Bahrain Will Spy on and Punish Children Who "Act Gay"
Wednesday 23rd April 2008
The government of Bahrain have announced a shocking plan to stamp out homosexuality in the conservative Muslim country by targeting children.
The Bahrain fountain. Image by Vladimir Arshinov.
The country’s parliament has just passed a number of new initiatives designed to root out and rid the country of any and all homosexuals. The country, where homosexuality is illegal, has called for a survey to determine how many gays and lesbians reside in the country, and its Parliament demanded that the Interior Ministry ban homosexual foreigners from receiving residence permits.
The country has occasionally deported homosexual expatriates in the past, including more than 2000 Filipino nationals deported for homosexual offences in 2002. The process looks to become more common. The government will also conduct more frequent surprise inspections of massage parlours and hair salons, which is where they believe gays and lesbians gather.
Foreign homosexuals are a touchy subject in the Parliament. MP Shaikh Mohammed Khalid Mohammed of the Al Menbar party, which introduced the anti-gay legislation, said that people were complaining about homosexuals entering the country.
When speaking about massage parlours and hair salons, Mohammed said: "Those people are either from the Philippines or Thailand and they come for these two jobs, which they use as a curtain for their homosexual behaviour and immorality."
Although the racism and homophobia displayed by the Parliament is bad enough, the most shocking part of the Bahranian government’s new plan involves spying on schoolchildren. Teachers will be trained and asked to watch students carefully for “signs of homosexuality.” Teachers are told to “punish [the children] accordingly” if they show any homosexual tendencies.
Read that again. Any children who display homosexual tendencies, which the government does not clearly define and could be something as innocent as holding hands with their friends or hugging, will end up being punished.
Children who barely understand the concept of sex face humiliation and pain for showing affection to their friends or enjoying activities the government has deemed “homosexual”. This plan is despicable. It's unlikely the rate of homosexuality in the country will lower, although homosexuals will likely stay out of sight. However, I would put money on the teen suicide rate increasing.
This sort of rabidly homophobic legislation is a bit unexpected from Bahrain, which is one of the more liberal countries in the Middle East. However, while there has been increasing liberalisation in the country over the past few years, homosexuals in the country have not benefited.
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The Bahrain fountain. Image by Vladimir Arshinov.
The country’s parliament has just passed a number of new initiatives designed to root out and rid the country of any and all homosexuals. The country, where homosexuality is illegal, has called for a survey to determine how many gays and lesbians reside in the country, and its Parliament demanded that the Interior Ministry ban homosexual foreigners from receiving residence permits.
The country has occasionally deported homosexual expatriates in the past, including more than 2000 Filipino nationals deported for homosexual offences in 2002. The process looks to become more common. The government will also conduct more frequent surprise inspections of massage parlours and hair salons, which is where they believe gays and lesbians gather.
Foreign homosexuals are a touchy subject in the Parliament. MP Shaikh Mohammed Khalid Mohammed of the Al Menbar party, which introduced the anti-gay legislation, said that people were complaining about homosexuals entering the country.
When speaking about massage parlours and hair salons, Mohammed said: "Those people are either from the Philippines or Thailand and they come for these two jobs, which they use as a curtain for their homosexual behaviour and immorality."
Although the racism and homophobia displayed by the Parliament is bad enough, the most shocking part of the Bahranian government’s new plan involves spying on schoolchildren. Teachers will be trained and asked to watch students carefully for “signs of homosexuality.” Teachers are told to “punish [the children] accordingly” if they show any homosexual tendencies.
Read that again. Any children who display homosexual tendencies, which the government does not clearly define and could be something as innocent as holding hands with their friends or hugging, will end up being punished.
Children who barely understand the concept of sex face humiliation and pain for showing affection to their friends or enjoying activities the government has deemed “homosexual”. This plan is despicable. It's unlikely the rate of homosexuality in the country will lower, although homosexuals will likely stay out of sight. However, I would put money on the teen suicide rate increasing.
This sort of rabidly homophobic legislation is a bit unexpected from Bahrain, which is one of the more liberal countries in the Middle East. However, while there has been increasing liberalisation in the country over the past few years, homosexuals in the country have not benefited.
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