Identity Expression of LGBTQ+ Youth in the Middle East — a Conversation with Charbel Maydaa, founder of MOSAIC-MENA
By: Laura Hennawi, The Fem Word Contributor
PHOTO CREDIT: Charbel Maydaa
Among the Middle Eastern community, discussions of sexuality are very often minimal; it is naturally expected to conform to its heteronormative legal and social structures. Their defiance presents discrimination, familial conflict, psychological turmoil, and even life-threatening risk. To learn more about what it means to identify as LGBTQI+ in the Middle East, we talked to MOSAIC-MENA, an initiative and organization based in Beirut, Lebanon that assists the Lebanese LGBTQIA+ community with legal, mental and social aid.
Laura Hennawi: The queer community can face struggles for different reasons in every part of the world. What do you feel are the biggest underlying challenges rooted in the Middle Eastern community — is it religious, cultural, a combination of factors, or something else?
Charbel Maydaa: The limited rights of sexually marginalized groups in the MENA region relate to several deeply entrenched conceptions of LGBTIQ identities and behaviors upheld by and orientated around prevailing cultural traditions and religious mores. Increasingly, these beliefs link LGBTIQ identity to a particularly Western brand of liberalism, undermining domestic support for the cause of LGBT rights. This attitude, articulated by governments and many political parties, is putting sexual marginalized individuals at increased risk of persecution from conservative groups who believe their rights are not compatible with particular national cultures. Moreover, recent developments linked to the war in Syria, the rise of ISIS in parts of Iraq and Syria, and continued regional instability, have made the MENA region an extremely dynamic and complex environment for sexual rights advocacy.
Institutions that have been key players in supporting the advancement of LGBT rights in the MENA region include the European Union (EU), the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and many members of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). In a number of cases, this has led to improvements in the treatment of LGBT peoples, with states such as Turkey and Lebanon adopting a dialogue of greater toleration. However, recent trends in both states show that these progressive steps have reached a precarious stage, with conservative parties, such as the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey implementing an increasingly dismissive tone when it comes to the need to protect LGBT rights.
Furthermore, and despite international pressure, the death penalty is still in place for those found practicing same-sex relationships in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Sudan. However, in other countries such as Egypt and Morocco, pressure from human rights campaigners is, according to Human Rights Watch (2008), producing the environment in which gender and sexual rights are entering mainstream discourse.
charbel Maydaa
“It is a daily struggle for this community to obtain what is supposed to be basic human rights: social justice, protection and respect.”
Moreover, the visibility of lesbians and non-heteronormative women in the region is generally minimal, suggesting that, for this group, persecution is even more acute, especially from family members, given the problematic traditions that exist with regard to gender roles and patriarchy. Unfortunately, the scope of this research has not enabled a great deal of female participation given the survey’s focus on men who have sex with men. As such, an evidence gap exists with regard to the lives of non-heteronormative women, who are marginalized in research as well as in practice.
The norm in the Middle Eastern societies is to condemn homosexuality within both the Muslim majority and the Christian minorities- in Egypt and Lebanon. “People seek answers in the places they trust the most'': religion. Homosexuality is illegal in the MENA region. Islamic states denounce it and consider it as a sinful and perverted deviation. Penalties of fines, jail or even death can be warranted as punishments. Few protections means exist that are nothing but legal loopholes, which goes against numerous instruments of international laws. It is a daily struggle for this community to obtain what is supposed to be basic human rights: social justice, protection and respect.
LGBTIQ+ community spend most of their time dispelling myths spread dangerously by the media and some old presumptions. This is a real challenge for a community that is hardly allowed to talk openly and freely. Some run into people who believe that LGBTIQ+ people must all have encountered a childhood trauma that has “made” them gay. Others believe that LGBTIQ+ people were “cursed” by God and need absolutely to be cured; thus, they are pitied and considered “abnormal”. Some assume that Arab parents would never accept their LGBTIQ+ child. Anti-LGBTIQ+ politicians and religious leaders spread the myth that the LGBTIQ+ activists try to corrupt the local community by importing Western culture and ideas.
MOSAIC RESOURCES
Laura: How can people find you and how can they reach out?
Charbel: Reaching out for MOSAIC can be done through several means:
The helpline:
The helpline is made to answer all the received calls. Trained social workers assist people in need 24/7. All it takes is a simple call or a small text on WhatsApp (+961 76 945 445) and people are in good hands. They will be listened to and directed to the right service they are asking for.
The landline:
The Landline offers the same services to the people in need within the working hours: 9 am-5 pm, 5 days a week. People are welcome to call and of course, get the support of MOSAIC first-liners.
PHOTO CREDIT: Charbel Maydaa
The offices:
People in need are welcome to knock on MOSAIC’s doors, within the working hours: 9 am-5 pm, 5 days a week. Trained social workers will suitably receive them, listen to their needs and orient them properly.
In the wake of Covid-19, MOSAIC is more likely to be reached online or through our helpline/landline. However, people are still received in MOSAIC’s offices for urgent support.
Referral system:
MOSAIC has built a long list of partnerships within the region. Therefore, people can reach out for MOSAIC’s services thanks to some referral systems and agreements signed between local and international NGOs.
Events:
People can reach out for MOSAIC’s services during the events MOSAIC organizes (online events/in person). People are requested to present themselves to whoever is representing MOSAIC and ask for the proper help. He/She/they will receive the right orientation to get to MOSAIC social workers.
Online:
People can also know more about MOSAIC’s services, mission, and vision through the website (mosaic-mena.org), email (mosaic@mosaic-mena.org), our Facebook page (facebook.com/MOSAIC.MENA), our Instagram page (instagram.com/mosaic.mena/) and/or our Twitter profile (twitter.com/mosaic_mena?lang=en).
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the interviewee, and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Fem Word organization. Any content provided by our interviewees are based on their opinions and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.