Egypt: Stop Cracking Down on the LGBTQ Community!

After officials arrested numerous LGBT people in Egypt, human rights advocates have become increasingly concerned that abuses in this staunchly religious country may soon escalate.

Reports surfaced in late September that Egyptian authorities arrested a number of men for displaying a rainbow flag at a rock concert. Since that time, Amnesty International warns that dozens more arrests of both men and women have followed. Alarmingly, several men have allegedly been forced to undergo forced anal examinations.

Another alarming fact is Egyptian authorities are using social media apps to make arrests. These actions violate rights to privacy, autonomy and freedom of speech, amounting to entrapment.

While these escalating arrests are certainly troubling, Egypt has a history of detaining LGBT people. Figures suggest that, since 2014 and the rise of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, several hundred people have been imprisoned for their perceived LGBT identity.

Egypt's persecution of LGBTQ people has got to stop. It is time for Egypt to enter the 21st century and accept that people of non-binary sexual identity have a right to be who they truly are.