LGBT rights in the United Arab Emirates

LGBT rights in the United Arab Emirates
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the United Arab Emirates face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Homosexuality is illegal in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and under the federal criminal provisions, consensual same-sex sexual activity is punishable by imprisonment; extra-marital sexual activity between persons of different sexes is also illegal. In both cases, prosecution will only be brought if a husband or male guardian of one of the participants makes a criminal complaint. The penalty is a minimum of six months imprisonment; no maximum penalty is prescribed, and the court has full discretion to impose any sentence in accordance with the country's constitution.
While there have been no known arrests or prosecutions for same-sex sexual activity in the UAE since at least 2015, with no upper limit to penalties codified, capital punishment is a theoretical outcome for (married) participants. Any penalty imposed is suspended if the complainant withdraws their complaint or "forgives" the transgressor.
Additionally, individuals have been prosecuted for offences related to sexual and gender identity under public decency laws, for acts such as kissing in public, or for cross-dressing.
Legal framework and history
The UAE's Federal Penal Code does not replace the legal system of each emirate, unless it is contrary to the federal law. Persons may be charged under the Federal Penal Code, or under a local (emirate) penal code.
Adherence of the country's legal and justice system to sharia allows for capital punishment as a legal penalty for some crimes. Same-sex sexual activity— as with other sex acts by married persons outside marriage — are in the category of crimes notionally liable to capital punishment in the United Arab Emirates, under provisions, at least prior to amendments contained in the new 2021 Federal Crime and Punishment Law. Despite this, there are no known instances of imposition of the death penalty, or sentences to life in prison, for such offences.
Enforcement history
According to the British non-profit, Human Dignity Trust all annual human rights reports from the U.S. Department of State on UAE after 2015, have stated there are no records of arrests or prosecutions for same-sex sexual activity in the country.
Involuntary medical and psychological "treatments", including administration of hormonal therapies, and detention for forced psychological treatments, have occurred. There have been reports of mistreatment in detention such as beatings, and forced rectal examinations, amounting to torture. have been consequences of such suspected or established same-sex sexual conduct.
Legal status
In January 2022, a new 2021 Federal Crime and Punishment Law came into force, reinstituting some provisions of personal relationship law that had been removed by amendments in 2020. Retained from the 2020 amendment is the requirement that criminal proceedings for non-marital sexual conduct are only instigated at the behest of (male) spouses or guardians, rather than police or other state authorities.
The law against "voluntary debasement", variously rendered in English as 'indecent assault', 'indecency', or 'carnal knowledge' may be enforced against consensual same-sex (and heterosexual, if outside marriage) activities. Since 2022, this provision, Article 356, is only invoked upon the complaint of the husband or male guardian of a participant in same-sex or extramarital sexual conduct. If criminal proceedings are instigated in this way, the minimum penalty that may be imposed upon conviction is a six months' term of imprisonment. There is no maximum penalty prescribed, so that judges may sentence offenders to any penalty allowable under the constitution. The effect of the 2021 amendment which updated Article 1 to: "The provisions of the Islamic Shari’a shall apply to the retribution and blood money crimes. Other crimes and their respective punishments shall be provided for in accordance with the provisions of this Law and other applicable penal codes", is as yet unclear. Before the amendment, penalties under Article 356 were imprisonment for at least one year and up to fifteen years. Until 2020, criminal prosecution could proceed without the spouse or guardian filing a complaint.
The U.S. Department of State's 2022 report states:
Abu Dhabi
Article 80 of the Abu Dhabi Penal Code makes sodomy punishable by imprisonment of up to 14 years. Cross-dressing is also likewise illegal.
Enforcement cases
In 2005, 26 young men were arrested when Abu Dhabi Police raided a social gathering at a hotel in a desert resort town. The police alleged the men were found engaging in cross-dressing and preparing to celebrate a "gay wedding". In discussing the raid, Mohammed bin Nukhaira Al Dhahiri, Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Auqaf stated, "There will be no room for homosexual and queer acts in the UAE. Our society does not accept queer behaviour, either in word or in action". Initial reports suggested that some of the men were ordered to accept hormone "treatments" in exchange for lighter sentences, although the government subsequently backed off from these statements. Twelve of the men were found guilty and sentenced; eleven were given a five-year prison sentence, and one a one-year sentence. The eleven had reportedly confessed to "homosexual practices". The remaining fourteen were released after being found not guilty.
On 9 August 2017, Emirati police in Abu Dhabi detained two Singaporean nationals in a shopping mall. A court convicted them of crimes and sentenced them to one year in prison "for attempting to resemble women". The UAE deported them on 28 August after they spent nearly three weeks in custody, much of that time in a cell they said was designated for "effeminate" people.
Dubai
Article 177 of the Penal Code of Dubai imposes imprisonment of up to 10 years for consensual sodomy. The most common depictions in the local media of LGBT people involve foreigners, disease, and sex crimes such as rape.
Incidents and enforcement
In July 2007, a case involved the kidnapping and rape of a sixteen-year-old French-Swiss boy by a group of men. The boy stated in a closed court session that after leaving an arcade, he saw a 17-year-old acquaintance who offered to drive him home, after entering the car and driving past his home, the three men raped him. Initially, the police treated the victim as a suspect and the fear of being charged under Article 177 prompted the boy and his family to leave the country. His mother accused the UAE authorities of not notifying her family that one of the rapists was HIV-positive, thus delaying the seeking of medical attention for her son. No formal charges were brought against the teenager who testified against his rapists. The story generated international media attention with government representatives defending the criminal laws against homosexuality, saying: "This is a conservative society. Homosexuality, conducted homosexuality is an illegal act. And we are not ashamed of that". The boy was also awarded AED 15 million (US$4 million) in civil compensation.
The legal and social sanctions against LGBT people mean that no formal LGBT organizations or nightclubs exist in Dubai. A nightclub sponsored a special night for the LGBT community, only to be shut down by the government.
In 2012, police arrested two Indian men for having consensual sex in a public toilet at a bus station. Both were jailed for six months each and were deported following their prison terms. In the same year, a 28-year-old British man who drunkenly had sex with another man in public were both sentenced to three years in jail followed by deportation. On 21 March 2012, police raided and broke up a gay party consisting of 30 men. On 7 June 2012, a Belgian man admitted to police that he was in a homosexual relationship with a Filipino. He was arrested and jailed for a year to be followed by deportation.
In December 2013, Karen Mke and Kamilla Satto, two transgender women from Brazil, were arrested in Dubai for "imitating women" after calling the police due to prejudices they witnessed in the nightclub. After learning the two were transgender, they were arrested and the two were reportedly detained for two days without explanation. The women were not allowed to leave Dubai, and faced criminal charges. The two were held until March 2014 and were fined AED 10,000 (US$2722.50) and ordered to be deported.
Canadian YouTuber and model Gigi Gorgeous, who is a transgender woman, was detained for five hours at Dubai International Airport in August 2016 due to authorities not recognizing her gender as legitimate. Her passport was confiscated during her detention. After being released from detention, she departed immediately for Sweden.
In October 2017, a Scottish man from Stirling faced a three-year jail sentence after putting his hand on a man in a bar so as to not "bump and spill drinks". The tourist was arrested for public indecency after touching the other man's hip. The charges of public indecency were dropped following the intervention of the ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Gender identity and expression
Sex reassignment surgery is severely restricted to limited circumstances which are highly regulated by the state.
Historically, crossdressing has been illegal for men deemed to be dressing as women in any context; however, since November 2020 only men who enter places designated for women while "disguised as a woman" may be prosecuted. Such actions are punishable by a prison sentence of up to a year and a fine of . Before the legal change, the penal code criminalized the wearing of clothes deemed "inapproriate for one's sex" in any circumstances.
Gay conversion practices are not prohibited or discouraged by any law or regulation.
Living conditions
In May 2015, PlanetRomeo, an LGBT social network, published its first Gay Happiness Index (GHI). Gay men from over 120 countries were asked about how they feel about society's view on homosexuality, how they are treated by other people and how satisfied they are with their lives. The UAE was ranked 85th with a GHI score of 37.
No LGBTQI+ support or advocacy organizations operate openly in the country. Social attitudes towards homosexuality and varied gender expression, together with the likelihood of state repression, prevents the establishment of such organisations or community education on related issues.
Antidiscrimination
There are no protections under any UAE law or policy against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics.
Censorship
The Government in the United Arab Emirates has restricted access to various websites and monitors chat rooms, instant messages and blogs. There were only a few reports of prosecutions and punishments but many people on the internet have been censored their conversations and identity in gay chat rooms. The country's only internet service provider has a proxy server which blocks any website that goes against the country's moral values. Sites regarding dating or marriage, LGBT issues, the Bahá’í Faith or sites related to unblocking the censorship are all inaccessible. Some reports or sites related to unblocking the censorship are all inaccessible. Reports even suggest that any site with the word gay or sex is blocked.
The UAE's Media Regulatory Office banned the screening of Pixar's Lightyear in cinemas in June 2022, stating that the movie violated the Emirates' media content standards. The movie was opposed for depicting a same-sex relationship. Later that month, Majid, a popular Arabic-language comic book series for children, came under investigation by the UAE authorities for allegedly promoting homosexuality. The magazine withdrew its May 2022 edition, which depicted a multi-colored character. In one dialogue the character said, "Amazing, I have the capability to colour things... Ali will wish to become like me." According to The New Arab, a number of social media users had complained that Majid had intentionally used the Arabic word in this character's speech, a word which means both a "homosexual" and "like me".
In June 2023, the UAE banned Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, a week ahead of its expected release in the region. The movie failed to pass the Emirates' censorship requirements, due to a scene that depicted a glimpse of a transgender flag displaying the words "Protect Trans Lives". Also in June 2023, the Amazon company complied with the Emirati government's requirement to impose restrictions on its product listings and site-search capabilities. Under threat of penalties to the company, Amazon blocked search results for 150 terms on its UAE site, according to the New York Times. Input terms such as lgbtq, pride, and closeted gay return "no results" when used on Amazon in the UAE. Individual item listings were also removed; for example, the work Bad Feminist, by Roxane Gay, amongst other book titles.
Summary table
See also
Human rights in the United Arab Emirates
LGBT rights in the Middle East
LGBT rights in Asia
LGBT in Islam
Capital punishment for homosexuality
Notes
References
Further reading
British charity that provides: Case law, evidence of public attitudes, for NGOs that assist or advocate on LGBTI issues, and Country of Origin LGBTI Specialists
(News item reporting abuse and mistreatment of man imprisoned for alleged crime unrelated to same-sex sexual activity, whose abuse worsened when disclosures about his sexual orientation were made to prison authorities.)
External links
UK government travel advice for the United Arab Emirates: Local laws and customs
Law of the United Arab Emirates