Middle East / North Africa

These are some of the accounts blocked as "promoters of LGBT" by Turkey, according to the Turkish Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD)
Turkiye blocks news outlets and social media in widening anti-LGBT crackdown
Turkish police arrest LGBT rights protesters opposed to this month's crackdown. (Photo courtesy of Getty / BBC)
Turkey’s anti-LGBT crackdown expands; activists fight back
Turkish police on Sept. 15, 2026, push back journalists covering a protest in favor of LGBTQ rights outside Istanbul's courthouse. (Ozan Kose photo courtesy of AFP / Le Monde)
LGBTI+ rights activists in Turkey seek international support during crackdown
Police in riot gear at Pride parade in Turkey in June 2026. (Photo courtesy of Murat Kocabas/Middle East Images/picture alliance/DW)
Turkey: 162 targeted in anti-LGBTQ+ raids
Muslim nations add anti-gay laws as Christian nations repeal them
Cairo 52 Lawsuit
Egyptian court victory for trans people seeking gender transition
Two men holding hands. (Photo courtesy of Mimoun Kabdani)
Surviving hate: Gay man speaks out after street attack in Morocco
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
Rainbow flag: St. Paul's Foundation for International Reconciliation needs your financial support for its work advancing LGBT rights. Click the image to donate.
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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’