Homosexuality permitted in 113 countries, illegal in 76

StephenW

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=56971&Cat=2&dt=7/10/2011
Homosexuality permitted in 113 countries, illegal in 76 — II
However, the United States prohibits men who have sex with men from donating blood because they are at increased risk for HIV, hepatitis B and other infections that can be transmitted by transfusion. The UK and many European countries have similar restrictions in this context.

In Africa, 38 nations have laws criminalising homosexuality, some with death penalty and many with harsh jail sentences.

In Asia, 23 countries criminalize people involved in queer activities. Of these 23 Asian nations, four give death to those found indulged in homosexual acts.

There is a consensus among the experts of the behavioural and social sciences, health wizards and mental health professions that homosexuality is a normal and positive variation in human sexual orientation.

In recognition of the scientific evidence, the American Psychiatric Association removed the stigma of mental illness in 1973 and the American psychological Association followed suit in 1975.

The World Health Organization, which had also listed homosexuality as a mental illness, removed it in 1977, the Chinese Society of Psychiatry did the same in 2001 and the Royal College of Psychiatrists in London also endorsed.

While most international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, together with the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Inter-sex Association, have condemned laws that make homosexual relations between consenting adults a crime, the California-based National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) has emerged as their major opponent over the years.

The NARTH is the driving force behind the ex-gay movements around the globe since its inception in 1992. Its leaders strongly disagree with the prevailing opinion that homosexuality is not a disorder, besides categorically stating that it was politically incorrect to suggest a dialogue on accepting homosexuality. This organization believes that environmental (family, peer and social) influences lead people to homosexuality.

Although no single cause for sexual orientation has been conclusively cited till date by Biologists, but many have been suggesting that it is by a combination of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences.

Islam, Christianity and Judaism have all traditionally forbidden sodomy, clearly dubbing homosexual activity as a sinful act that is against the order of nature.

In Islam, the story of Prophet Lut (AS) is used as a reference by Muslims to express their religion’s censure of homosexuality.

Prophet Lut (AS) was commanded by Allah to go to the land of Sodom and Gomorrah to preach to his people on monotheism and to bar them from their lustful acts. According to both the Holy Quran and the Hebrew Bible, the messages of Prophet Lut (AS) were ignored by the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities were subsequently destroyed by the Creator’s wrath.

This is what the Holy Quran (7:80-82) says about homosexuality, while condemning it in the harshest of words: “We also sent Lut: He said to his people: Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds. And his people gave no answer but this: they said, “Drive them out of your city: these are indeed men who want to be clean and pure!”

On punishment for gays and lesbians, the Holy Quran is very clear: “If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, take the evidence of four (Reliable) witnesses from amongst you against them; and if they testify, confine them to houses until death do claim them, or Allah ordain for them some (other) way. If two men among you are guilty of lewdness, punish them both. If they repent and amend, leave them alone; for Allah is oft-returning, most Merciful.” (4:15-16)

The Roman Catholic Church, which itself has been hit by various gay scandals (as reported by BBC on April 14, 2010) in the past, also denounces homosexuality.

The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Methodist Church also brand homosexuality as an evil, as do a good number of Protestant churches, which even narrate and interpret some Biblical passages to be the divine commandments to be heterosexually married.

However, the Metropolitan Community Church, the United Church of Christ and the Alliance of Baptists are known to have condoned gay marriages in the past. Pope Benedict XVI, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has long been concerned about homosexual behaviour. However, even in denouncing homosexual behaviour, he had called for compassion and kindness from followers. Despite his call for compassion, he has not stepped down from his stance that homosexuality was a moral evil.

Pope Benedict is not the only Pope or Vatican member who has criticized homosexuality. In 1961, the Vatican had discouraged church officials against ordination of homosexuals, because they were ‘afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty’. Currently the Roman Catholic Church has strict limitations on allowing homosexuals to become members of the clergy.

Earlier, in 1986, the late Pope John Paul II had stated in his letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons: “Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder.”

In 1992, after gay rights initiatives had started appearing on ballots in several American states, Pope John Paul had issued another directive to the bishops, entitled ‘Some Considerations Concerning the Catholic Response to Legislative Proposals on the Non-Discrimination of Homosexual Persons’.

The 1992 letter had stated: “Recently, legislation had been proposed in some American states which would make discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation illegal. Such initiatives, even where they seem more directed toward support of basic civil rights than condoning homosexual activity or a homosexual lifestyle, may in fact have a negative impact on the family and society”.

It is pertinent to note that in his 2005 book ‘Memory and Identity’ Pope John Paul had labelled homosexuality an ‘ideology of evil’, stating: “It is legitimate and necessary to ask oneself if this is not perhaps part of a new ideology of evil, perhaps more insidious and hidden, which attempts to pit human rights against the family and against man”.

The Torah (first five books of the Hebrew Bible) condemns homosexuality in these words: “A man shall not lie with another man as [he would] with a woman.”

However, various Jew organizations like “Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism in North America” etc has been heard viewing homosexuality to be acceptable on the same basis as heterosexuality.

As far as Hinduism is concerned, it has taken various positions on homosexuality - ranging from positive to neutral or discouraging.

Various Hindu mythic stories have portrayed homosexual experience as a joyful experience and there are several Hindu temples, which reportedly have carvings that depict both men and women engaging in homosexual acts.

A quick look at punishments for gays and lesbians in countries which do not recognize homosexuality shows that in Kuwait, men under 21 face prison sentences up to 10 years and men over 21 face prison sentences up to seven years if they are found guilty in this regard.

In Pakistan, a jail term between two and 10 years with fine (under section 377 of the Penal Code Act XLV of 1860) is proposed for going against nature. In Lebanon, same-sex couples can get up to one-year jail term.

In Oman, homosexuality a prison sentence of up to three years, as it does in Syria, Tunisia and Uzbekistan. In Palestine, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Grenada, Jamaica and Abu Dhabi, queer acts carry a prison sentence up to 10 years along with fines. In Qatar, there is a prison sentence of up to seven years, as is the case in Uganda. Angola sends same sex couple to labour camps. In Sri Lanka, there is a jail term of up to two years with fine, same sex couples in Dubai can go behind bars for a period extending up to 14 years according to Article 80 of the Dubai Penal Code.

In Bhutan and Zimbabwe, the penalty for homosexuality is a prison sentence of up to 12 months. In Cameroon and Botswana, an imprisonment of up to five years (along with fines) can be awarded for this crime, while in Kenya and Solomon Islands; those going against nature can get a prison term between seven and 14 years.

In Malaysia, the prison sentence can range between two and 20 years (along with whipping and fines), while in Singapore and Guyana, persons found engaged in such activities can be put behind bars or a period of two years even.

In Algeria, the jail term is between two months and two years (including a fine between 500 and 2000 Algerian dollars) and in Libya, an imprisonment of five to 15 years can be awarded by courts for homosexual acts. In Nigeria, the jail term is between three and 14 years, and in Somalia, it is three months to three years.

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