Hammam Matoua’a Mayto is a music workshop for women, the workshop will be held between the 7th and 8th of August 2010 at Zicco House, Sanayeh, Beirut.

Girls (and likewise identified) interested in music will be able to learn to play instruments, form bands, write songs and play a gig as in a real rock venue.

Helem’s theme for this year’s IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia) is ‘Ana Shaz’ (I’m Queer). The word itself can be very controversial and upsets many people, but we have chosen to support all those who are considered queer/deviant by the governmental aspects of society. The queer community in Lebanon has chosen to stand in solidarity and on the side of sexual freedom in Lebanon.

Below is a statement by 4 queer Arab organizations in Beirut, Jerusalem, and Haifa condemning the USSF‘s decision to allow zionist propaganda group Stand With Us to present at the forum:

SAY NO TO PINKWASHING AT THE USSF!

We, the undersigned queer Arab organizations, are appalled by the US Social Forum’s decision to allow Stand with Us to utilize the event as a platform to pinkwash Israel’s crimes in the region. Stand with Us is cynically manipulating the struggle of queer people in the Middle East through its workshop entitled “LGBTQI Liberation in the Middle East”.

Palestinian Queers for BDS

Call upon all Queer groups, organizations and individuals around the world to

Boycott the Apartheid State of Israel.

June 27th 2010

Join us in launching 2 new studies on institutional discrimination based on sexual orientation in Lebanon
Tamam Mroue: "The Right of Gays and Lesbians to University"
Faisal Al-Kak: "Homophobia in Clinical Services: A Physician Survey"
Monday 8 February 2010 at 6:30 PM
Beirut Theater, Ein El Mreisseh

On 3/12/2009, and in a landmark decision, Judge Mounir Suleiman from the Batroun court district ruled that consensual homosexual relations are not against nature and thus cannot be prosecuted under article 534 of the Penal Code in Lebanon.

Download a copy of the decision (in Arabic)
Article in BEKHSOOS (ENGLISH)

On 21 December, Helem will launch a report on the legal situation of Homosexuals in the Arab world, with case studies about Lebanon and Tunis with the participation of the researchers: Dr. Wahid Farchihi (Professor of Law in Tunisian University) and Nizar Saghieh (Lawyer and independent legal researcher in Lebanon).

Place: Metropolis Cinema, Sofil Center, Beirut
Time: Monday, December 21, at 6:00 PM