Lebanon's other women 'out' in force
NATACHA YAZBECK
November 29, 2009 - 4:04AM
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/lebanons-other-women-out-in-force-20091129-jy7k.html (http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/lebanons-other-women-out-in-force-20091129-jy7k.html)
They remain anonymous, but their voices are out in force and bold print: a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women have braved law and social taboo in Lebanon with a little pink-and-white book.
"Bareed Mista3jil," Arabic for "Mail in a Hurry," is a collection of 41 true stories of women grappling with coming out, religion, family and emigration.
One story is by a woman struggling to reconcile her religion and sexual orientation. Another speaks about the hardships of coming out in Lebanese society and a third deals with rape.
The book, the first such initiative in the largely conservative Arab world, is published by Meem, a support group for lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning women in Lebanon.