Back in 2014, a judge bravely dismissed a case against a transgender woman on the basis that article 534, which prohibits sexual relations that “contradict the laws of nature”, cannot be used against homosexuals. This marked a small yet short-lived win for the LGBTQ+ community in Lebanon.
In fact, personal freedoms have been on the decline in past years in Lebanon and the LGBTQ+ community has come under attack recently by several political and religious sides. Rainbow cakes are now a national threat, our Culture Minister wants to introduce an idiotic law against sexual deviancy promotion and MP Ashraf Rifi wants to rectify article 534 to make sure lesbian relationships are also criminalized.
In other words, instead of abolishing this outdated law, he wants to make it even worse.
