Members of the LGBTIQ+ community in the Arab world have long faced discrimination, bigotry, and violence. However, in recent years, many of them have been standing up to the prejudice they face, and this very fact is at the center of a campaign recently launched by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality (AFE).
This year's "Facing the Myths" campaign builds on "No Longer Alone: LGBT Voices from the Middle East and North Africa," a previous initiative also co-launched by both organizations.
Speaking to StepFeed, HRW's LGBT researcher for the MENA region, Rasha Younes, explained that both schemes aim at documenting LGBT activists' journeys to self-acceptance. The projects also highlight the many ways LGBT individuals in the region are combating discrimination.
We talked to Younes about the recently released campaign, and here's what she told us:
In "Facing the Myths," LGBTIQ+ activists from around the Arab world gathered around a box of myths and misconceptions people in the region have. Their aim was to debunk these false assumptions and "raise awareness around LGBT identities in the Arabic-speaking world."
"Through this light-hearted conversational video, they offer tools to challenge and deconstruct the harmful misconceptions that LGBT people face daily in the region and send them messages of solidarity," Younes explained.
The daring video plays an important role in giving Arab LGBTIQ+ voices a platform, she says.
"It is a space for unapologetic visibility, a reminder to LGBT people that they are not alone in facing these myths, and an authentic medium to advance consciousness around LGBT identities."
"We will not stop doing the work of advancing LGBT rights in the region"
The participants are all activists "offering their personal journeys, their knowledge, and their resilience to connect with LGBT people from the region at a time when the rights to free expression and assembly are under attack."
Younes believes the clip will help connect the community members to others from across the Arab world.
"In the face of pervasive efforts to silence LGBT voices, this campaign echoes the resilience of LGBT people who have the courage to keep fighting for their rights to live and to love, despite the risks that this struggle carries," she stated.
When asked about other initiatives HRW is working on to further debunk LGBT myths in the region, Younes explained that the video is "a stepping stone" but that they will carry on the work.
"We will continue to provide platforms for LGBT voices in the region, where they can come together to tell their stories and advance their rights in the face of intimidation and state-sponsored repression. There will be a third phase, and we will not stop doing the work of advancing LGBT rights in the region."
The latest video features moving testimonies
Those interviewed as part of the campaign opened up about the bullying and violence they've experienced, all while debunking major myths including ones that deem homosexuality an illness.
Some spoke of death threats they have received after coming out while others relayed how they were shunned by their communities.
Farouk Ashour, an openly gay man and LGBTIQ+ activist, told HRW he faced death threats from militia groups in Libya.
"He realized he could never be safe at home and now is seeking asylum in the Netherlands. He said he could never live freely in Libya, especially as some people still believe being LGBT is an illness," the HRW report stated.
Mhamad Hjeij, an openly gay Lebanese man, explained how he faced years of bullying both within the LGBTIQ+ community and outside of it.
"I went through years of bullying in [sic] school and university for being gay, and when I finally was ready to be part of the LGBT community, people told me I don't fit into a gay category," he said.
With every story revealed under the campaign, a myth that's easily accepted in the region was evidently challenged.
