A Gay Girl in Damascus becomes a heroine of the Syrian revolt

[peoli]

She is perhaps an unlikely hero of revolt in a conservative country. Female, gay and half-American, Amina Abdullah is capturing the imagination of the Syrian opposition with a blog that has shot to prominence as the protest movement struggles in the face of a brutal government crackdown.

Abdullah's blog, A Gay Girl in Damascus, is brutally honest, poking at subjects long considered taboo in Arab culture. "Blogging is, for me, a way of being fearless," she says. "I believe that if I can be 'out' in so many ways, others can take my example and join the movement."

Her blog really took off two weeks ago with a post entitled My Father the Hero, a moving account of how her father faced down two security agents who came to arrest her, accusing her of being a Salafist and a foreign agent.

Abdullah's family is well-connected – she has relatives in the government and the Muslim Brotherhood whom she prefers not to name – and she says being politically active was a "natural thing". "Unfortunately, for most of my life being aware of Syrian politics means simply observing and only commenting privately."

That changed when protests broke out and Abdullah joined them, blogging about her experiences. "Teargas was lobbed at us. I saw people vomiting from the gas as I covered my own mouth and nose and my eyes burned," she wrote after one demonstration. "I am sure I wasn't the only one to note that, if this becomes standard practice, a niqab is a very practical thing to wear in future."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/06/gay-girl-damascus-syria-blog

link to her blog is within the article.

[Odin2005]

1. Very cool, K&R!

I find it funny that they would accuse a secular lesbian of being a Salafist, which is a fundy sect.

This gal is proof that the fears that Democracy in the Middle East would lead to wacko Islamist fundies comming to power is unfounded. Indeed, in Turkey democracy has pretty much deflated any radical Islamist tendencies, even though it's current government is controlled by a populist party that calls itself Islamist.

[aquart]

2. God protect her.

And I love that she found a practical use for the niqab, aside from the usual one of not having to worry about how your hair looks in public.

[tekisui]

3. Great and inspiring story. Be well and be strong Amina.

[DBoon]

4. We are all gay. We are all Syrian. We are all women.

We all support freedom.

[DavidDvorkin]

5. This post reminds me of Riverbend

I wonder if we'll find out her name and what happened to her.