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Kuwait to introduce medical tests aimed at banning homosexuals and transsexuals
| Published: | 8 Oct at 6 PM |
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Conflicting reports today have stated that Kuwait is planning to develop a medical centre at its airport to detect either gays or transsexuals and ban them from entering any GCC counties.
Homosexuality is a criminal offence in all the Gulf Cooperation Countries, (GCC) with today’s report suggesting that a medical test to detect homosexuals in order to prevent them from entering the country is being developed. Another report suggests that medical examinations are to be introduced to determine whether visitors are transsexuals, but the second report does not mention gays.
According to Yousouf Mindkar, Kuwait’s director of public health, the country is now toughening up on the controversial law making homosexuality illegal in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman. Mindkar told local reporters that routine medical checks at the airport would be widened to include the purported medical test.
The scheme is due to be debated by the health officials of all six Arab nations at an Oman meeting early in November, with Kuwait putting forward the proposal that all international airports in the GCC countries should follow Kuwait’s example. The plan at present is that all expatriates entering the country should be tested, and would be refused entry to the entire region if found to be either gay or transsexual.
According to local media, the Arabic words used by Mindkar in his statement indicate that both gay men and women would be affected by the ban on entry. Commentators are mulling over the problems the scheme, if introduced, would cause in Qatar at the upcoming World Cup season and comparing it with the recent controversy over gay demonstrations at the Winter Olympics in Russia.
Homosexuality is a criminal offence in all the Gulf Cooperation Countries, (GCC) with today’s report suggesting that a medical test to detect homosexuals in order to prevent them from entering the country is being developed. Another report suggests that medical examinations are to be introduced to determine whether visitors are transsexuals, but the second report does not mention gays.
According to Yousouf Mindkar, Kuwait’s director of public health, the country is now toughening up on the controversial law making homosexuality illegal in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman. Mindkar told local reporters that routine medical checks at the airport would be widened to include the purported medical test.
The scheme is due to be debated by the health officials of all six Arab nations at an Oman meeting early in November, with Kuwait putting forward the proposal that all international airports in the GCC countries should follow Kuwait’s example. The plan at present is that all expatriates entering the country should be tested, and would be refused entry to the entire region if found to be either gay or transsexual.
According to local media, the Arabic words used by Mindkar in his statement indicate that both gay men and women would be affected by the ban on entry. Commentators are mulling over the problems the scheme, if introduced, would cause in Qatar at the upcoming World Cup season and comparing it with the recent controversy over gay demonstrations at the Winter Olympics in Russia.
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