LGBTQIA+ rights in Mayotte 🇾🇹

Like Non-LGBTQIA+ citizens, queer people have same rights & protection in Mayotte Islands.LGBTQI+ rights in Mayotte are more improved, comparing to its neighbour countries Comoros,Kenya,Tanzania, & Madagascar.

Legality of Homosexuality

Homosexuality is legal in Mayotte Islands.Since 1982,Mayotte has an equal age of consent for both homosexual and heterosexual couples [Source:Equaldex].

Some sources claimed that homosexuality has always been legal in Mayotte of Francophone.ILGA report on state sponsor homophobia state that consensual sex between same-sex couples was decriminalised in 1931.

Recognition of Same sex relationships

Since 2013 same-sex civil unions are legally recognized in Muslim majority Mayotte Islands.The first same-sex marriage of Mayotte was performed in September,2013.

Discrimination

Mayotte is overwhelmingly Muslim & have a strong influence of Arab-Bantu culture.This heavily influences public perception of the LGBTQ+ community, as there have been frequent reports of family rejections, bullying,harassment & discrimination on the Island.Sexuality is typically a taboo topic among the Mahorais, & many LGBTQI+ people have chosen to move to neighbouring Réunion or to France.Therefore, Mayotte has anti-discriminatory laws that protect LGBTQI+ citizens & others from societal discrimination,harassment & violence.

Recognition of Gender Identity

Mayotte laws does not prohibits one's to change his/her/their gender.Yet there is no known legal case of gender change in Mayotte.Mayotte has no legal recognition of a non-binary gender or third gender/sex.

Despite being a patriarchal society, Mayotte has a long-standing tradition of Sarambavis, which in Shimaore refers to men who choose to follow "the law of women", and thus dress,act and behave as women and partake in traditional female activities.In recent years, the term has been used as a slurr against LGBTQI+ Mahorais.

LGBTQI+ Association

There is a little activism for LGBTQI+ rights & HIV/AIDS awareness in Mayotte Island.LGBT Mayotte is a non-profit organization that raises awareness for LGBTQ+ rights & tolerance of sexual diversity.

Furthermore, Queer African Network is a virtual platform for communication & learning.African Queer Youth Initiative is a network of LGBTQ+ activists that amplifies voices LGBTQI+ in Africa.Naz Project (London),African Rainbow Family (UK), Living Free (UK),Le Refuge(France),CALEM Institute(France) welcomes LGBTQ+ refugees from Africa.

Summary:

Same-sex sexual activity - ✔️ legal

Equal Age of consent - ✔️

Legal recognition of same-sex couples - ✔️

Same sex marriages - ✔️

Adoption by LGBTQ+ individuals - ambiguous [citation needed]

Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas - ✔️

Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services - ✔️

Anti-discrimination laws in employment - ✔️

Recognition of non-binary gender - ❌

Right to change legal gender - ambiguous [citation needed]

Ban Conversion therapy - not known

Allowed to serve LGBTQI+ people in the military - ✔️

MSMs allowed to donate blood - ✔️ (since 2016)

Mukhannath/مخنثون (plural: Mukhannathun) was a gender & sexual-diverse community of Pre-Islamic Arab & Classical Islamic-Arab. Transgender & gender variant identities & practices are diverse and vary across different cultures and societies, including within Muslim communities.There is no monolithic interpretation or understanding of gender identity or expression within Islam, as the religion encompasses a wide range of beliefs and cultural contexts.The existence of mukhannathun has been acknowledged in historical islamic texts, and their status within Islamic society has been subject to varying interpretations.

In Classical Arabic these people were refer to 1.)Effeminate men, 2.)people of ambiguous sexual characteristics, who appeared as feminine, 3.)who socially had roles typically played by women.

Within Islamic history and scholarship, there have been discussions and debates surrounding gender identities and expressions that deviate from the binary understanding of male and female.Some Islamic scholars have explored the concept of "mukhannathun," which refers to individuals assigned male at birth but who exhibit feminine characteristics or behaviors.

Several scholars such as Mehrdad Alipour (2017) & Everett K. Rowson (1991) point to references in the Hadith to the existence of mukhannath: a man who carries femininity in his movements,in his appearance, and in the softness of his voice.Western scholars Aisya Aymanee M. Zaharin & Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli see the term mukhannath as referring to men who are behave like women,but do not want to undergo sex reassignment surgery,in contrast to transgender or intersex people.

Mukhannath term may use as an umbrella term for gender & sexual diverse.While sometimes Mukhannath classified as transgender people,the Mukhannathun as a group do not neatly fit into the western categories of gender or sexuality.There was too much variety from one Mukhannath to the next to establish a specific label for their gender or sexual identity, & the meaning of the term has changed over time.The Arabic term for a trans woman is Mukhannith, as they want to change their biological sex characters,while mukhannaths presumably don't/will not.The mukhannath is obviously masculine, but naturally behaves like a woman, unlike the khuntha (an arabic term for intersex person)

While the term "Mukhannath al-Jins" has been used to refer to individuals who do not conform to traditional gender norms associated with their assigned sex.It is worth noting that this term has primarily been used to describe feminine expression in AMAB.

Etymology

The origins of the term are unclear.According to the lexicographers, the term mukhannath derived from the verb Khanatha in the first form means to fold back the mouth of a waterskin for drinking. Derived term develop the basic idea of bending or folding in the direction of pliability,suppleness,languidness,tenderness,delicacy.

According to 9th century Arabic scholar,philologist Abn Ubayd mukhannathun were so called on their account of languidness (takassur, elsewhere usually paired with tathanni,suppleness). While a languid woman was called khunuth.[citation needed]

Later lexicographers define the mukhannath as a man who resembles or imitates as woman in the languidness of his limbs or the softness of his voice.This definition rose to prominence among Islamic scholars until medieval times, when the term became associated with passive homosexuality.

However Iranian scholar Mehrdad Alipour argued that, "in the pre-modern period, Muslim societies were aware of five manifestations of gender ambiguity: this can be seen through figures such as the khasi (eunuch),the hijra (non-binary,transgender), the mukhannath, the mamsuh (agender) & the khuntha (hermaphrodite/intersex).

Pre-Islamic Arab Society:

Mukhannathun's gender expression & existence were much tolerated in Pre-Islamic Arab world.Mukhannathun from the city of Medina (Saudi Arabia), are frequently mentioned in the hadith literature & in the works of many Early Arabic and Islamic writers.Mukhannathun were used as domestic worker,domestic helper,hairdresser, for wealthy women in the early days of Islam.Mukhannath's female equivalents is Mutarajjilat.Mukhannath were allowed to access in both male & female quarters.Al-'Ayni quotes from al-Tabarani that in the days of the Prophet Muhammad,the mukhannathun spoke languidly,dyed their hands and feet (with henna), but were not accused of immoral acts (fahisha).

In the Rashidun and Umayyad caliphates, various mukhannathun of Medina established themselves as celebrated entertainers,artists.One particularly prominent mukhannath, Abū ʿAbd al-Munʿim ʿĪsā ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Dhāʾib, who had the Arabic name Ṭuwais ("Little Peacock"), was born in Medina on the day Prophet Muhammad died (8 June 632).

Ṭuwais is described as the first mukhannath person to perform "perfect singing" characterized by definitive rhythmic patterns in Medina.He was also known for his sharp wit and his skill with the tambourine (which had previously been associated only with female musicians).No sources describe his sexuality as immoral or imply that he was attracted to men.But it is reported that he was married with a woman.

While Ṭuwais is typically described as the leading mukhannath musician of Medina during his lifetime.Another Mukhannath who was known by the name al-Dalāl ("the Coquettish") is mentioned as one of Ṭuwais's favorite pupils.He is portrayed as a witty but sometimes crude man who "loved women," but did not have sex with them.Unlike Ṭuwais, some tales involving al-Dalāl do suggest that he was attracted to men.Furthermore Ṭuwais and other mukhannathun musicians formed an intermediary stage in the social class most associated with musical performance: women in pre-Islamic Arabia,mukhannathun in the Rashidun and early Umayyad caliphates, and mainly non-mukhannath men in later time periods.

Umayyad Period

In the early Umayyad period, Mukhannathun enjoyed an exceptional visibility and prestige in Medina & Mecca.Religious persecution of mukhannathun first started at the reigns of Caliph Marwan I.The governor of Mecca serving under al-Walīd I is said to have “issued a proclamation against the mukhannathun”, in addition to other entertainers.Two mukhannathun musicians named Ibn Surayj and al-Gharīḍ are specifically referred to as being impacted by this proclamation, with al-Gharīḍ fleeing to Yemen and never returning back.The most severe instance of persecution is typically dated to the time of al-Walīd I's brother and successor Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, seventh caliph of the Umayyad caliphate.According to several variants of this story, the caliph ordered the full castration of the mukhannathun of Medina.Some versions of the tale say that all of them were forced to undergo the procedure, while others state that only a few of them were.After this event, the mukhannathun of Medina begin to fade from historical sources, and the next generation of singers and musicians had few mukhannathun in their ranks.

Scholar Everett K. Rowson stated that, ''though many details of the stories of their castration were undoubtedly invented, “this silence supports the assumption that they did suffer a major blow sometime around the Umayyad Caliphate of Sulayman.''

Acceptance of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals within Islam can be highly influenced by cultural, social, political & regional factors.Different Muslim majority countries & communities may have differing attitudes towards gender identity and expression, ranging from acceptance to stigmatization.

Hadith Literature

Almost all references of Hadith literature justifying animosity toward queer people, have been quoted out of context, and islamic clerics,scholars wrongly condemn transgender & genderqueer people, despite so many major Islamic scholars having argued that the Hadith actually refer to cross-dressers (who want to deceitfully gain access to women’s spaces).Several hadith has references of Hit.Hit was a Mukhannath domestic worker of Umm Salama.Few hadiths indicates that Prophet Muhammad banished Hit for describing a woman's body parts.

Al-Tabari (1978) took it as an example that the Prophet did not forbid a particular mukhanath, Hit, from entering the women’s quarters until he heard Hit giving a description of the women’s bodies in great detail.Hit was later prohibited from the house because ze had breached the trust of the Prophet, but not because of her gender identity or expression.According to Dr. Scott Siraj Kugle the mukhannath hadiths were so grossly taken out of context by many muslim conservatives,that what appeared to be a prophetic wisdom of protecting and sanctifying the privacy of women’s spaces, devolved into a punitive condemnation of gender diversity.

Its also known that Prophet Muhammad protect a Mukhannath or Trans Woman from death sentence.

According to progressive & pluralist muslim scholar Mahdia Lynn, one group interprets this hadith as a transgressor banished: this person being sent away clearly teaches us that gender diverse people are not welcome in the Prophet’s community. According to this interpretation, living out the prophetic example today means that excluding gender and sexual diversity from Islam is right and good.

Another group looks at this story and sees a life saved: it’s clear there was a group of men ready to murder this person and so the Prophet saved their life by sending them away (to an-Naqi, a location between Mecca and Medina, which is interpreted to mean “within the bounds of Islam”). Living out prophetic example means not only accepting gender and sexual diversity as a valid part of the ummah, but being called upon to protect LGBTQI+ Muslims.