This is just totally nuts – it has been reported that Kuwait, one of the states in the oil rich Gulf area, will soon introduce what they call medical testing on travellers. The whole reason of these medical tests is to ‘detect’ gay people, and upon positive identification, they will be barred from entering the country. Right now, the countries that outlaw homosexuality in the Gulf area include Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and this announcement does nothing but to add more incredulity.
A Kuwaiti government official was quoted as saying that this medical test, which is developed in Kuwait, will eventually be able to prevent ‘detected’ homosexuals from entering any of the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC). In fact, those who were convicted of taking part in homosexual acts in Kuwait, assuming they are under 21, will be on the receiving end of a maximum 10 year jail sentence. I wonder what kind of criteria is used to detect these ‘gays’, and would only foreigners be subjected to such a test? I would be extremely surprised if this were to be implemented in the first place, as it would certainly make it pointless for folks to book their holidays there.
Filed in ..