In the current climate, bloggers say they are achieving a lot just by stating their nationality and sexual orientation. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t expect this much response.”
I wanted to write what’s on my mind and mainly about homosexuality,” he told Reuters in an e-mail. Caution is crucial - homosexual acts are illegal in most countries in Africa and the Middle East, with penalties ranging from long-term imprisonment to execution. Close behind came comments, posts and links purporting to be from almost half the countries in the Arab League, including Egypt, Algeria, Bahrain and Morocco.Īli, who lists his home town as Khartoum but lives in Qatar, had plugged into a small, self-supporting network of people who have launched Web sites about their sexuality, while keeping their full identity secret. “Be proud and blog the way you like,” wrote Kuwait’s gayboyweekly. “Keep up the good work,” wrote Dubai-based Weblogger ‘Gay by nature’. REUTERS/Antony Kaminjuīut within days the messages started coming in to. Beyond the blogging scene, the Internet's chat rooms and community sites have also become one of the safest ways for gay Africans and Arabs to meet, away from the gaze of a hostile society. Matuba Mahlatjie, a blogger, is seen in Johannesburg February 13, 2008.