New videos shine a light on LGBTI+ life in Middle East and North Africa

A new campaign from Human Rights Watch is telling the stories of LGBTI+ people living in North Africa and the Middle East.

The #NoLongerAlone series was created in partnership with the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality and released alongside Audacity in Adversity: LGBT Activism in the Middle East and North Africa – a report from the Human Rights Watch.

“This report accompanies a series of videos produced by Human Rights Watch and the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality (AFE). The videos feature individual activists reaching out in Arabic to LGBT people living in the Middle East and North Africa with messages of support and encouragement,” the report reads.

“The report provides context for the videos, highlighting and detailing the existence of movements that are making change in the face of significant obstacles, including criminalization of same-sex conduct (and, in a few countries, gender non-conformity), arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment, forced anal examinations, lack of gender recognition for transgender people, violence by state and non-state actors, restrictions on freedom of expression and association, family rejection and community stigma.”

The videos feature LGBTI+ people from Sudan, Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain and other predominantly-Arabic speaking nations.

Watch the #NoLongerAlone campaign video below.