Yemen, Middle East

Introduction: The following story was sent to GlobalGayz by a thoughtful and intelligent Yemeni gay man who was willing to share his observations and feelings about gay life in his country.   Also see: Gay Life in Yemen   By Ahmed “Most of the time, I can’t be myself or talk about myself to anyone.” This story is not a cheerful one for a gay person but the writer seems to be strong and wise and able to manage some satisfaction in his daily living, thanks in no small part to LGBT friends he has found online. His personal and cultural observations are valuable for others trying to understand gay life in Muslim-and-family-dominated Yemen.   About Me, Ahmed I am a gay adult in 21st century Yemen: I am a Muslim who is homosexual. I’ve known that since I was 16 years old. I am not out, which means I

Yemen has a land area of 555,000 square kilometers and a population of approximately 24 million (2010). Its capital and largest city is Sana’a. Yemen’s territory includes over 200 islands, the largest of which is Socotra, about 415 km to the south of mainland Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. It is the only state in the Arabian Peninsula to have a purely republican form of government. Homosexuality is illegal and the official laws are severe. But there is an underground LGBT community which keeps silent and hidden, especially since February and March 2011: an uprising against the government began, and clashes with police and pro-government supporters have steadily intensified. Many people have been killed in trying to oust President Saleh from his 32-year rule. Posted Laguna Beach, California, United States.

Introduction: It’s difficult to write an informed and useful report about something unseen and unheard. In Yemen, homosexuality is both because no one is willing to speak or write about it in public or in the media, despite the inevitable presence of a gay underground that is kept well hidden from the scrutiny of the morality thugs and violent authorities. Also see: A Gay Yemeni–One Man’s Story of Life and Destiny Photos, News & Reports for Gay Yemen   Finding Gay Life is a Challenge In more than a decade of recording thousands of news and reports about LGBT life around the world, GlobalGayz has only found eight reports about homosexuality in Yemen. Five of these eight are responses (four against, one in favor) to the single issue of gay marriage. Two other stories tell about journalists being arrested for writing about homosexuality and a magazine being shut down for