Post-Arab Spring gays don’t want to come out: author

Gay Arabs 'want the freedom to stay in,' says Shereen El Feki

In the second part of our video interview with Sex and the Citadel author Shereen El Feki, the academic and journalist discusses homosexuality within the context of a post-Arab Spring world.

“The biggest change we have seen is the greater freedom of expression that people in many, many countries now feel,” El Feki says.

And while rights for men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women may be inching forward, the end-goal isn’t necessarily a gay pride parade.

“I do think that we are entering into a new phase – not necessarily one where homosexuality will be embraced, but that’s not what most people in the region are asking for,” El Feki says.

“Most people I spoke with are not looking for the freedom to come out. They want the freedom to stay in and do as they choose in the privacy of their own homes.”

Below is the second part of an interview with El Feki and journalist and writer Kamal Al-Solaylee.

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