News Archive 1996-1997

AIDS Cases Among Arabs Higher than Eastern Europeans

Reports show 200 thousand Arabs are infected with AIDS, putting the ratio of infection higher than Eastern Europe

AMMAN, 12/4/97 (AROL) - Reports indicate 200,000 Arabs carry HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The figure represents a sum total of numbers supplied by Arab countries to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating the number of HIV cases in individual countries.

The WHO said while the figures are not worrying - 12 cases per 10 thousand people - the percentage remains higher than Eastern Europe and certain parts of Asia. The WHO called on Arab governments and non-governmental organizations to step up the fight against AIDS by educating the public about the disease and breaking the barrier of silence enshrouding its transmission.

The WHO tried last year to convene Arab specialists to help in the fight against AIDS. However, disagreements between specialists prevented them from reaching a consensus as to how to prevent the spread of AIDS. This situation prevails in the absence of educational campaigns in Arab countries about AIDS prevention and transmission.

Pride 1997

Once again this year, GLAS participated in the New York City Pride parade, the largest Gay parade in the world. This year we doubled the number of marchers (22) with people joining from far away places such as Boston, Washington, and even Beirut. The team was led by Sultanah, the reigning Egyptian Drag Queen of NYC, and her friend Simone (Al Yatimeh). The group was extremly well received by the crowds as media representative struggled to interview Sultanah and the other members of the team. While most of the marchers were men, some women in the audience identified themselves to us as Arabs and promised to join us next year. Marchers came from all backgrounds including Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Yemen, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Syria.

Check out the souvenir pictures and start planning on joining us next year.


Iranian Lesbian, Gay Men from Brazil, Iran, Lebanon, Mauritania, Pakistan, Russia, Romania, Algeria and Tunisia Seek and Receive Asylum in France and the U.S.

In recent months, five gay men from Iran have been granted political asylum in the United States. The cases were brought in New York, San Francisco and Arlington, Virginia. Four of the grants of asylum were administrative and one case was granted by an Immigration Judge in Arlington, Virginia.
In all the cases the applicants produced documentation showing that Iran actively persecutes and executes homosexuals under its Islamic Penal Code.
This past fall, two Pakistani gay men, a Romanian gay man and an Iranian lesbian won political asylum in Chicago, while another gay Pakistani man was granted asylum in New York. In the latter case, the young man described how his father, upon learning that his son was gay, threatened to kill him or to turn him over to the authorities if he were ever to return to Pakistan. Pakistan is extremely strict in its official intolerance of homosexuality and reserves harsh punishment for known or suspected homosexuals.
In November, an Immigration Judge in Arlington, Virginia granted asylum to two Russian gay men based on their well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of sexual orientation. While there are no statistics kept of the number of asylum cases filed or pending based on persecution on the basis of sexual orientation, it is known that at least six other gay Russians have been granted asylum in the United States since 1994, including Yaroslav Mogutin, well-known gay Russian journalist who was granted asylum last summer.
In New York last summer, a gay man from Lebanon was granted asylum after he described his personal experiences with persecution in Islamic militia controlled southern Lebanon.
This past fall, a Baltimore, Maryland judge granted asylum to a gay Tunisian who had expressed a fear of persecution if returned to that country. Both the applicant and his US citizen partner testified about anti-gay persecution they had experienced in Tunisia at the hands of the police.
For the first time, a gay man from Mauritania was granted political asylum. In that West African country, homosexuality is punished with the death penalty. After arriving in the United States the applicant informed his family that he was gay. His father threatened to kill him and to inform the Islamic authorities if he were to return home.
A Brazilian gay man recently became the fifth to be granted asylum. In his application the man described an ordeal in which he was raped at gunpoint by an plainclothes military police officer and was placed in a jail cell with criminals who were given permission to rape him and his friends.
In January 1997 Reuters reported that a gay Algerian has become the first person to win political asylum in France on grounds his life was in danger because of his sexual orientation. The Paris-based Gay and Lesbian Center said the Algerian, identified only as L. Faysal, had won refugee status from the French authorities in December after being beaten and threatened with death in Algeria.
As a political activist in Algeria, Faysal founded an AIDS organization and a second organization to promote human rights. He was frequently assaulted and arrested by Algerian police and was chased and threatened with death by Muslim civilians, prompting him to flee Algeria and seek asylum in France. France's Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons had never before granted asylum in such a case but agreed to do so after several French AIDS and gay organizations supported his request.
The French Gay and Lesbian Center welcomed the decision noting, "that other gays who are also victims of serious persecution...have seen their requests rejected." The group vowed to use all available resources to win refugee status for other threatened gays.

AIDS WALK 1997

For the second year in a row, a team from GLAS participated in the New York City AIDS Walk which raises funds for the Gay Men Health Crisis (GMHC) organization. The GLAS team was made up of 16 walkers who marched for 10 km and raised over $600 for GMHC. Members felt happy and proud of their achievments, specially in light of the defeaning silence and inaction from the Arab Amrican community regarding the AIDS crisis. Marchers also took time to remember friends and lovers who fell victims to the disease both in the US and back in the Arab world. The team is looking forward to marching again next year.

Kuwait sacks professor who dared to speak of Gays

by Kathy Evans in Kuwait City, in 'The Guardian', 29 March 1997<

>A woman has been dismissed from her professorial chair in Kuwait University for suggesting that that homosexuality exists in the emirate. Dr Alia Shoaib, aged 31, claimed that lesbianism was rampant among studients and that she had witnessed two women making love in the university toilets. One of them was heavily veiled, a manner of dress normally associated with militant Islam. The professor made the remarks in an informal conversation with a student who subsequently published them in a local magazine. The magazine, al-Hadaf, is now being sued [sic] for obscenity.

In the Middle East, homosexuality is truly 'the love that dare not speak its name'. The issue of gay rights has never been raised and most gays are still very much in the closet. many live in fear of being discovered, for in a number of states, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, homosexual acts between adults are a capital offence. Since her comments, Dr Shaoib has faced an investigation by the university authorities and hints, she claims, of her citizenship being withdrawn. Her books of short stores and poems, which cover a variety of sexual themes, are also facing prosecution. Dr Fazia Khorafi, the female president of Kuwait University, who was responsible for her dismissal, claims that homosexuality does not exist in Kuwait. "Ours is a Muslim society and homosexuality is against Islam", she says. Dr Shaoib maintains that the segregation of men and women in Muslim societies has generated a repressive sexual climate. "Sexuality is locked up and is therefore being expressed in unorthodox forms", she said in an interview. "The gay lifestyle in the West is much more healthy. Western gays are honest about their sexuality." Dr Shoaib read philosophy at Birmingham University (UK). In Gulf terms she could be classified as the region's first radical feminist, arguing for such feminist ideals as a woman having control over her own body and the right to pursue her sexual identity and choose her husband. Her controversial views have divided the establishment.

The under- secretary of the education ministry, Dr Rasha Sabah, describes as a "dinosaur mentality" the belief that homosexuality does not exist in Kuwait. Dr Shoaib's dismissal has yet to be conformed by the education minister. One leading liberal member of Parliament, Abdullah Nibarri, comments: "Homosexuality is not only prevalent in our society, it is part of our culture. Men used to go to sea for long periods, and homosexuality among men is not abhorent, particularly for those who play the role of men. In contrast, the information minister, Sheikh Saoud al-Nasser al-Sabah, says the professor's comments have "defamed the University and its students. We know that there are gays in Kuwait, but we are not San Francisco. They are hidden and should remain so," the Sheikh says. University professors say the case has implications for the freedom of speech of both teachers and students in the University. One female professor was forced to submit to an investigation recently after being accused by an Islamic militant student of teaching the theories of Darwin. "Ours is becoming a puritanical society, and Dr Alia's case case has made us all frightened," says one female professor who does not want to be identified. Even so, homosexuality is a theme which is just beginning to emerge in books and the media. Another leading Kuwaiti novelist, Leila Othman, is currently facing obscenity charges for her book "The Departure". It contains a short story about two Kuwaiti girls having a lesbian relationship, and another dealing with homosexuality among the emirate's immigrant labourers. Labourers are not allowed to bring their families with them, and are often housed in cramped conditions. Dr Shoaib's novels and poems are facing similar problems in being published. One book currently banned covers the issue of marital rape.

A Saudi satellite TV channel, ART, recently broadcast the first interviews with gays, in which an Arab homosexual was allowed to speak of his sincerel love for another man. But the programme was spliced with songs and pictures of brides in wedding dresses.

GAY ALGERIAN WINS POLITICAL ASSYLUM

1/30/97

Paris - A gay Algerian has become the first person to win political asylum in France on grounds his life was in danger because of his sexual orientation, a homosexual rights group said Tuesday. The Paris-based Gay and Lesbian Center said the Algerian, identified only as L. Faysal, had won refugee status from the French authorities last month after being beaten and threatened with death in Algeria. Faysal had been a political activist in Algeria, founding a group to battle the spread of AIDS and a second organization to promote human rights. Algerian police frequently assaulted and arrested him while Muslims chased him and threatened him with death, prompting Faysal to flee Algeria and seek asylum in France, the center said.

A TEAM FROM GLAS MARCHES IN NYC PRIDE PARADE


For the first time in the long history of the New York City Gay and Lesbian pride parade, Arab culture was represented by members of the Gay and Lesbian Arab Society. About 15 people gathered at the corner of 57th street and 5th avenue early on a rainy Sunday with a huge banner, flags, and handouts. The march started at noon with Tony who was dressed in a fabulous silver belly dancing space age outfit leading our team. The crowds loved our contingent and was clapping and cheering us as we walked by. Occasionally we noticed Arab tourists or merchants who were in total disbelief at our sight. Along the way we also met with other Arab queers who were thrilled to see us and took our handouts. Two Egyptians who were in the audience harrassed us at one point asking us not to carry the flag. However, they soon ceased when it looked like security would intervene. The march ended about four hours later on Washington Street, where GLAS had a table in the merchant area. Emotions were high and people were thrilled to see us. Plans are already in the works for next year.





SAUDI ARABIA: FILIPINO GAYS SENTENCED TO LASHES.

October 3, 1996

Twenty-four Filipino workers are reported to have been sentenced to 200 lashes each, following their arrest for homosexual behaviour, and to have received the first 50 lashes of their sentence on 30 September 1996. The other lashes will be given over three sessions, following which the Filipinos will be deported.

The exact circumstances surrounding the arrest are not known to Amnesty International, although the organization is seeking further clarification of these details. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said that "the Saudi Arabian authorities arrested them for homosexual behaviour", although the individuals were reportedly not engaging in sexual intercourse.

Amnesty International is concerned that the 24 Filipinos may have been punished for homosexual behaviour in violation of their internationally guaranteed rights to privacy and the norm of non-discrimination. If so, and if they are in detention, the organization would consider them to be prisoners of conscience.




LONDON GAYS CONFRONT MOSLEMS

Members of the activist group OutRage! picketed Saudi dissident Muhammad Al-Mass'ari and Islamic fundamentalist leader Omar Bakri Mohammad during an Islamic rally at Speakers Corner in London's Hyde Park Sept. 8.
The rally was organized by Al-Muhajiourn, a Muslim group that, according to OutRage!, "incites hatred and violence against Jews, homosexuals and Hindus."
The protesters launched a "queer jihad" against Islamic fundamentalism declaring Omar Bakri guilty of crimes against queer humanity, and issued a "queer fatwa condemning him to 1000 years of sodomitical torment."
Omar Bakri responded by calling for extermination of all homosexuals.



EGYPTIAN ISLAMIC AUTHORITY OKAYS SEX-CHANGES

"A man can undergo an operation to become a woman and a woman can do the reverse if a doctor deems the intervention necessary to bring out signs of femininity or masculinity which are present but hidden" said a new fatwa or religious decision, from Al Azhar, the highest Sunni Islam authority in Egypt.
Sayed Abdullah, the first person to undergo a sex-change operation was thrown out of Al Azhar University Medical School in 1988. Taking the name of Sali Abdullah, the university condemned the transsexual as a "disgusting imitation of a woman forbidden by Islam." An administrative court later overturned the university's ruling and ordered Sali placed in Al Azhar's medical school for women.
Sali married recently after working as a belly dancer in a Cairo cabaret. She attracted numerous clients, not to mention the interest of the Egyptian press. Though she has been widely photographed, Sali has turned down repeated requests for interviews from a number of news agencies, commenting, "My husband is jealous and has forbidden me to speak to the press. I obey him to preserve our happiness."



750 CASES OF AIDS REPORTED IN LEBANON SINCE 1989

BEIRUT (Aug. 14) XINHUA - A total of 750 cases of AIDS have been reported in Lebanon since 1989, and the average age of the patients is below 31, local press reported today.
According to Beirut Nida Al-Watan daily, Alisar Radi, director of the National Program Against AIDS under the Ministry of Health, told a recent special forum here that since a reporting system on aids was launched in 1989, 750 cases have been reported throughout the country. "The average age of the patients is less than 31, or in other words, they are sexually active youth," the domestic healthy specialist said.
She said that 75 percent of the cases resulted from sexual relations, and among the patients were 15 children who were infected by their mothers. He said those cases resulted from blood transfusion were very few.
However, she underlined a decrease in the number of women who were infected with the AIDS by their husbands since 1993.



BRITISH IMMIGRATION RECOGNIZES GAY RELATIONSHIP

A Moroccan man has won the right to stay in Britain based on his 13-year gay relationship with a British national. When the Home Office moved to deport the Moroccan, he appealed the decision with the support of the Stonewall Immigration Group. The Immigration Appeals adjudicator ruled in favor of the gay couple on compassionate grounds, and indicated that deportation might have been in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Stonewall says this is their 16th win with no defeats, which makes them hopeful of future policy change establishing immigration rights for same-gender couples.