THEGAYUK

Tag: Qatar News

Get the latest LGBT+ Qatar news from THEGAYUK. Breaking news, features and interviews from the gay community in Qatar.

  • Guess who’s coming for dinner… Theresa May criticised for breaking bread with anti-gay countries

    Prime Minister Theresa May has attracted criticism after accepting dinner invites with the leaders of  Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

    The problem is that in all of these nations being gay is illegal and in fact, in no less than two of those nations, the death penalty could be handed down to those convicted of conducting homosexual relationships. Many of the nations also have incredibly poor woman’s rights records as well as severely curtailed freedoms of speech for its citizens.

    The Prime Minister is there to attend a dinner before she meets with the Gulf Cooperation Council. She is due to announce a new working group to combat the financing of terrorists. Britain is also unveiling a permanent British defence staff in Dubai and will also provide three specialist cyber experts whose goals will be to detect and deal with extremism, according to the Independent.

    ALSO READ: Where In The World Is Homosexuality Punished By The Death Penalty

    Critics have taken to social media to vent their disgust at the decision to meet and eat with the leaders of these countries with appalling human rights history.

    ALSO READ: Man accused of being gay executed in Aleppo

  • Robbie Rogers Urges FIFA To Consider Gay Fans Safety For World Cup

    Openly gay footballer Robbie Rogers has reminded FIFA to include basic human rights in its guidelines when choosing a host country for the World Cup.

    FIFA came under fire in December 2010 when it was announced that Qatar, infamous for its abuses on the rights of gay people and women, won the hosting obligations for the World Cup 2022. Qatar will be the first Arab nation to host the World Cup.

    Many human rights campaigners were concerned that gay football fans and players could be subject to humiliating tests, which could include anal probing, to ascertain whether they were gay or not. Currently, gay men and women face between one and three years in prison if caught.

    Robbie Rogers who came out in 2013 reminded FIFA about gay and women’s rights and urged the organisation to make those considerations part of the guidelines for future hosting countries. In an interview with GQ he said,

    “I would hope that FIFA would be sensitive not only to gay rights but also women’s rights and basic human rights, and they should pick host countries for the World Cup based on what’s best for the competition—that’s what the athletes and fans want.”

    “So my goal is to create a dialogue with FIFA and convince them to create guidelines for how they choose countries to host the World Cup going forward, so that they only pick countries that ensure the safety of all the athletes and all the fans.”

    In Qatar it has been reported that a small advertising campaign has been started to educate tourists and expatriates about appropriate clothing for men and women to wear in public, suggesting that when in Qatar “you are one of us”.

  • Gay Fans Of World Cup Football May Face Humiliating Tests By Qatar

    LGBT football fans who may want to attend the 2022 World cup, due to take place in Qatar may face humiliating tests in order to enter the country, in which being gay is illegal.

    Despite a number of worrying questions over human rights, Qatar has been awarded the hosting obligations for the World cup in 2022, by FIFA.

    Currently, gay men face between one and three years in prison if caught. In November 2014, the Qatari sports minister said that the country would find “Creative” solutions to gay people. He told AP, “It’s exactly like the alcohol question.”

    “[Qatar doesn’t want to create] this impression, illusion that we don’t care about our tradition and our ethical values.

    “We are studying all these issues. We can adapt, we can be creative to have people coming and enjoying the games without losing the essence of our culture and respecting the preference of the people coming here.

    “I think there is a lot we can do.”

    It has been suggested that members of the Gulf Cooperation Countries, which include; Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are developing a test that will be able to detect the sexuality of visitors to its countries.

    The test was first reported on in 2013 after Kuwait’s director of public health Yousouf Mindkar said, “gays will be barred.”

    Speaking to Kuwait Newspaper Al Rai, he said, “Health centres conduct the routine medical check to assess the health of the expatriates when they come into the GCC countries. However, we will take stricter measures that will help us detect gays who will be then barred from entering Kuwait or any of the GCC member states.”

    Gay rights groups have criticised FIFA for choosing Qatar to host the event.

    An advertising ‘modesty’ campaign has already begun teaching visitors to the nation about acceptable behaviour including what and whatnot to wear, with the slogan, “If You Are In Qatar You Are One of Us…”

    Today the FIFA taskforce has recommended that the World cup event should take place in November and December due to concerns regarding the health of player and spectators, who are unaccustomed to temperatures that can exceed 40C in the summer months.