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We mark, yet again, another 17th of
May of another year, another international day against
homophobia celebrated across the globe. The International
Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) had earlier in April
published a map on LGBTI rights in the world today.
It is certainly a terrific study
with terrifying results.
Lebanon, marked on the map in light blue, the category for
“imprisonment from 1 month to 10 years” is comparatively better
off than countries with death sentences (Iran, Mauritania,
Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen)
or longer imprisonment periods. But the legal side of
homosexuality does not necessarily reflect the facts of life
faced every single day by our lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, queer, questioning, transsexual, and intersex
people. Legally, you get imprisoned from one month to one year,
with a fine ranging from $133 to $666, if you are caught
(usually in public) practicing anal sex. But there haven’t been
any known cases like that in recent years. What usually happens
is, according to many people, worse.
In popular gay cruising locations such as Ramlet El Bayda, a
stretch of beach in Beirut, gay men are more often than not
picked up by other men who then steal their money by threatening
(with or without weapons) to report them to the police. Gay
personals websites such as Gaydar or Manjam or the #gaylebanon
chatroom on mIRC, the most popular ways of meeting people, also
lead to several highly unsafe encounters. Many men who go to
meet a stranger get beaten up and robbed.
The police have made vast improvements in terms of dealing with
cases of homosexuality. In the near past, it was very common for
policemen to similarly abuse or blackmail gay men who report
cases of robbery or abuse and dismiss them as perversions. In
recent years, largely thanks to the work of Helem, the morality
police department, known as Hobeich Police Station, has become
more aware of violence facing gay men, although much of the
malpractice still happens today.
Family pressure and threat of being ostracized remains the
single biggest fear facing the LGBT community in Lebanon.
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Hundreds of cases of LGBT being ostracized from their families
have been reported in the last 10 years. This form of homophobia
is manifested in different ways: gay men commonly get kicked out
of their homes, denied inheritance, or in rarer cases sent out
of the country by their parents. Lesbians face different
problems with their family and are more likely to get put under
house arrest, forced into a marriage with a man, but in rarer
cases do get kicked out of their homes as well. |
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"Lesbians face different problems
with their family and are more
likely to get put under house
arrest, forced into a marriage with
a man, but in rarer cases do get
kicked out of their homes as well." |
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Families who learn
about their children’s homosexuality also prefer to hide
the shame of this news in their communities and
villages, so in many cases they refrain from actively
expelling their children, and tighten their restrictions
on them instead.
Violence against homosexuals is normally manifested in the form
of: physical abuse, rape, blackmail, verbal abuse, job loss,
eviction, and other forms. This happens on the street, in
restaurants or coffee shops, at work, in schools and colleges,
and other public places. Several incidents of violence against
LGBT have been reported inside the community. Lesbians commonly
face verbal abuse and sexual harassment on the street based on
their attire, mannerisms, and in case of any minimal public
display of affection. However, it is quite common in Lebanon
like most of the Arab world for women to walk on the street
holding hands or intertwining arms. For men, this is not as
common but can still be seen, especially among non-Lebanese
Arabs. Common derogatory terms for lesbians include “dakar” (tr.
male) or “sharmouta” (tr. whore), or a profane gesture of the
tongue.
Men, however, especially effeminate men and trans women, face
much harsher abuse. On the street, they will very probably have
“louti” or “foufou” (tr. faggot) yelled at them. Or they will be
profanely propositioned for sexual acts. In a few incidents,
effeminate men have been beaten up or slapped on the street.
They also get fired from their jobs or not hired at all. In
schools and colleges, they face strong bullying from others.
Such forms of violence are considered macho behavior by Arab
men.
So what will it take to promote tolerance towards LGBT in
Lebanon? Besides the 20 years that must pass for an entire
generation and its mentality to disappear and a new (hopefully
more tolerant) generation to rise, our most powerful weapon is
each other. Our power is in our numbers. There are at least half
a million LGBT persons in Lebanon. That’s one in every 10
people. And it is only with their solidarity and their unified
voice that we can accomplish true change. Half a million people
are a political force, an economic force, a social force. They
are a force. And only when we eliminate homophobia targeted at
each other and develop a true sense of purpose and a long-term
vision can we begin to change people, one mind at a time. We
must find the force that we are.
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