Government of Bahrain seeks to punish ‘homosexual children’

PinkNews logo with white background and rainbow corners

The government of Bahrain is taking action to stamp out homosexuals in the country.

In a wide ranging set of proposals MP’s have set out a number of initiative designed to rid the country of homosexuals.

Parliament also demanded that the Interior Ministry stop granting any residence permits to foreign homosexuals.

MP’s have called for a study into how widespread homosexuality is in Bahrain.

Bahrain is known as one of the more tolerant Muslim nations in the Middle East, and has recently undergone a period of political liberalization.

However, homosexuality remains a crime, and the government has periodically deported expatriates living in the nation for their sexual orientation.

The country only held its first elections in 2002, and since then politicians have mainly addressed themselves to “moral” issues such as banning female mannequins from shop windows and tackling the widespread problem of “sorcery.”

The bi-cameral parliament is dominated by Shia and Sunni Islamist parties.

MP Shaikh Mohammed Khalid Mohammed said that people were complaining about homosexuals entering the country.

The ministers have called for homosexuals to be ‘rooted out’ of hair salons and massage parlours:

“Those people are either from the Philippines or Thailand and they come for these two jobs, which they use as a curtain for their homosexual behaviour and immorality.”

Shockingly, the proposal will instruct teachers to look out for homosexual tendencies in children and to ‘punish them accordingly.’

Homosexuality has been considered illegal in Bahrain since 1956 when, as part of the British Empire, it was given the Indian Penal Code.

Homosexuals can be given up to 10 years in prison though this is rarely put into practice.

In 2002 the government allegedly deported 2,000 gay Filipino workers for homosexual activity and prostitution

Comments (0)

MyPinkNews members are invited to comment on articles to discuss the content we publish, or debate issues more generally. Please familiarise yourself with our community guidelines to ensure that our community remains a safe and inclusive space for all.

Loading Comments