LGBTQ rights in Qatar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Legal status | Illegal since 1938:[1]: 30 Sharia (Islamic law) may be applied |
| Penalty | Up to 7 years imprisonment (de jure: death penalty, unenforced) |
| Gender identity | No |
| Military | No |
| Discrimination protections | No protections |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships | No recognition of same-sex relationships |
| Adoption | No |
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender, andqueer (LGBTQ) people in Qatar experience legal persecution.[2][3] Sexual acts between males and between females are illegal inQatar, with punishment for both Muslims and non-Muslims of up to three years in prison. ForMuslims duly convicted in thesharia courts, a judicial sentence ofcapital punishment for homosexuality is a possibility, though it has never been imposed.[4][5] Abuse such as beatings and torture, and forced "conversion therapy" have also been used by police and other authorities.[6][7]
Prevailing cultural mores in Qatar view homosexuality andcross-dressing negatively.[8] The Qatari government does not recognisesame-sex marriage orcivil partnerships, nor does it allow people in Qatar to campaign for LGBT rights.
In November 2008 British performerGeorge Michael performed at a successful concert in Qatar,[9] making him the first openly gay musician to perform in Qatar.[10]
On 4 February 2024, a dual British-Mexican citizen, was arrested in Qatar after falling victim to a police-led Grindr fake profile. According to his brother, he had been denied the right to a lawyer and had been forced to sign documents in Arabic without a translator to assist him. He also stated that the man had also been prevented access to antiretroviral medicines he needed to be able to live with HIV.[11]
Homosexuality was made illegal in British-controlled Qatar via the Indian Penal Code through the Order in Council 1938.[1]: 30 This was replaced by Article 171 in 1956, and then after independence, Article 171 was replaced by Article 201 of Qatar's 1971 Penal Code.[12]: 141 Since 2004, Article 296 of the current Penal Code (Law 11/2004)[13] stipulates imprisonment between one and three years for sodomy. This is less severe than the 1971 law that stipulated up to five years' imprisonment for men and women found to be homosexual (punishment of sexual acts instead of punishment for sexual orientation). The localdeath penalty for same-gender sex is applicable only to Muslims because extramarital sex regardless of the gender of the participants is punishable by death and because same-gender couples cannot get married. However, there is no evidence that the death penalty has been applied for consensual same-sex relations taking place between adults outside the spaces policed by authorities.[14][15][16]
In 1998, an American citizen visiting Qatar was sentenced to six months in prison and 90 lashes for homosexual activity.[17] In the 1990s, thePhilippine Overseas Employment Administration informed Philippine workers that gay workers were prohibited in Qatar. This was in response to several mass arrests and deportations of Philippine workers in Qatar for homosexuality.[18]
In 2016, PolishInstagram star King Luxy was arrested in Qatar for allegedly being homosexual. He spent two months in custody before he was released. The Polish embassy claim he was arrested for extortion.[19]
Qatari laws concerning marriage, divorce and other family matters are influenced by traditional Islamic morality. Hence, cohabitation is illegal and no legal recognition exists in Qatar forsame-sex marriage,civil unions ordomestic partnerships.
In Qatar,trans people can be arrested for the crime of "impersonating the opposite gender". Such individuals are often deemed to be "violating public morality" or infringing "community protection" laws and, as such, police may detain them for up to six months without trial or charge, on this suspicion. While detained, authorities attempt to enforce conformity to local social norms of male and female appearance by requiring physical detransition, such as surgical removal of breast tissue. Detainees are required to attend conversion "therapy" upon release, according to information received by the BBC. Qatari authorities "categorically rejected" the reports by the trans women who detailed their experiences.[20]
In 2010, shortly afterQatar was selected to host the2022 FIFA World Cup,FIFA PresidentSepp Blatter was asked about the political reality for gay people in Qatar, and he responded that gay soccer fans in Qatar "should refrain from any sexual activities." After being criticised for this remark, Blatter added that: "we FIFA don't want any discrimination. What we want to do is open this game to everybody, and to open it to all cultures, and this is what we are doing in 2022".[21]
In 2011, a member of the Dutch Parliament for theParty for Freedom (PVV) proposed that the Dutch soccer team play in pink, instead of the country's national color, orange, to protest the gay rights situation in Qatar.[22]
In 2013, the head of Qatar's World Cup bid team, Hassan Al-Thawadi, said that everybody was welcome at the event, so long as they refrained from public display of affection. "Public display of affection is not part of our culture and tradition", he said.[23] In 2013,Kuwait proposed banning gay foreigners[24] from entering any of the countries of theGulf Cooperation Council, and the GCC agreed to discuss it.[25][26] However, the GCC backtracked, possibly due to concerns over the effect on Qatar's hosting of the 2022 World Cup.[27]
In November 2021, the Australian soccer playerJosh Cavallo, the league's only current player who is openly gay, said he would be afraid to travel to Qatar to play, to which Nasser Al Khater, head of the tournament's organizing committee, replied that Cavallo would be "welcome" in the country.[28]
Qatari officials initially stated in December 2020 that, in accordance with FIFA's inclusion policy, it would not restrict the display of pro-LGBT imagery (such asrainbow flags) at matches during the World Cup.[29] However, in April 2022, a senior security official overseeing the tournament stated that there were plans to confiscate pride flags from spectators—allegedly as a safety measure to protect them from altercations with spectators that are anti-LGBT.Fare network criticised the report, arguing that actions against the LGBT community by the state were of a greater concern to those attending the World Cup than the actions of individuals.[30][31]
Major General Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Ansari stated that fans should also respect the norms of the host country and assured their privacy by adding "Reserve the room together, sleep together, this is something that's not in our concern ... We are here to manage the tournament. Let's not go beyond, the individual personal things of fans".[32]
In May 2022 some hotels onFIFA's official list of recommended accommodations for the World Cup event were outright refusing to provide accommodations to same-sex couples. Other hotels on the list indicated they would accept reservations for same-sex couples as long as they hid their relationship in public.[33] FIFA claimed that it would ensure that the hotels mentioned are once again made aware of the strict requirements in relation to welcoming guests in a non-discriminatory manner.[34] During a press conference in Germany on May 20, the Emir of QatarSheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani stated that the LGBT visitors would be welcomed to the 2022 World Cup but they need to respect the nation's culture.[35]
In September 2022, according to a report byThe Guardian, the FA (Football Association) has assured LGBT couples will not face arrest while holding hands or kissing in public in Qatar. The FA has declared that fans with rainbow flags will not face arrest as long as they do not "disrespect" the local culture and norms by draping flags over mosques in Qatar.[36][37]
An October 2022 report fromHuman Rights Watch alleges systemic police brutality against LGBT people in Qatar, based on eyewitness reports from 2019 to 2022.[7]
Transport for London banned Qatar from advertising on London's bus, cab and tube systems after an outcry over the ban on European teams participating in the World Cup in Qatar wearing armbands supporting LGBT+ rights. Subsequently, Qatar said it was reviewing its current and future investments in London.[38][39]
In 2022, Qatar police arrested protesters after they criticised Qatari law.[40]
In October 2022, the Australian men's national team called for the host country to recognise same-sex marriage and improve migrant workers' rights. Qatar's spokesperson responded by commending the "soccer players (for) using their platforms to raise awareness for important matters", and stating no country is perfect, and every country has its challenges, also stating new laws and reform often takes time to bed-in, including in Australia.[41][42]
On 22 November 2022, A Brazilian journalist was harassed by local police after they mistook his Brazilian stateflag of Pernambuco for apride flag. His work phone was confiscated after the journalist recorded the Qatari authorities confiscating his flag and stomping on it. His phone was returned only after he deleted the video he took.[43][44]
In 2016, an opinion piece that appeared in the outletDoha News by a gay Qatari man under the pseudonym Majid Al-Qatari that described being gay in Qatar as "jarring" and spoke of the "irreparable damage to [his] mental health", was criticised for "allowing the topic of 'homosexuality' in Qatar to be discussed". It was met with extremely strong reactions.[45][46]
In 2018, nine entire articles covering gay and transgender rights published from April to July, including a discussion of LGBT rights in Africa, criticism of the US military's transgender ban and a retrospective about a 1973 fire that killed 32 people at a New Orleans gay bar, were censored from the Doha edition ofThe New York Times International Edition. The Government Communications Office for the State of Qatar issued a statement pledging to investigate the matter.[47][48][49][50]
In 2018,Tom Bosworth, an openlygay Britishrace walker, said that he was ready to risk prison to defend LGBT rights in Qatar during the2019 World Championships in Athletics.[51] He finished seventh at the 2019 World Championships.[52]
In June 2019, although the laws in Qatar still criminalise homosexuality, itsinternationalpubcasterAl Jazeera Media Network'sAJ+ marked the month asLGBTQ Pride Month with a tweet about speaking to the cast ofQueer Eye on LGBT issues. This led many online users to point out online the paradox that AJ+ discusses and encourages recognition of gay rights outside Qatar, while Qatar censors LGBT content.[53]
In February 2020,Northwestern University in Qatar cancelled an event featuringMashrou' Leila following anti-LGBT backlash.[54]
In December 2021 Nasser Al Khater, the CEO of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, said that "Nobody feels threatened here, nobody feels unsafe here" but added that " ... public display of affection is frowned upon, and that goes across the board – across the board. Qatar is a modest country ... They [gay people] will be coming to Qatar as fans of a soccer tournament. They can do whatever any other human being would do. What I'm saying is Qatar, from a public-display-of-affection factor, is conservative". The tournament organiser also welcomedJosh Cavallo, the world's only current openly gay top-flight professional soccer player, at the World Cup.[55] Cavallo had said that to know that the World Cup was being held " ... in a country that doesn't support gay people and puts us at risk of our own life, that does scare me and makes me re-evaluate – is my life more important than doing something really good in my career?".[55]
In May 2022,Naser Mohamed, a physician based in the US, became the first Qatari to publiclycome out as a gay man.[56]
In May 2023, Gilbert Ignatius, aQatar Airways employee fromIndonesia, was detained by Qatar's Criminal Investigation Department following Ignatius's birthday celebration. Officials who detained him cited his tinted moisturizer, designer brand clothing and bag as evidence of prostitution. An officer struck Ignatius when he asked to speak to the Indonesian embassy and told him "You have no rights. This is Qatar." Ignatius, who had lived in Doha for 6 years, was subsequently deported, fired, and banned from Qatar without official explanation. He told press that secret police crackdowns following the World Cup seem to especially target people who appear to be fromPhilippines, Indonesia, andThailand.[57]
| Same-sex sexual activity legal |  De facto: up to 7 years' imprisonment, fines, corporal punishment; deportation for foreign nationals.
|
| Equal age of consent | |
| Anti-discrimination laws in employment | |
| Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services | |
| Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (including indirect discrimination,hate speech) | |
| Same-sex marriages | |
| Same-sexcivil unions | |
| Recognition of same-sex couples | |
| Step-child adoption by same-sex couples | |
| Joint adoption by same-sex couples | |
| Homosexual people allowed to serve openly in the military | |
| Right to change legal gender | |
| Conversion therapy made illegal | [7] |
| Access to IVF for lesbians | |
| Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples | (Illegal for all couples regardless of sexual orientation[59]) |
| Men who have sex with men allowed to donate blood | |
... the imposition of corporal punishment by courts is common. Those accused of illicit sexual relations usually incur sentences of punishment by flogging, as has repeatedly been the case among people (mostly foreign nationals) accused of adultery. While Qatar has issued several death penalty sentences over the past decade, known executions are relatively rare. However, in March 2020, Qatari authorities reportedly executed a Nepali man who had been accused of murder, putting an end to an informal moratorium on the death penalty that had been in place for roughly 17 years.
She says she has been arrested for 'imitating a woman' while wearing make-up, and describes the government's preventive security department - a branch of Qatari law enforcement - as like a 'gang'. 'They capture you and prevent you from telling anyone where you are. The prison is underground where they treat you like a criminal,' she says.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)The law prohibits consensual same-sex sexual conduct between men but does not explicitly prohibit same-sex sexual relations between women." ... "Under sharia law homosexuality is punishable by death; there were no reports of any executions for this reason.PDF download
