Gay baqubah, iraq

Lawmaker Raed al-Maliki, who advanced the law, told AFP "the law serves as a preventive measure to protect society. On Saturday, the US State Department said the law "can be used to further hamper free speech and personal expression and inhibit the operations of NGOs across Iraq.

In an Instagram post, Gala for LGBTQ listed steps "to reduce the risk" of persecution, including unfollowing queer accounts, avoiding dating apps and "reducing the expression of your queer identity". But a homecoming has become impossible after Iraq's parliament passed an anti-LGBTQ bill on Saturday that criminalises same-sex relations, carrying sentences of 10 to 15 years in prison.

For Iraq’s LGBTQ+ community, life is difficult and dangerous. The "law on combating prostitution and homosexuality" sets a minimum seven-year prison term for "promoting" same-sex relations and a sentence ranging from one to three years for men who "intentionally" act like women.

The city is located some 50 km (31 mi) to the northeast of Baghdad, on the Diyala River. This is the first chapter of my project, the Iraqi LGBTQ+ community and their unknown stories. LGBTQ Iraqis fear dark days ahead after anti-gay law. The legislation has been condemned by rights groups as an "attack on human rights" which reinforces an environment where queer and gender-diverse people have long faced attacks and discrimination.

Amid increasing threats over his sexual orientation, he fled the country. LGBTQ+ people in Iraq suffer from daily human rights violations, social difficulties and honor crimes. A previous draft had proposed capital punishment for same-sex relations but lawmaker Mustafa Sanad spoke of "pressure" from European countries and the United States.

When Saif Ali fled Iraq last year to escape threats and abuse over his sexual orientation, he always dreamed of someday returning. The LGBTQI+ community in Iraq is often subjected to discrimination and persecution by security forces and the country’s conservative-majority population.

In response to the outcry, several Iraqi politicians and armed factions have denounced "interference" in the country's internal affairs. In August , the Human Rights Watch report, ‘ They Want us Exterminated: Murder, Torture, Sexual Orientation and Gender in Iraq ’ confirmed that the Mahdi army and other militias had been involved in a widespread “gay massacre”.

Baqubah (Arabic: بَعْقُوبَة; BGN: Ba‘qūbah; also spelled Baquba and Baqouba) is the capital of Iraq's Diyala Governorate. It is almost impossible for an individual who's known or even rumored to have a non-heteronormative sexual orientation to live there. Our mission is to inform, inspire, connect, and empower the global LGBT+ community by shining a light on the world’s most fabulous gay destinations.

By living your true self, you are now challenging the state," Obeidi said. Members of the LGBTQ community are already "exposed to various types of violence, such as murder, rape, kidnapping, and extortion", said Ali, founder of the Gala for LGBTQ group. Last year, followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who wields broad political influence, burned rainbow flags in their demonstrations against a Koran burning in Sweden.

In response, at least 60 Iraqi lawmakers called for the replacement of the US ambassador, and some accused civil society groups of working for the United States and promoting homosexuality. This is what breaks my heart," said year-old Ali. The new law, based on amendments to a anti-prostitution statute, also makes "biological sex change based on personal desire and inclination" a crime, and punishes transgender people who undergo and doctors who perform gender-affirming surgery with up to three years in prison.

The year-old said she doesn't want to leave Iraq "just because I am a queer", but "I fear that I might be forced to. Campaigns against gay or effeminate men have been met with indifference by the Iraqi state. Agence France-Presse. Yazan al-Obeidi, an Iraqi-Norwegian queer activist, said he now fears visiting his home country, which he last saw in He expects a surge in "queer migration" as a result of what he said was the authorities providing a legal justification for attacks on the community.

We offer guides to + cities worldwide and know the best gay bars, hotels, clubs, saunas, parties, beaches, and not-to-be-missed experiences. Before he left Iraq, Ali's family forbade him from going out of the house for two years because of his "appearance" and for not being a "standard man".

Armed groups in Iraq, including the police and one of the country's most powerful militias, attack LGBT people with impunity, a new report says. It also drew condemnation from Western countries including the United States, while the United Nations said it was "alarmed" by the law, which "runs contrary to several human rights treaties and conventions ratified by Iraq".

In a society that sees itself as modest, traditional and deeply religious, many refuse to belie. Prior to the adoption of the law, the LGBTQ community was prosecuted under vague morality clauses in Iraq's penal code. Welcome to Queer In The World! She had for many years told stories of the LGBTQ community on her blog, but, after repeated threats, it was hacked and removed from the internet in late Then came the new bill, and now her friends have been telling her to remove her online posts and podcasts.