THE GUARDIAN: Homosexuality is illegal in Morocco but the publishers of a gay magazine feel its launch is a sign of progress
With gay rights under attack across Africa, it might not seem the best time to launch a magazine for homosexual people there.
But the owners of Mithly believe the launch of the magazine in Morocco is a sign of progress in a country where most gay men and lesbians tend to keep their sexuality secret.
Since its launch last month, Mithly – the title is an Arabic word meaning "the same as me", signifying gay – has covered subjects including the controversy over Elton John playing at a music festival in the country, a study of suicide among gay Moroccans and a book by an Algerian transsexual named Randa. The Arabic-language publication has sold 200 copies so far.
The paper edition circulated informally because it lacked a distribution licence from the government, said Samir Bargachi, general co-ordinator of Kif-Kif, Morocco's only gay rights group and the magazine's publisher.
He told the website Afrik.com that Mithly could reduce the stigma of being gay. "For over five years now, there has been a debate surrounding homosexuality in Morocco. But the mainstream media has the tendency to sensationalise the subject. With Mithly, we have the opportunity to give the views of homosexuals, and the opportunity to interact directly with society." >>> David Smith and agencies | Thursday, May 20, 2010
AFRIK.COM: Samir Bergachi is unstoppable. Barely 23 years old, the young Moroccan is simply not content to live his homosexuality openly in a country where it is considered as a crime. For the past 6 years, Samir has been running the first Moroccan gay association, kif-kif. And only a month ago, he caused a real stir: the launching of Mithly, the first gay magazine in the Arab world. Some find his initiatives inadmissible. Others admire his courage.
He founded and launched Mithly, the first gay magazine in the Arab world, on the first of April and has since made headlines both in Morocco and the Arab world. Samir Bergachi, general coordinator of Kif-Kif, — an association that fights for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in Morocco, founded in 2004, — launched Mithly in order to offer homosexuals a mouthpiece. Moroccan conservatives, hostile to homosexuality, which to them is deviant, do not accept the emergence of what has been termed a journalistic UFO. The Moroccan state, on the other hand, considers homosexuality as a crime. Gay Moroccans are, hence, caught between the hammer of the judiciary and the anvil of Islamist wrath. It is for this reason that the offices of Mithly and Kif-Kif have been established in Madrid, Spain. Despite these difficulties, Samir Bergachi told Afrik.com that the independent press as well as rights associations have "welcomed" the magazine.
Hard copies of the first issue of the magazine were printed and distributed clandestinely in Rabat. But for now, those in charge of Mithly want to focus their efforts on the Internet version for the sake of convenience. The first issue devotes several pages to British pop singer Elton John, whose participation in the Mawazine Festival, scheduled to take place in Rabat from May 21 to 29, has aroused the ire of the Islamists, due to his homosexuality. The singer is expected to meet Kif-Kif activists before his performance. Samir Bergachi believes that there is an implicit recognition by the authorities of the gay movement in Morocco. "We won a battle," he exclaims. >>> Djamel Belayachi | Tuesday, May 04, 2010
