Despite threats of violence, the LGBT community of Beirut, Lebanon hosted their first ever pride celebration last week, a country where homosexual acts are still considered a crime.
In a country often regarded as socially liberal compared to its Arab neighbors, conservative social values remain deeply embedded among many, with LGBTQI Lebanese facing widespread discrimination.
Most countries in the region do not tolerate an open celebration of LBGT life, with few Middle Eastern countries according rights to gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender citizens. Many risk fines, jail and even death, with reports of social exclusion and abuse commonplace.
Turkey hosts (or used to ) a gay pride parade in Istanbul each year and Israel holds a week of events in Tel Aviv every June.
A 2015 report by advocacy group Helem revealed that 81.2 percent of Lebanese polled disagreed that homosexuality was normal and natural.
Fears of harassment from the public and authorities remain widespread, while an article of Lebanese penal law that prohibits sexual acts that “contradict the laws of nature” have been used to prosecute members of the LGBTQI community.
But at the end of a week that — amid threats and pressure — saw events take place not just in conference halls but the streets, bars and cafes of Beirut, there are hopes that a push into the public spotlight offered by the newly launched Beirut Pride platform could further drive change.
From May 14 to 21, multiple events were held in Beirut’s cultural centers, bars, offices and outdoor venues. These events included exhibitions, talks, concerts, parties, performances and screenings. In a country where homosexual acts remain illegal, some 4,000 people attended.
A statement posted on the Beirut Pride website says, “Beirut Pride is a happy, friendly, constructive platform that invites people to express themselves, in an attempt to contribute to our liberation from the destructive hate that poisons our country and forces many fellow citizens out toward other countries that guarantee their basic rights.”
The League of Muslim Scholars in Lebanon, a Salafist group, on 14 May, used social media to voice its opposition to the NGO Proud Lebanon’s day-long series of discussions and presentations on LGBT issues and rights.
Within hours, the downtown Beirut hotel scheduled to host the event had cancelled it.
“The hotel apologised and said they couldn’t provide security for everyone,” Cosette Maalouf, Proud Lebanon’s advocacy officer, explained, adding that the venue had “received pressure from the Lebanese authorities to cancel the event”.
Le dimanche 21 mai, la première gay pride du monde arabe a eu lieu dans la capitale libanaise. C’est une première pour la défense des droits des LGBT au Moyen-Orient. Dimanche, à l’issue d’une semaine de festivités organisée contre la discrimination sexuelle, le Liban a accueilli la première Gay Pride du monde arabe dans le nord du pays, à Batroun.
Le pays considère en effet toujours l’homosexualité comme un délit : Libération rapporte que l’article 534 du Code pénal prévoit une condamnation d’un mois à un an de prison ferme ainsi qu’une amende en cas de “relations sexuelles contre-nature”.
Le conservatisme religieux du pays limite également les manifestations. Le week-end du 13 avril dernier, un colloque organisé à Beyrouth par l’ONG Proud Lebanon (“Liban fier”) a par exemple été annulé. Les pressions des théologiens musulmans menaçant de manifester devant l’hôtel où les débats devaient se dérouler étaient trop fortes.
Mais les organisateurs de la première Gay Pride libanaise veulent souligner les avancées en matière de droits LGBT, et ont d’ailleurs expliqué à CNN que le but de l’événement était avant tout de “banaliser” l’existence de la communauté LGBT, pour aider à “transcender les étiquettes” aliénant certains individus aux identités sexuelles non-hétérosexuelles. Hadi Damien, organisateur de la journée, a ainsi raconté qu’il faisait suite à plusieurs années de travail en secret, avec des rendez-vous clandestins ou en ligne : “C’est une initiative qui vient dénoncer — de façon complètement pacifique — toutes les formes de haine et de discrimination, et nous travaillons plus spécifiquement sur l’identité sexuelle.”
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Observer of the Near East 