Egypt does not officially outlaw homosexuality, but the country’s “Morality Police” have become experts at fabricating charges based on the country’s vague laws against “debauchery” and “prostitution.”
Some detainees have been sent to court swiftly and given prison sentences, while others are still undergoing interrogation. Among them is Sarah Hegazy, a prominent pro-LGBTQ leftist. Her defense lawyers say inmates beat and sexually abused her after a police officer incited them to violence. Other detainees have faced similar treatment, including humiliating anal examinations. [...]
Members of the LGBTQ community members I spoke with told me that, until 2001, the government had largely adopted a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach. Though gay people faced occasional arrest, the state informally tolerated specific bars, cafes, and events that served as centers for the gay community. Some leading government officials, intellectuals, and artists were known to be gay, but, because they never spoke openly about their sexual identity or raised the issue in wider circles, they generally avoided harassment. [...]
Since 2013, the EIPR has recorded the arrests of at least 232 “LGBTQ suspects.” Meanwhile, the government instructed the mainstream media to “boost anti-gay coverage,” and now sensationalist stories about the arrest of “Muslim Brotherhood queers,” “wife-swapping networks,” and “foreign conspirators promoting homosexual marriage” appear regularly. The Morality Police intensified their online entrapment efforts on social media and dating apps. [...]
As it stands, the future of the Egyptian LGBTQ community appears bleak. But the crackdowns have pushed the cause of gay rights to the forefront, providing a litmus test for the opposition. As the Egyptian left builds a force capable of confronting the Sisi regime, these are the struggles it can’t ignore.
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