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The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice arrested a ‘homosexual’ in one of the famous hotels in Riyadh dressed as a woman offering himself to men in exchange for 1500 riyals. |
The absence of accurate statistics showing the number of homosexuals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; doesn't mean there are no homosexuals there. The drive for concealing this issue is the social stigma and the moral and religious stance.
Nevertheless, some indications prove that homosexuality has penetrated the conservative Saudi society. And now especially, after the ban on discussing the issue in the media has been lifted, homosexuality is now tackled in an unprecedented, open way in medical and social conferences.
Such openness revealed that homosexuality in KSA is not limited to gays and lesbians, but a third type has appeared between women, known as 'boyat' – plural for the English word 'boy' in Arabic form–, the fourth sex or transsexuals.
Homosexual Parties
The spread of satellite channels and the internet made resorting to the policy of obscuring facts difficult. Several parties for homosexuals were discovered, the participants arrested, the most remarkable of them lately were 30 young men arrested in 'suspicious' positions during a party that they had in a rest house in Makkah, during March 2008.
A qualitative development was marked when some of them resorted to advertising themselves. In May 2008, the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice arrested a 'homosexual' in one of the famous hotels in Riyadh dressed as a woman after publishing some ads on the internet offering himself to men in exchange for 1500 riyals. The weird part is that he confessed practicing this job for some time and that he didn't find it offensive.
Although homosexuality is counted a crime in KSA, the penalty is only consolidating in force, i.e. there is no fixed text in its concern. The penalty is determined according to the judge's opinion according to each case.
In most cases, imprisonment and flogging are the penalties though it may mount to the death penalty in cases of assault and defamation of minors.
Lesbians Too
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| Lesbian relations between girls in schools represent 46% of cases categorized as morally inappropriate |
While newspaper coverage focused on gays, studies didn't disregard homosexuality among women. On April, 4th 2006, in a paper presented at a seminar organized by Al-Nahdha Women's Philanthropic Association, a Saudi NGO, Professor Abdullah Yusuf, professor of sociology, warned against same-sex sexual harassment among male and female adolescents.
A statistical study carried out by the Ministry of Education reveals that lesbian relations between girls in schools represent 46% of cases categorized as morally inappropriate.
Speaking to IslamOnline.net, a school teacher by the name of Shomoukh confirmed these results and referred to discovering several homosexual cases in girls' schools.
She warned against the spread of the phenomenon owing to the huge number of girls in contrast to the small number of teachers and supervisors in comparison. In their school, she clarified, the number of students is over 1000 whereas the supervisors are only three!
'Boyat'
| Some believe that sex segregation is the main reason behind such relations since sexual urge is a natural dormant energy in all people. |
In addition to gays and lesbians, a new type of homosexuality has appeared lately known as ‘boyat’, a slang word used by some girls instead of using the word tomboy or transsexual.
A 'Tomboy' is a rebellious state from a girl on the pure nature in which God created her as a female and an attempt to gain masculine characteristics starting from dress codes, behavior, to the walk, perfumes, and sometimes even adopting a male name instead of her female name. Some of them shave their cheeks and chin in order to show a moustache or beard.
Girls of such behavior target girls in schools and universities through molestation and courting and enter into emotional or sexual relations with them that may go as far as marrying another girl. Their relationship to other girls is different from lesbian relationships, however, so they are called 'the fourth gender' or transsexuals.
Despite the lack of statistics on the number of these 'boyat' in Saudi society, estimations around their number in some faculties indicate that they are not an insignificant portion.
In an unofficial study made by the women security officials at the Faculty of Arts in Dammam in 2006, the number of these tomboys reached 25 in that faculty alone out of a total of 6,000 students.
Segregation Not a Cause
Some believe that sex segregation is the main reason behind such relations since sexual urge is a natural dormant energy in all people. Finding no boy to exchange her feelings with, a girl looks to her like, and vice versa.
However, Thamer Al-Saykhan, a columnist for Al-Haya newspaper, refuses the opinion that homosexuality is widespread in Gulf societies due to the minimum interaction between the two sexes. He says that the highest rates of homosexuality are in countries that have gone beyond free mixing between the sexes to a policy of 'do as you like' with the other sex and yet they still have higher rates.
Intense Efforts
| The crime of child molestation may produce new homosexuals in society which in turn inflates the phenomenon. |
Parallel to publishing stories about homosexuals in the press, intense efforts have been initiated to counter the phenomenon of homosexuality in Saudi society.
The official start took place when the Counter Crime Research Center, affiliated with the Interiors Ministry, carried out the first field study around homosexuality in Saudi Arabia at the end of 2003 with the purpose of unveiling the true factors leading to the practice in society and finding ways to avoid them.
At the same time, writers and specialists called for discussing the subject to reach a treatment, considering homosexuality a disease and a sin that requires treatment and repentance.
"Homosexuality is a psychological and physical disease that can be treated and repented" asserted Doctor Hussein Al-Ashaikh in an article appearing in Riyadh newspaper in April 2008.
But what are its causes, and how can it be treated? We addressed a number of experts and specialists with these questions.
A Sexual Revolution
Speaking to IslamOnline.net, Doctor Nora Al-Shuraim, professor of psychology at the Faculty of Education, King Saud University, said "he world lives an overriding sexual revolution that has crossed all lines. For that reason, tackling this subject at this time requires meditation and cautiousness and a stand to guarantee an islamically correct sexual and educational upbringing.
It is of considerable value, therefore, that we direct the sexual urge in correct path away from deviation."
In this concern, Professor Al-Shuraim mentioned a study which shows that 22.7% of children are victims of sexual harassment. Moreover, she referred to an investigative survey which she carried out on 100 girls over 23 years of age.
The results show that 75% of these girls were subject to sexual harassment from workers, 15% from close acquaintances, and 10% from mahrams- or close male relatives.
Among the psychological impact of sexual abuse, explains Al-Shuraim, is proneness to homosexuality. The crime of child molestation may produce new homosexuals in society which in turn inflates the phenomenon, "meaning that today’s victims are tomorrow's homosexuals."
Homosexuality and Fashion
| “The most important treatment for this problem is that society must be honest with itself and admit the existence of the problem, discuss it with a voice loud enough to reach those homosexuals" |
Thamer Al-Saykhan, a columnist for Al-Haya newspaper, warned about new ways of expressing homosexuality that are now categorized as 'fashion'.
In the past, he says, homosexuals wouldn't show their homosexuality for fear of the social grip, so their numbers and their groupings were much less. Now with the emergence of weird fads and patterns of dress that are viewed as 'fashion', it became hard to distinguish homosexuals from others.
The same weird fads may be worn by gays from the view that it suits them, and may be worn by other in the view that it is fashion. Wrapping up his talk he said that "thanks to fashion, we can no longer differentiate between a gay and an elegant person."
Social Transformation
In contrast, Saleh Bin Rumaih, Professor of sociology at King Saud University, thinks that our Islamic society – thanks to God – rejects such phenomena and fights them. Speaking to IslamOnline.net, he said that "Islam – and society as well - is the impenetrable fence in countering such phenomena."
Rumaih adds, "if we follow the development history of our society, we'd find that in the old days, that is, before the 'leap', Saudi society never knew the cases of homosexuality in any of its forms, whether gays, lesbians, or child molestation. That is because life was characterized by simplicity, love and strong family bonds."
The leap, which Rumaih mentioned, is a term referring to the upturn occurring in the seventies in the Kingdom following the global rise in oil prices which resulted in the transformation of Saudi society from Bedouin to luxurious life and the repercussions emerging with time on the level of family and society.
He continues explaining that "following the social leap, many social, economic, cultural, and political changes took place which affected society in general and Saudi families in particular. Among the most dangerous problems which appeared in Saudi society are homosexuality, child abuse and molestation."
Where is the Family?
As for the factors leading to this problem, Rumaih says that they are varied; the most important of which are:
Minimum supervision by the family as families no longer supervise and follow up children and their problems in comparison to times before the social ‘leap’ took place. Families started giving up their supervisory role under claims of making a living.
Foreign house labor has also contributed largely to changing the shape and structure of Saudi families. Dependence on house workers with differing cultures and customs, and the constant contact with them helps children acquire habits, behavior, social and cultural values that are different from the values, customs, and traditions of the Saudi society. Needless to say, interaction and contact with house workers has played an important and dangerous role in the diffusion of the phenomena of sexual abuse and homosexuality.
A Culture of Vice
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| "Another major cause for homosexuality is the multiplicity of satellite channels and being open up to the other world which carries different values, customs, and traditions" |
Rumaih continued saying that, "Another major cause for homosexuality is the multiplicity of satellite channels and being open up to the other world which carries values, customs, and traditions that are different from our deep-rooted social values.
They open the minds of both children and grownups to strange things that they never knew before. Cell phones - and Bluetooth technology in particular – are one of the most important and developed communication products which contributed largely in exchanging pornographic material between young people through sending sexual images and images of each other in different positions both between males and females, i.e. spreading a culture of crudeness and prostitution."
The most important psychological and social consequences of homosexuality, says Rumaih, are the disturbance of original social values and traditions, as well as a deficiency in value systems, not to mention changing the form and nature of families. This would in turn lead to the increase of spinsterhood, rampage of homosexual crimes, vice, and deviant crimes, in addition to drug and alcohol addiction. In general, all this would hamper development and growth in society, and would lead our original society backwards.
From her experience, Al-Shumoukh sees that family problems and deviant fathers have the largest impact on children. "When we look at lesbian girls, we mostly find that they have either lost one parent or both in a divorce or to death", she added.
Spreading Awareness and Prevention
Rumaih calls for collective efforts from all concerned government bodies and ministries – Social Affairs, Health, Education, and civil organizations – to combat this phenomenon, prevent it and spread awareness among the people about its causes, dangers, and ways to protect our Muslim societies from this disease.
Researchers also have their share in the burden of studying this phenomenon and other amoral phenomena scientifically and profoundly in order to understand its dimensions from an individual, familial, and social point of view, as well as the methods of treatment.
For his part, Al-Saykhan sees that "the most important treatment for this problem is that society at this stage must be honest with itself and admit the existence of the problem, discuss it with a voice loud enough to reach those homosexuals, and look for the reasons of their transformation. Experience shows that what works for others doesn't necessarily work for us, especially in the field of psychology."
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