He then called for laws that provide gay rights in Iraq to be repealed to 'protect humanity from the monkeypox epidemic or what we call homosexual-pox.'īachori said that many people in Iraq agree with Sadr's ideologies about the LGBTQ+ community, even those who are considered highly educated. The hashtag #كلا_للمثلية (#nogay) is still a trend that people keep tweeting about.'Īccording to Middle East Eye, Sadr, an Iraqi Shia scholar, politician and militia leader said in a now deleted tweet: 'I call on them to repent.' Especially after the tweet Muqtada Al-Sadr made a few days ago. 'I hate to be pessimistic but things are not looking great for the future of the LGBTQ+ community in Iraq. 'They really do believe that monkeypox is caused by homosexual individuals,' Bachori said. This kind of association between monkeypox and gay men will only serve to make life harder and more dangerous for LGBTQ+ people in Iraq and other countries where it's still very risky to be openly gay. A stock image shows a male silhouette with monkeypox lesions.
