be seen what sort of democracy Egypt will become.
That can change in Egypt. Egyptian women don't have equal rights either. This time women and gays should understand how similar their rightful demand for rights are. In both cases it's about roles, whether your gender or preference defines and limits you. I'm male and straight, but it always looked the same to me: seeing a person, not a gender or sexual preference.
__________ ?? Gay rights and women's rights have usually been allied. Many gay rights activists of the 70s came out of second wave feminism. Today, trans people are at the forefront of gender rights. As for Egypt, some of the Arab/Muslim world's most vocal theorists are out of Egypt. http://bit.ly/ibKuqm
I saw it in my lifetime though it was slower. I was born in 1950, segregation still existed, saw racial, sexual, gender, gay rights in my lifetime. Wouldn't trade it for being young again :-)
cannot relate to women, they can't even hold hands with them. But they can hold hands with each other.
People should do at least a minute's worth of BASIC research before trying to comment on these issues.
Being muslim and devoted to religion is part of the Egyptian people identity. It will not change over night. besides why focusing on gays and lesbians rights rather than gender rights??
__________And you know this because...