To be sure, the media in Iraq does not take sole responsibility for the oppression of the Iraqi LGBT+ community. Many other factors, including the education system, political and social instability, and religious and tribal values, make it hard if not impossible for the LGBT+ community in Iraq to exist.
Exposing Anti-LGBT Government Strategies in MENA
UN: Report on conversion therapy
The term “therapy”, derived from the Greek, denotes “healing”. However, practices of “conversion therapy” are the very opposite: they are deeply harmful interventions that rely on the medically false idea that LGBT and other gender diverse persons are sick, inflicting severe pain and suffering, and resulting in long-lasting psychological and physical damage.
Iraq: Rainbow flag row: Diplomats slammed for deleting LGBTQ+ posts after Iraqi pressure
Iraqi leaders condemn western diplomats for hoisting LGBTQ+ pride flags
Iraq: The Need for More Gender Inclusive Humanitarian Service Provision for Men, Boys, and SOGI Survivors of Sexual Violence
Iraqis criticise Muqtada al-Sadr for same-sex marriage claims
Helping LGBTQ refugees, one person at a time
While spending several days in Jordan on my way to Abu Dhabi, I met a gay man in his mid-30s who had recently fled the chaos in Iraq to seek asylum in Jordan. Three days later when I boarded the flight to Abu Dhabi, I had resolved that, though I could not mitigate the misfortune of millions, I could at least help one person. His name is Alaa Saleh.