LGBT rights in Qatar


Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in Qatar face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, with a punishment of up to 3 years in prison and a fine for consenting males, and could lead to the death penalty for Muslims under sharia law; however, there are no known cases that the death penalty was enforced for homosexuality. There is also prevailing cultural mores which view homosexuality and cross-dressing negatively. The Qatari government does not recognize same-sex marriage or civil partnerships, nor does it allow people in Qatar to campaign for LGBT rights.
In November 2008 British performer George Michael performed at a successful concert in Qatar, making him the first openly gay musician to perform in Qatar. This did not reflect a wider change in policy.

Legality of same-sex sexual acts

Since 2004, Article 296 of the current Penal Code stipulates imprisonment between 1 and 3 years for sodomy between men. This is a slight revision of the original law that stipulated up to five years' imprisonment for male homosexuality. Also, the death penalty is applicable only to Muslims, for extramarital sex regardless of the gender of the participants. However, there is no evidence that the death penalty has been applied for consensual same-sex relations taking place between adults and in private.
In 1998 an American citizen visiting Qatar was sentenced to six months in prison and 90 lashes for homosexual activity. In the 1990s, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration informed Philippine workers that gay workers were prohibited in Qatar. This was in response to several mass arrests and deportations of Philippine workers in Qatar for homosexuality.
In 2016 Polish Instagram star King Luxy was arrested in Qatar for allegedly being homosexual. He spent 2 months in custody before he was released. The Polish embassy claim he was arrested for extoration.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Qatari law concerning marriage, divorce and other family matters are influenced by traditional Islamic morality. Hence, cohabitation is illegal and no legal recognition exists in Qatar for same-sex marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships. No social services exist in Qatar to help parents accept their LGBT youth.

2022 FIFA World Cup controversy

The status of homosexuality as illegal in Qatar and punishable by death attracted attention in the media. FIFA President Sepp Blatter initially said: "I would say they should refrain from any sexual activities"; he later added that: "we don't want any discrimination. What we want to do is open this game to everybody, and to open it to all cultures, and this is what we are doing in 2022". in 2013, the head of Qatar's World Cup bid team, Hassan al-Thawadi, said that everybody was welcome at the event, so long as they refrained from public display of affection. "Public display of affection is not part of our culture and tradition" he said. Richard de Mos, a former member of the Dutch Parliament for the Party for Freedom, has proposed that the Dutch football team play in pink, instead of the country's national colour, orange, to protest the gay rights situation in Qatar.
In September 2013, it was announced that all Gulf Cooperative Countries had agreed to discuss a proposal to establish some form of, yet unknown, testing in order to ban gay foreigners from entering any of the countries. However, it has been suggested that concern for hosting 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and fears for controversy in a case that football fans would have been screened, made officials backtrack the plans and insist that it was a mere proposal.

Living Conditions

In 2016, an opinion piece that appeared in the outlet Doha News by a gay Qatari man under the pseudonym Majid Al-Qatari that described being gay in Qatar as "jarring" and spoke of the "irreparable damage to mental health", was criticized for "allowing the topic of 'homosexuality' in Qatar to be discussed". and it was met with extremely strong reactions.
In 2018, nine entire articles covering gay and transgender rights published from April to July including a discussion of LGBT rights in Africa, criticism of the US military's transgender ban and, most recently, a retrospective on a 1973 fire that killed 32 people at a New Orleans gay bar, were censored from the Doha edition of the New York Times International Edition. The Government Communications Office for the State of Qatar issued a statement pledging to investigate the matter.
In 2018, Tom Bosworth, an openly gay British race walker, said that he is ready to risk prison to defend LGBT rights in Qatar during 2019 World Championships in Athletics which will be held in September 2019.
In June 2019, although the laws in Qatar still criminalise homosexuality, its state media Aljazeera's, AJ+ marked June as LGBT Pride Month with a tweet about speaking to the cast of “Queer Eye” on LGBT issues. This led many online users to point out online the paradox that Al-Jazeera English discusses and encourages recognition of gay rights outside Qatar, while Qatar censors LGBT content.

Summary table

Same-sex sexual activity legal/
Equal age of consent
Anti-discrimination laws in employment
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas
Same-sex marriages
Recognition of same-sex couples
Step-child adoption by same-sex couples
Joint adoption by same-sex couples
Gays and lesbians allowed to serve openly in the military
Right to change legal gender
Access to IVF for lesbians
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples
Men who have sex with men allowed to donate blood