Egypt jails 16 for ‘debauchery’ as LGBT crackdown continues

Although “homosexuality is not explicitly criminalized under Egyptian law”, a 1961 prostitution law has allowed authorities to charge those “suspected of engaging in consensual homosexual conduct with ‘habitual debauchery’.” This topic has received increased attention since rainbow flags were raised at a concert in Cairo on September 22, which The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said provoked a public outcry from the “socially conservative country” and led to the arrest of 75 people. It was also said by Amnesty International that over 60 members of the Egyptian parliament have proposed a law that would define “homosexuality” for the first time and criminalize same-sex sexual conduct. Penalties reach up to five years imprisonment, but if facing multiple charges someone could face 15 years of imprisonment.

To think of the progress that has been made in the U.S., where rainbow flags fly relatively freely in cities like Chicago, and the barriers still faced by the American LGBT community compared with the arrests and persecution of many individuals who choose to freely express their sexuality in Cairo puts this particular struggle for equality into a worldwide context. How are human rights issues that are fought here in the U.S. similar to struggles that take place internationally? Does witnessing the plight of similar communities in other countries make us appreciate the progress we’ve made as a country, or perhaps remind us that a particular fight still has a long way to go? This also works to identify strings of humanity that connect all people regardless of nationality, which is a significant result of foreign reporting that we have repeatedly discussed in class.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42150593