Lebanon Must Pave the Way for LGBT Rights

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Lebanon Must Pave the Way for LGBT Rights in the Middle East
The Middle East has never welcomed gays. In fact, although infrequent in practice, some countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen and Egypt condemns the criminality of ‘unnatural’ intercourse by death or a heavy prison sentence (Kotecha, 2013, p.1). Although some activists in Lebanon are emerging to defend these rights, Lebanon still belongs to the above list in the legal point of view and in practice and that’s what makes it far from being the heaven for gays in the Middle East. As a first step toward being Liberal, Lebanon should show real openness by making serious incentives toward giving homosexuals their rights.
Argument 1
The first step toward Liberalism consists of the respect of human rights. Although the declaration of human rights does not explicitly express gay’s rights, its core objective is to protect individuals rights to live free and away from physical harm regardless from their sex, origin, race or gender. Therefore, violence against any individual is a disrespect of human rights that cannot be warranted by any religious or cultural assertion. Unfortunately, physical abuses against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) are still practiced in Lebanon leaving the victims with long lasting physical and psychological damages. Kotecha (2013), in her article “Lebanon’s gay-friendly reputation challenged by abuses”, stated that in 2012, the police broke into a Beirut cinema and detained more than 30 individuals supposed to be homosexuals. These individuals were exposed to physical abuses in terms of anal inspection in order to reveal whether they have been exposed to any unnatural sexual intercourse. The reporter continues in an interview with one t...

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Kotecha, S. (2013, November 25). BBC News - Lebanon's gay-friendly reputation challenged by abuses. Retrieved May 20, 2014, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25057067
The LGBT struggle in Lebanon | SocialistWorker.org. (2011, February 2). Retrieved May 20, 2014, from http://socialistworker.org/2011/02/02/lgbt-struggle-in-lebanon
Littauer, D. (2014, March 4). Lebanon: Being Gay Is Not a Crime Nor Against Nature | Dan Littauer. Retrieved May 20, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dan-littauer/lebanon-gay-rights_b_4896786.html
Mahdawi, D. (2009, March 9). Local gay rights organization to receive award in US | News, Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR. Retrieved May 20, 2014, from http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2009/Mar-30/51945-local-gay-rights-organization-to-receive-award-in-us.ashx#axzz32EPnnSPU

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