Middle East / North Africa

Spotlight on Mauritania, where LGBT people hide their identities for fear of stigma
LGBTQ rights advocacy is only possible in secret in Libya. (Photo courtesy of Kuchu Times / Zoonar.com)
Spotlight on Libya, where the LGBTQ community hides in the shadows
Map of the 65 countries where sexual relations between people of the same sex are illegal. YELLOW countries have sodomy laws that are currently being challenged before local courts. Sri Lanka, in PINK, currently has a bill before its parliament to repeal its sodomy law. Indonesia, in ORANGE, has laws that criminalize homosexuality only in some subnational jurisdictions. All states in RED have nationwide sodomy laws and no known legislative efforts or court challenges to remove them.
LGBTQ rights update: 2025 tally and 2026 preview
Iran, captained by Alireza Jahanbakhsh (pictured), is scheduled to face Egypt in what's set to be a pride match in Seattle at the FIFA World Cup. (Etsuo Hara photo courtesy of ABC / Getty)
Iran and Egypt protest World Cup match scheduled amid Pride celebrations
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Ibtissame (Betty) Lachgar (Photo courtesy of Chnge.org)
Coalition demands release of Morocco LGBT activist after 100 days in prison
Illustration from Damj's Facebook page.
More than 70 arrested in Tunisia’s anti-LGBT crackdown
Ibtissame (Betty) Lachgar (Photo courtesy of Chnge.org)
Morocco upholds 30-month sentence for activist’s blasphemous T-shirt
Image from Mawaleh in 2012
Supporters of LGBTQ Syrians aim to revive Mawaleh, ‘a defiant glitterbomb of resistance’
Map of Middle East and North Africa
Trans people face violence across Middle East and North Africa, new report finds
Shams vs. Shams: Rupture in Tunisian gay rights advocacy group
Tunisian LGBTQ rights protest.
Tunisia and Malaysia arrest dozens of queer people in escalating crackdowns
Logo of Outright International
Outright launches important reports on LGBTQ rights in every country
Article 230 of the Tunisian penal code provides for up to three years in prison for same-sex intimacy. (Illustration courtesy of HRW)
Queer people suffer double punishment in Tunisian prisons
The Southwest Asia and Northern Africa (SWANA) region
LGBTQ advocacy group creates online safety guide for Middle East and North Africa
Gaëlle (Photo courtesy of Facebook)
Trans man on the run from Cameroon to Dubai to Ukraine, still seeking dignity