LGBTQIA+ Communities in AMEMSA Countries

Every Pride Month, crowds fill the winding streets of Beirut, Lebanon’s cosmopolitan capital for three days as part of Beirut Pride; they wave rainbow flags in the air and hold supportive signs. In AMEMSA countries like Iran and Kazakhstan, young people’s rooms are often decorated with a variety of LGBTQIA+ symbols, such as flags that represent one’s sexual orientation or them being transgender/nonbinary. India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh each have significant and vibrant communities of hijra (intersex and transgender people) who live freely and with joy. These are just a few of how LGBTQIA+ people express themselves (and often with solidarity from straight allies) in AMEMSA countries.

In the West, a seemingly common (and very prejudiced) misconception is that AMEMSA countries do not have any LGBTQIA+ communities at all. While some AMEMSA countries may have very harsh laws that target their LGBTQIA+ citizens, such laws mostly stem from colonialism by European powers. When European countries colonized AMEMSA regions and imposed rigid imperialism on them, the Europeans did not like seeing many AMEMSA-identifying people’s queerness (which, in reality, was historically common and socially accepted in AMEMSA countries). At the time, queerness shattered European social norms and many European governments had very harsh laws against it; the UK, which colonized and influenced many AMEMSA countries, notoriously used to chemically castrate its homosexual citizens. Consequently, the Europeans imposed harsh legislation and attitudes regarding queerness on AMEMSA communities to “normalize” discrimination by dehumanizing LGBTQIA+ people through law. Many AMEMSA countries also adopted Western views on gender and sexuality (after applying pressure). These colonial and imperialist attitudes toward LGBTQIA+ people were largely adopted among the ruling classes of AMEMSA countries, camouflaged under the disguise of “religious/cultural values.” It was not what the common people wanted, but what the rulers and powerful figures adopted. Consequently, as most of the same rulers have continued to rule without end, many laws against the LGBTQIA+ community continue to this very day.

It is time for Western society— and AMEMSA-identifying society— to rethink queerness and transness concerning the AMEMSA community. “How can queer/trans people exist there?” They can, because queer and trans people always have. Evidence shows that they existed in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia; and they definitely exist in modern Egypt and modern Mesopotamia (Iraq and Iran), no matter how much the mainstream media pretends they don’t exist. This also isn’t a matter of religion, because the history of AMEMSA areas shows that LGBTQIA+ people were accepted by both society and religious governments before European powers colonized AMEMSA regions and practically held AMEMSA cultures hostage. In fact, many religious AMEMSA rulers were known for partaking in homosexual activity, such as Umayyad caliph Al-Walid II. So, why do some in the West (and even some in the AMEMSA community) act like it is a matter of faith when it most certainly is a matter of European colonialism?

Spearheaded by Gen Z, celebrities, and influencers, AMEMSA regions are finally decolonizing their cultures. Young AMEMSA people around the world are doing research and discovering how accepting AMEMSA areas were before European colonialism and influence; they are sharing their research on social media and the Internet, organizing protests and Pride events in both AMEMSA countries and elsewhere, and always expressing themselves no matter what comes their way.