We gays of Egypt are now more fearful than ever between the new regime and as youth in our society hits the streets (and assault those they feel are less "powerful").
by Abu Omar
The Egyptian revolution has brought great success to the overall political situation in Egypt. As you read in the news lately, it has not been so great for everyone. Women, for example, are left out by the post-Mubarak regime as this Al Jazeera article articulates. Only one woman is included in the new government.
But political exclusion is not the only problem here. Women are now becoming more and more fearful to go out. The reason is the increased abuse of women.
And guess what? We gays are feeling...
the same way. My name is Abu Omar, and I worked with Huriyah for the past ten years as the Arabic editor. Through the magazine I met countless Egyptian gays and lesbians. On the side I work as an event promoter. Most events I promote are for the gay community. So I'm always one of the first to notice how the community feels. If we are not afraid, we see many gays at the parties. If we are afraid, very few are coming. And the later has been the case recently.
Gays in Egypt are afraid.
Period.
We are afraid because we live in a country that does not accept our presence. Like all Egyptians, gays were happy about the revolution. And like all the Egyptians, gays were also afraid of what would happen after Moubarak. We hoped there will be a new free society after him. But more and more this is not true. The streets are still hostile. So many in our community have been assaulted already.
Add the mix to the fear of Islamists coming to power as this Al Jazeera article illustrates, and you can understand why our fears are legitimate.
For now, we sit and we wait. Like all Egyptians.
