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Gay in Iraq: Soldiers and
civilians facing tough times
from page 1
correspondences.
But it is not only discharge that J.R.’s
partner faces if the truth is revealed. He
also faces violence. “In the 82nd," |.R.
explains, “if it gets out, you’re going to get
beat up. That threat is always there
because of the amount of homophobic
remarks made in the barracks.”
Last year, the Servicemembers Legal
Defense Network reported that both gay
discharges and reports of anti-gay harass
ment reached record levels. In 2001, 1250
troops were fired for being gay, lesbian or
bisexual and 1075 complaints of anti-gay
harassment were reported.
According to a report released in March
2004 from SLDN, those numbers have
dramatically changed.
As the United States military continues
to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan, dis
charges of lesbian and gay military per
sonnel plummeted 17 percent in 2003.
Conduct Unbecoming, an annual
review of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell” law, finds that gay-related discharges
fell to 787 last year, down from 906 in
2002. The 2003 figures mark a 39 percent
decrease in discharges since 2001, the
year before current conflicts in the Middle
East began. The number represents the
fewest gay discharges since 1995 and per
haps a growing acceptance of gays serving
in the military.
Iraqi gays
For gay and lesbian Iraqi civilians, the
outcome of the U.S.-led invasion isn’t like
ly to be any rosier than life was under the
Hussein dictatorship.
Homosexuality is punishable by death
in Iran, Iraq’s more conservative neighbor.
Iraq, however, had no sodomy laws and an
age consent of 18, at least until three years
ago. Hussein, who had previously run a
socialist-styled secular dictatorship, began
to cave into fundamentalist Shiite pressure.
He created a new law that implemented
the death penalty for homosexuality.
Gays and lesbians in the Muslim
Middle East in general face ominous per
secution across the board, particularly in
places like Yemen, Saudi Arabia and
Egypt, though a scant few countries like
Lebanon and Syria have laws which arc
rarely enforced. Jordan and Turkey have no
sodomy laws whatsoever.
There is little communication from
LGBT folk in Iraq, save a few anonymous
testimonials on the Gay Middle East web
site {gaymiddleeast.com) and on another
now infamous sight called “Where’s
Raed?” (http://dear_raed.blogspot.com)
that includes the thoughts of an Iraqi gay
man who calls himself Salam Pax.
Although his real name is unknown, it has
been confirmed that he is a 29-year-oId
Baghdad architect who lived as a teenag
er in Europe. His writings provide a dis
turbing portrait of a city under seige.
Before the invasion began several of his
entries detailed persecutions against gays
in Iraq. These days his writings focus
mainly on U.S. occupation and Muslim
ex'trerriiks.
New constitution
Although the interim constitution that
was approved for Iraq in March is descibed
as one of the most liberal in the region,
there is no indication that any considera
tion is being given to LGBT civil rights. It is
also unclear whether or not the law put in
place by Hussein will still be enforced.
Gay journalist and Arab American
Mubarak Dahir, who writes commentaries
for publications like Q_-Notes and Southern
Voice, among others, told the Washington
Blade he is pessimistic about the prospects
for meaningful improvements for gays in
Iraq. “To think any government change in
the short term will secure the rights of gays
and lesbians in Iraq is unbelievably naive,”
Dahir said.
The U.S. government has no official
position on gay rights in Iraq. Secretary of
State Colin Powell and the Bush adminis
tration have stated they believe a demo
cratic government in Iraq will lead to
human rights protections for “ail people,”
according to State Department spokesper
son Jo Anne Prokopowicz.
An official with the Iraqi National
Congress, a U.S.-backed Iraqi exile group
said that he believes it is too early in the
game to assure protection for LGBT folk. “It
will take a few more years before we can
address that question,” Mazin Youssef
said.
Ramzi Zakharia, an official with the
Gay & Lesbian Arab Society, echoed
Youseff’s sentiments. “Change must occur
through a truly grass roots-democracy, not
from a top-down government imposed by
the United States.”
Article four of the new Iraqi constitution
reads as follows:
“The system of government in Iraq shall
be republican, federal, democratic, and
pluralistic, and powers shall be shared
between the federal government and the
regional governments, governorates,
municipalities, and local administrations.
The federal system shall be based upon
geographic and historical realities and the
separation of powers, and not upon origin,
race, ethnicity, nationality, or confession.”
Those words have made many Iraqis
enthusiastic about the future of their country.
just the first line in article four, howev
er, easily belies that enthusiasm.
“Islam is the official religion of the State and
is to be considered a source of legislation.”
The fact remains that, once the U.S.
leaves Iraq, it could fall into the hands of
anti-gay Shiite clerics. “Saddam, however
bad he was. had a secular government,’’
Zakharia offered. Pax has expressed his
reservations about the emergence of a
majority Shiite controlled Iraq on “Where’s
Raed?”
“if anyone went to the streets now and
decided to hold elections we will end up
with something that is scarier than
Khomeini’s Iran.”
Like much of the fundamentalist
lsIamic7ControIled Middle East, the future
for Iraq’s LGBT population looks decidedly
ble'ak;