Originally written on Washington Blade
Large swaths of the Syrian city of Aleppo had already been reduced to rubble by the time Ahmad decided to leave his hometown in the summer of 2015.
The 26-year-old who lived in western Aleppo, which is a stronghold of President Bashar Assad, traveled to the Syrian capital of Damascus. Ahmad then took a bus to Lebanon before flying from Beirut to Istanbul.
The Ministry of Public Health just launched their new Substance Use Strategy 2016-2021 and it’s very inclusive of LGBT individuals.
Read More “New MOPH Substance Use Strategy is LGBT Inclusive”
While we are bombarded day and night with hopeless, pessimistic news and violent images from the Arab world, in the Land of the Cedar, altruistic scientists are busy doing their bit towards building a tolerant and diverse society. Sadly, their wonderful work is often overlooked by the media.
Read More “Lebanon: The Quiet Sexual Health Revolution Through LebMASH”
This past week a court in Kenya ruled that the use of anal probes could be used to determine a person’s sexuality. The ruling, which shocked human rights and LGBT activists both in Kenya and around the world, came after two young men challenged the legality of the evidence collected by these forced examinations.
On this International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, the Lebanese Medical Association for Sexual Health (LebMASH) would like to take the opportunity to remind government officials, Lebanese police and security forces, policy makers, health care professionals, and the public in general that persecution and marginalization of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) people and other minorities have serious and detrimental direct and indirect consequences on health.
An appeal for an end to persecution and marginalization of LGBT people in Lebanon comes with a useful twist:
It argues that because “homosexuality is a natural variation of human sexuality,” it therefore should be exempt from Lebanon’s law against sexual intercourse “against nature.” The wording “against nature” is a common euphemism that many nations have used to make same-sex intimacy a criminal offense.
Read More “Lebanon appeal: LGBT sexuality isn’t ‘against nature’”
In Lebanon, as well as in many places around the world, a social stigma exists surrounding homosexuality.
This stigma leads to numerous misconceptions, misinformation and general misunderstandings. Although the Lebanese Psychiatric Society released an official statement in 2013 saying that,”Homosexuality is not a mental disorder and does not need to be treated,” many Lebanese still view it as a curable disease.
Read More “Animated short tackles Lebanese misconceptions of homosexuality”
A Lebanese judge has ruled that a transgender man can legally change his gender in the country’s civil registry.
Judge Janet Hanna of the Court of Appeals of Beirut last September ruled in favor of the trans man who had undergone sex-reassignment surgery. Her decision was released on Friday.
Read More “Lebanese judge rules trans man can legally change gender”
LebMASH, a Lebanese NGO that works to further sexual education, has turned to crowdfunding to ensure a continued funding stream for its “Breaking the Silence” grants that reward students who are contributing to increased awareness of physical and mental health issues related to sexual minorities and sexual health in general.
Read More “Lebanese sexual health NGO seeking funds for ‘Breaking the Silence’ program”
LebMASH was represented by Ramy Shukr at the “Covering LGBT issues in the Lebanese media” workshop hosted by SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom, in partnership with the Thomson Foundation and Maharat Foundation on Tuesday November 11, 2014 at L’Appartement, Achrafieh, along with representatives of different organizations, including the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality, Helem, Legal Agenda, LBCI, NOW Lebanon, and L’Orient Le Jour.
lebmash.org 