At first, Saskia Niño de Rivera was excited about going to Qatar for a World Cup that would mark a significant professional event for her partner, a sports agent for Mexico soccer players. She even contemplated privately proposing there during a game, and posting photos once they left the country.
But as the lesbian couple learned more about laws on
same-sex relations in the conservative Gulf country, the plans no longer
sounded like a good idea. Instead, Niño de Rivera proposed at an Amsterdam
stadium this summer and opted to skip the World Cup altogether.
“As a lesbian woman, it’s really hard for me to feel and think
that we are going to a country where we don’t know what could happen and how we
could be safe,” she said. “It was a really hard decision.”
Niño de Rivera’s concerns are shared by many LGBTQ soccer
fans and their allies worldwide. Some have been mulling whether to attend the
tournament, or even watch it on television.
Qatar’s laws against gay sex and treatment of LGBTQ people
are flashpoints in the run-up to the first World Cup to be held in the Middle
East, or in any Arab or Muslim country. Qatar has said all are welcome,
including LGBTQ fans, but that visitors should respect the nation’s culture, in
which public displays of affection by anyone are frowned on. With his country
facing criticism over a number of issues, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad
Al Thani, recently argued it “has been subjected to an unprecedented campaign”
that no host country has ever faced.
An ambassador for the World Cup in Qatar, however, has
described homosexuality as a “damage in the mind” in an interview with German
public broadcaster ZDF. Aired this week, the comments by former Qatari national
team player Khalid Salman highlighted concerns about the conservative country’s
treatment of gays and lesbians.
Some LGBTQ rights activists are seizing the moment to draw
attention, with a heightened sense of urgency, to the conditions of LGBTQ
citizens and residents in Qatar. They want to raise concerns about how these
people may be treated after the tournament ends and the international spotlight
fades.
Dario Minden, who is from Germany, said he’s keen on soccer
but won’t watch a single minute of the tournament as a show of solidarity with
LGBTQ people in Qatar. Recently, he jumped at the opportunity to lobby for
change.
An ambassador for the World Cup in Qatar, however, has
described homosexuality as a “damage in the mind” in an interview with German
public broadcaster ZDF. Aired this week, the comments by former Qatari national
team player Khalid Salman highlighted concerns about the conservative country’s
treatment of gays and lesbians.
Some LGBTQ rights activists are seizing the moment to draw
attention, with a heightened sense of urgency, to the conditions of LGBTQ
citizens and residents in Qatar. They want to raise concerns about how these
people may be treated after the tournament ends and the international spotlight
fades.
Dario Minden, who is from Germany, said he’s keen on soccer
but won’t watch a single minute of the tournament as a show of solidarity with
LGBTQ people in Qatar. Recently, he jumped at the opportunity to lobby for
change.
At a human rights congress hosted by the German soccer
federation in Frankfurt, Minden told the Qatari ambassador to Germany that
Qatar should abolish its penalties for homosexuality.
“I happen to be a gay football fan and I thought that this
is a great opportunity to … speak in front of such a high representative, to
connect the topic with a face,” Minden said in an interview.
Rasha Younes, LGBTQ rights senior researcher in the Middle
East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch, said that while Qatari officials
have offered some reassurances for LGBTQ fans, the possibility of stigma and
discrimination remained in housing, access to health care and safely reporting
potential sexual violence.
At the same time, she argued, “suggestions that Qatar should
make an exception for outsiders are implicit reminders that Qatari authorities
do not believe that its LGBT residents deserve basic rights or exist,” adding
her organization was concerned about conditions for local LGBTQ people,
including after the tournament.
Qatari law calls for a prison sentence of one to three years
for whoever is “instigating” or “seducing” a male to “commit sodomy,” as well
as for “inducing or seducing a male or a female in any way to commit illegal or
immoral actions.”
In the run-up to the World Cup, Qatari security forces have
been accused of mistreating LGBTQ people. In a statement, the Qatari government
has denied those allegations: “Qatar does not tolerate discrimination against
anyone, and our policies and procedures are underpinned by a commitment to
human rights for all.”
Dr. Nasser Mohamed, an openly gay Qatari activist who now
lives in the United States, is among those saying that international attention
is disproportionately focused on visitors and not enough on LGBTQ people in
Qatar. He publicly came out and has been lobbying to expand the conversation
before the World Cup.
“Being in a country that has no LGBT visibility, no
conversations about what it’s like to be an LGBT person, made me feel like
there’s something wrong with me,” he said in an interview. With the current
intense public debates, “I feel like there is a moment of urgency to...put
something out there now to actually let people know that we’re not OK.”
Josie Nixon of the You Can Play Project, which advocates for
LGBTQ people in sports, said the group was part of a coalition of LGBTQ rights
organizations that made demands of FIFA and the Qatari organizers. These
included repealing laws targeting LGBTQ people, providing “explicit safety
guarantees” against harassment, arrest or detention, and working to ensure the
long-term safety of LGBTQ people in the region.
“FIFA and Qatar have taken steps to make sure that LGBTQ
fans are safe, but is that enough to change the way Qatar views LGBTQ
citizens?” said Nixon, who lives in Colorado. “My answer is no.”
Even before the tournament kicks off, questions about what
legacy it would leave behind loomed large amid intense international scrutiny
over Qatar’s human rights record, including treatment of migrant workers. As
the World Cup neared, Qatari officials sounded increasingly frustrated, saying
their country’s achievements and progress were being overlooked and that the
attacks raise questions about the motive behind them.
“Qatar believes strongly in the power of sport to bring
people together and build bridges of cultural understanding,” the Qatari
government said in a statement to The Associated Press in response to
questions. “The World Cup can help change misconceptions, and we want fans to
travel home with a better understanding of our country, culture and region. We
believe this tournament ... can show that people of different nationalities,
religions and backgrounds in fact have more in common than they think.”
The statement added that Qatar is a country of “warm
hospitality” and will continue to ensure the safety of all “regardless of
background.”
FIFA’s top officials have recently urged the teams preparing
for the World Cup to focus on soccer and avoid letting the game be dragged into
ideological or political battles. The officials did not address or identify any
specific issue in their message, which angered some human rights activists.
In soccer-crazy Argentina, Juan Pablo Morino, president of
the group Gays Passionate About Soccer said he was dismayed by FIFA’s decision
to organize the World Cup in Qatar.
“In the election of a host, basic parameters of coexistence
should be met. It cannot be that any country is a candidate,” he said.
In Mexico, Niño de Rivera said she would be supporting her
fiancée, who will attend the tournament for work, from afar. That makes her
sad.
The decision to sit out the World Cup “has to do with being
true to your own values and bringing a lot of money to a country where you’re
not welcome because of your sexual orientation,” she said. She was scared that
if they went as a couple, they might have been harassed or worse while having
dinner or walking back to the hotel.
“The World Cup is normally an event that brings people
together, where it doesn’t matter what part of the world you’re from... what
religion you have; It doesn’t matter what community you belong to,” she said.
“We all speak the same language. We all speak football.” -AP
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