httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pCc5ZySdmM
Omar Sharif Jr. gives face and voice to the queer population in Egypt who face clampdown at the hands of the authorities.
Close to 100 people across Egypt were arrested last year based on their perceived sexual orientation after the display of a rainbow flag in a Mashrou’ Laila concert in Cairo on 22 September.
Sharif works with GLAAD and a number of other organisations, speaking out for those who are silenced in Egypt and elsew.
The Daily Vox spoke to Sharif about his activism and what’s happening in Egypt.
Currently t’s a real crackdown on the queer community in Egypt.
The biggest challenge facing the queer community in Egypt is visibility.
It’s always been difficult to be queer in Egypt.
In Egypt, it’s more of a “Moral” framework.
Despite my advocacy in the United States for GLAAD and being the talking head in the media for marriage equality in the US and all over the world, our goals in Egypt are much more modest.