Feminism in the 21st century has morphed into a multifaceted battle. Tunisian LGBTQ+ activists are engaged in a threefold struggle: against the patriarchy, the dominant ‘Western model’ and ‘constructed identities’. They are undeniably more visible than ever.

Among the recommendations is the decriminalization of sex outside of marriage, which civil society has demanded for some time.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the Moroccan parliament to adopt the proposals to enshrine individual freedoms.

The Jordanian government should urgently address these shameful violations that national women’s organizations have been battling for decades,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, “starting with the zealous use of detention powers by provincial governors, and the discriminatory male guardianship system that allows adult women to be arrested for leaving home without permission.

Ghrayeb’s shocking death has triggered the outrage necessary for serious action to be taken, but individual acts of justice, while important, might not be enough to combat systemic issues related to violence against women. Deeper institutional reform may be necessary for long-term and more radical change.

LGBTQ Palestinians are still in their infancy although society is changing. The PA’s reversal of the ban on al-Qaws indicates that institutions in Palestine will respond to pressure although such clampdowns have not only harmed LGBTQ people; activists believe they also hurt the fight against the Israeli occupation.

Initiatives to enhance this progress include Harassmap, which aims to empower people to stand up against harassment, and HerStory. The latter is supported by UN Women and aims “to produce and disseminate knowledge about gender equality issues and women and girls’ lives and contributions in the Arab region.” One of the ways HerStory wants to achieve this is by creating Wikipedia pages on women in the Arab world.

While multiple interpretations of this verse are possible, the general explanation is that polygamy is conditional on the ability to treat all wives fairly. In response to the uproar caused by el-Tayeb’s comments, al-Azhar quickly issued a statement clarifying that the grand imam had in no way called for the banning of or legal restrictions on polygamy.

The historical acceptance of homosexuality within Ottoman society in turn fuelled a European fetishism of Ottoman eroticism, inevitably Orientalizing the apparent perversity of Turkish society. Victorian audiences were publicly scandalized by, but loved to read, exaggerated tales of Ottoman harems and sexual promiscuity (like John Benjamin Brookes’ The Lustful Turk).

The crackdown on LGBT+ events has been so important that it has pushed the international organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) to file a complaint in the United Nations for discrimination and attempts against freedom of expression, assembly and association in Lebanon.

All of this signifies that the LGBT discussion is in the public sphere in Jordan, although it may be a discussion that is still more accepted in the higher social classes. However, protection from discrimination needs to be put in place in order for the LGBTQ+ community to feel truly safe.