The Official Media Regulator of Iraq has instructed all media and social media outlets operating in the Arab nation to refer to sexual deviance instead of homosexuality.
According to a government official, the country’s media regulator has ordered a paper.
The use of the word “gender” was also prohibited, according to a document from the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission (CMC). It forbade the use of the phrases in any of the mobile applications of all phone and internet providers that it had granted licenses to.
A Government Official later said that the decision still required final approval.
The regulator “directs media organisations … not to use the term ‘homosexuality’ and to use the correct term ‘sexual deviance’,” the Arabic-language statement said.
According to a government spokesperson, the penalty for breaking the rule has not yet been determined but might include a fee.
In the last two months, major Iraqi parties have increased their opposition of LGBT rights, with rainbow flags routinely being burned in protests.
According to Our World in Data, more than 60 countries criminalize gay sex, whereas more than 130 countries legalize same-sex sexual behaviors.
