“Bakit hindi tanggap ang LGBT sa ibang Middle East countries?

”
Homosexuality is illegal in 10 of the 18 countries that make up the Middle East, LGBT is
legal in this countries namely: turkey, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, and Bahrain, Illegal in Syria, Egypt,
Palestine, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, the freedom of
LGBT citizens are strongly influenced by the culture traditions and religious views of the peple
living in that region.
Some of this Countries accept homosexuality fully while some of the counties
Homosexuality is illegal and punishable by imprisonment or much worse death. In Iran, Saudi
Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, the law states that if a person is found of
engaging in same gender sexual behavior, the death penalty would be applied. Jordan, Bahrain
and Iraq are the only Arab Countries where in homosexuality is legal, ISIS does not tolerate
homosexuality. LGBT rights movement have existed in other Middle Eastern nations including
turkey and Lebanon. Israel being the most progressive concerning the LGBT rights, having a wide
support for same sex marriage, Israel also allows transgender individuals to legally change their
gender without surgery.
Reasons why people in Middle East countries have a very different view towards
homosexuality. First, is because of the influence, directly or indirectly, of European powers in the
region. In 1885 the British government introduced new penal codes that punished all homosexual
behavior. France also introduced similar laws during those times. Second, the rise of the Islamic
Fundamentalism in the 1980’s coincided with that of the gay rights movement in America and
Europe, hardening cultural difference. Increasing conservative attitudes in the region have made
matters worse. After the influence of the French, officials of the Middle East countries created
more laws that discriminates homosexual activities. Homosexuality was even made o capital
offence in some countries after the Islamic revolution in 1979, several gay men were hanged, but
since 2003 same sex activities in Iraq has been legalized.
“Payag ka bang maisabatas ang same-sex marriage marriage sa Pinas? Bakit?”
Members of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community in the Philippines
are generally tolerated but not accepted and it shows when it people make backhanded and
mean-spirited stares and comments when they see someone in the said minority group. And it
becomes even more blatant and disturbing when you go to the more secluded and isolated places
in our country, one of many ones being the City of Ilagan. As a student who is trying her best to
be socially responsible, I, for one, am an advocate for same-sex marriage to become legalized in
not just in the place that I live in but also for the whole world. I’m a firm believer that everybody
should have the fundamental right to marry and that does not exclude people of the LGBT
community. Surely, the Philippines is a heavily religious country and some of its views, practices,
and perspectives are backwards when it comes to a modernist society, it is never and it will
become an excuse to discriminate people based on race, religion, sex, gender, age, or in anything
that a person cannot change or anything that a person essentially believes in as long as it doesn’t
harm any other people.
A survey has been conducted not a long time ago and it communicated how people from
all over the country has shown general dislike towards the union of people of the same sex. It
can highly attributed to the nature of the Filipinos who have religion (which go against the idea
of same-sex marriage) deeply ingrained in their lifestyles. Nevertheless, it’s disheartening how
most people act towards their fellow countrymen and it honestly, makes me feel bad to be
associated with such a society that allows hate to foster rather than letting love take place. The
petitioners seeking the legalization of same-sex marriage are simply asking for the freedom to
love and I don’t know how cruel and heartless you can get to deny them something as crucial as
this to people who only wanted to treated equally. When I was a kid, I used to believe how we
are all equal under the eyes of God and the eyes of the law but as I grew older and truly saw the
world for what it was, I was hugely disappointed that that was not the case. I’ve seen my fair
share of individuals who claim that only God can judge them who do the judging themselves.
Even though I’m not the most perfect person, it pains me how self-righteous these bigoted
hypocrites can be and they are one of the many reasons why not everybody can be allowed to
love.
SWS said a statement that 1200 respondents – equally divided among men and women –
were asked how much they agree with the statement, “Dapat magkaroon ng batas na
magpahintulot ng legal na pagsasama bilang mag-asawa ng dalawang lalaki o kaya’y dalawng
babe.” The nationwide net agreement score was -40 and it classified as “very weak.” Even though
that our country is seen as “gay-friendly,” most of our countrymen are not yet ready for same-
sex civil unions. Despite what has been said, we should never stop advocating for the marriage
of people of the same sex because everybody should have the cherished and basic right to marry
and even more so, the intrinsic right to love. Limiting marriage between couples of the opposite
sex therefore “debases human beings who are LGBTs by depriving them of a right inherent in
every human being.” Regardless of how only one in every five people in the Philippines support
same-sex marriage, we should never stop and always fight for equal rights and equality. “Never
doubt that a small group of thought, committed, citizens change the world. Indeed, it is the only
thing that ever has.”
“Sang-ayon ka aba na magkarooon ng organisasyon ang LBGT para maiapagtanggol ang
kanilang kasarian? Bakit?”
A lot can be said about the discrimination that happens in our nation and in the state that
the Philippines is in, one can definitely say that it’s not looking great for our country. As open-
minded, progressive, and liberal some of the other countries are, namely, United States, United
Kingdom, Thailand, Netherlands, France, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway,
New Zealand, Switzerland, Slovania, Ireland, Denmark, and the like, it’s appalling how there is
zero to minimal positive social changes with respect to the government and the religions in the
Philippines. It’s even more distressing how there a lot more negative changes in the said sectors
that make life even harder for someone who belongs in the LGBT community. Even with all that
has been happening, we have to give credit where credit is due. There are a number of LGBT
organizations in the Philippine who do the best that they could, to concretely advance LGBT rights
and I’m a huge supporter for their existence and what they stand for.
It is a given that the Philippines is a developing country and it’s only natural and
imperative that the aforementioned local activists learn more about the relationship between
sexuality and poverty in order to gain aground in advocating to and for the rights of sexual
minorities. Faced with the harsh realities of life, there a multitude of our fellow countrymen who
are poor, Filipinos who hardly have enough for the basic necessities such as food, water, clothing,
and shelter. In line with this, most of the LGBT community are poor, uneducated, and
unemployed or underemployed which is the same segment of the sector that is most often prone
to becoming victims of employment discrimination or violence. Accordingly, the LGBT
organizations develop models for organizing and mobilizing poor LGBTs who compromise the
majority of the sector, not only because they are the most vulnerable among us, but also of the
belief that without a critical mass of organized Filipino LGBTs, they will continue to suffer from
discrimination, with limited access to and control of education, health services, and employment
opportunities.
In conclusion, a lot is being done for the basic human rights for the LGBT community.
Although this marginalized sector of society hasn’t gotten the enough support from the religious
sectors and the government, there are active organizations who fight for change. Even if the
Philippines may not be ready for same-sex marriage and the full acceptance of the LGBT
community, we should never stop persevering and do our best to support our fellow human
beings who suffer discrimination and harassment on a day-to-day basis. We have to safeguard
their well-beings and become advocates for respect, economic justice, equality, diversity,
fairness, and empowering processes at all levels of our work and more significantly, for all walks
of life.