Caution is crucial — homosexual acts are illegal in most countries in Africa and the Middle East, with penalties ranging from long-term imprisonment to execution.
Caution is crucial as homosexual acts are illegal in Africa and the Middle EastKHARTOUM: When Ali started blogging that he was Sudanese and gay, he did not realise he was joining a band of African and Middle Eastern gays and lesbians who, in the face of hostility and repression, have come out online. But within days the messages started coming in to black-gay-arab.blogspot.com.
Close behind came comments, posts and links purporting to be from almost half the countries in the Arab League, including Egypt, Algeria, Bahrain and Morocco.
Caution is crucial — homosexual acts are illegal in most countries in Africa and the Middle East, with penalties ranging from long-term imprisonment to execution.
In the current climate, bloggers say they are achieving a lot just by stating their nationality and sexual orientation. That limited form of coming out has earned the bloggers abuse or criticism via their blogs' comment pages or e-mails.
Some of the bloggers use the diary-style format to share the ups and downs of gay life — the dilemma of whether to come out to friends and relatives, the risks of meeting in known gay bars.
Others have turned their blogs into news outlets, focusing on reports of persecution in their region and beyond. The blog GayUganda reported on the arrests of gay men in Senegal in February. Blackgayarab also posted video footage of police harassment in Iraq.
Kenya's “Rants and Raves” reported that gay people were targets in the country's election violence, while blogger Gukira focused on claims that boys had been raped during riots.
There was also widespread debate on the comments made by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last September about homosexuals in his country. Pockets of gay blogging activity are starting to emerge.
There are blogs bridging the Arabic-speaking world from Morocco in the west to the United Arab Emirates in the east.
Beyond the blogging scene, the Internet's chat rooms and community sites have also become one of the safest ways for gay Africans and Arabs to meet.
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