'Getting worse': Egypt's gays fear government crackdown

[William769]

Source: nbcnews

CAIRO, Egypt -- Maha remembers going to Tahrir Square on Jan. 25, 2011. The 27-year-old office worker only wanted to look around the Cairo intersection filled with thousands of protesters. But seeing Egypt's revolution unfold before her, she left to get friends and quickly returned. Without planning to, Maha became one of the highly visible gay men and women who took to the streets shouting for change.

"We don't get freedom anywhere. No voice, nothing," said Maha, who declined to give her surname "So, the first chance at revolution, we fought."

Nearly two years after the ouster of former leader Hosni Mubarak, Maha sits smoking a shisha with her friend Noor at a back-street cafe in downtown Cairo. Together, the women have made this location a "safe place" for gays, somewhere they can come and be themselves.

Unlike in other major cities around the world, there is no flag or signage to indicate this is a "gay" cafe. People know about it through word-of-mouth and the online forum, "Bedayaa." They talk about the time since the revolution with a weariness that contrasts with the excitement they initially felt.

Read more: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/23/16644770-getting-worse-egypts-gays-fear-government-crackdown?lite

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Seems to be the more change in that region, the more it stays the same.

[msongs]

1. sharia law, religious dictatorship...what could possible go wrong in Egypt? nt

[RKP5637]

2. Exactly, they want to repeat the same ... Shit always floats to the top, and here it is again. n/t

[Comrade Grumpy]

3. "Despite their fears..."

From the article:

Despite their fears, gay life continues in Cairo. Men still meet on one of the city's bridges, and the Internet and social media help bring people together. Kholoud Bidak is an activist who is thinking of setting up an online forum. She was also in Tahrir Square in January 2011 and was stunned at the number of gay men and women at the heart of the protests. She has been disappointed in the two years that followed, but believes the gay community has at least gained recognition from human rights groups, which were previously uninterested. "They are finally starting to acknowledge LGBTs, 'oh, they were in the revolution since day one very, very effectively.' I thought that is very positive."

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I imagine it's going to be a long, slow process of acceptance in Egypt.

[geek tragedy]

4. I wish I could say this is surprising, but other than Israel that part

of the world is culturally decades if not centuries behind on respecting the rights of GLBTQ.

[William769]

5. Unfortunately you are correct.

I am a eternal optimist though.

[blkmusclmachine]

6. Change You Can Believe In.

Or not...