LGBT rights in Yemen explained

Location Header:Yemen
Legal Status:Illegal: Islamic Sharia Law is applied
(Republic of Yemen)
Penalty:Lashes, prison and up to execution
(Republic of Yemen)
States under Houthi Movement: Capital punishment
Gender Identity Expression:No
Recognition Of Relationships:No recognition of same-sex unions
Adoption:No
Military:No
Discrimination Protections:None

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people in Yemen face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents.[1] Same-sex sexual activity is punishable by death; this law is applied to both men and women. Members of the LGBT community additionally face stigmatization and homophobic violence among the broader population.

A provincial court in Yemen sentenced several people to death for engaging in homosexual acts in 2024.[2]

Legality of same-sex sexual acts

Republic of Yemen

Constitutional law

See main article: Constitution of Yemen. The Constitution of Republic of Yemen, amended in 2001, does not explicitly address LGBT rights. It does guarantee certain human rights to all citizens, with the condition that all legislation must be compatible with principles of Islamic Shariah law.[3]

Penal Code

See main article: Legal system of Yemen. Homosexuality was made illegal in British-controlled Aden in 1937 via the Indian Penal Code and in 1955 via the Penal Code of the Persian Gulf. The independent People's Democratic Republic of Yemen's 1976 penal code did not have any laws against homosexuality.[4]

Punishment for homosexuality in present-day Yemen can originate from the 1994 penal code or from people seeking to enforce traditional Islamic morality.

Article 264 of the national penal code prohibits private consensual homosexual acts between adult men. The stipulated punishment in the law for unmarried men is 100 lashes and up to a year in prison. The law stipulates that married men convicted of homosexuality are to be put to death.[5]

Article 268 of the national penal code prohibits private consensual homosexual acts between adult women. The law stipulates that premeditated acts of lesbianism are punished with up to three years in prison.[5]

In addition to the penal code, punishment for homosexuality can originate from people seeking to enforce traditional Islamic morality within their own family or for the broader society. In vigilante cases such as this, the punishment for homosexuality is oftentimes death.[6]

Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)

al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

In 2013 there were credible reports of members of the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were killing men for allegedly being gay.[7]

Islamic State

See main article: Persecution of gay and bisexual men by ISIL.

Media censorship

See main article: Censorship in the Middle East and Internet in Yemen. The government blocks access to webpages that express support of LGBT rights.[8] This policy of censorship also extends to publications and magazines in Yemen.

In 2012, the magazine Al Thaqafiya was shut down by the government for publishing a review of the Egyptian film titled, Heena Maysara (translates to "Till things get better"). The reviewer, a Yemeni filmmaker named Hamid Aqbi, expressed some support for LGBT rights while discussing the film.[9]

In 2004, the Yemem Times, an English-language magazine, was allowed to publish an opinion piece opposing legal recognition of gay marriage.

In 2003, the Week, an Arabic-language magazine, published an article that included interviews with Yemeni men imprisoned for homosexuality. The three journalists involved with the article were convicted by the government.[10]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Yemen . Human Dignity Trust . 16 September 2023.
  2. News: 6 February 2024 . 13 sentenced to death for homosexuality in Yemen . L'Orient Today.
  3. Web site: Constitution of the Republic of Yemen, 1994. https://web.archive.org/web/20080228224120/http://www.al-bab.com/yemen/gov/con94.htm. dead. 28 February 2008. 28 February 2008. 17 December 2017.
  4. Book: Sofer, Jehoeda. 1992. Sexuality and Eroticism Among Males in Moslem Societies. Psychology Press. 9781560240471.
  5. Web site: GayLawNet - Laws - Yemen. Gaylawnet.com. 17 December 2017.
  6. Web site: No Place for Gays in Yemen - Inter Press Service. Ipsnews.net. 16 August 2013 . 17 December 2017.
  7. Book: Freedom House. Freedom in the World 2015: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. 2015. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. 978-1-4422-5408-4. 755.
  8. Web site: York. April Glaser and Jillian C.. 2014-04-23. LGBTQ Communities in the Arab World Face Unique Digital Threats. 2021-06-29. Electronic Frontier Foundation. en.
  9. Web site: Yemen L'Observatoire mondial de la société de l'information. 2021-02-10. www.giswatch.org.
  10. Aljazeera, 18 May 2004