LGBTQ+ Saudis Forced to Flee Their Country
Turki, a 20-year-old gay man from Saudi Arabia, summoned the courage to come out to his family last year, but their refusal to accept him forced him to flee his conservative homeland. After his disclosure, Turki was detained by his parents and brothers, confined to a room, and barred from attending his university classes.
Homosexuality remains a social taboo in Saudi Arabia, which is governed by an interpretation of Sharia law, and LGBTQ+ rights are still not accepted despite social changes brought in by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Under Saudi law, homosexuality is an offense potentially punishable by death, and despite the US State Department’s report that there were “no known prosecutions under these laws” in 2021, it is hard to determine the extent to which the authorities enforce it.
No Hope for Change
Several LGBTQ+ exiles, including Turki, see little hope for change in Saudi Arabia, even with reforms. Turki and others have fled to escape the persecution and lack of acceptance they face in their home country. Hind, a Saudi lesbian now based in Wales, who asked to use a pseudonym for safety concerns, said fleeing was a matter of survival as “exposing our affairs in Saudi Arabia meant death.” Even with reform and social change, Yasmine Farouk of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says that “anything related to LGBTQ+ rights is very, very sensitive” in Saudi Arabia.
A Country of Fear
LGBTQ+ Saudis are often forced to flee their country to find safety and acceptance elsewhere. Turki, who asked to be identified by first name only for safety reasons, now enjoys “a modest life in a shared flat” that he said, most importantly, is “full of freedom.
” However, many still live in fear, and censorship of LGBTQ+ references in films and even the crackdown on rainbow-colored toys and clothing in shops in the capital Riyadh show that sexual minorities are not welcome in Saudi Arabia. The reported death by suicide of a transgender woman last month after her return to the kingdom has further exacerbated fears.
SOURCE: Ref-france24
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