The World Cup in Qatar has put the country’s record on human rights and homosexuality laws in the international spotlight.
Same-sex relationships are prohibited in Qatar, with a prison sentence of one to three years for “inducing or enticing a man or woman in any way to commit illegal or immoral actions.”
Speaking to Sky News Daily podcast, Dr. Nasser Mohamed, who is gay and from Qatar but now lives in the US, says LGBT+ Qataris feel “left out” of the conversation about hosting the World Cup. World at home.
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“I draw an analogy of children being domestically abused in a house, in a wealthy household, and this household is now hosting a fancy dinner and everyone is invited,” he said.
“The issue has become less about us and more about the visitors who attend. It has really become an abstract and philosophical debate that is really removed from some layers of people,” he continued.
Despite having lived in the US for over a decade, Dr. Mohamed recently came out as LGBT+ in Qatar, and that has put his safety at risk.
“I came out with some friends after I left in 2011,” she said.
“I lost some of them and they attacked me. I have been living as an openly gay person in the United States ever since.
“Then in 2016, when I decided to apply for political asylum and stay here permanently, I decided to call my mother to tell her. And that was the beginning of the end of our relationship, unfortunately.”.”
He told Sally Lockwood on the Sky News Daily podcast that after he came out he received death threats and now feels he can “never go back” to the country he grew up in.
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