Yemen is a conservative Arab state where homosexuality is taboo and is condemned under the country’s strong Islamic beliefs. Being transgender is viewed as equivalent to practicing homosexuality under the legal system. The country’s conservative society has no place for gays — the law sees homosexuality as a crime punishable by death. 

Extremists take things into their own hands, killing gays without facing punishment. Article 264 of the 1994 Yemen Penal Code states that for gay sex, “unmarried men shall be punished with 100 lashes of the whip or a maximum of one year of imprisonment, married men with death by stoning. Homosexuality between women is defined as sexual stimulation by rubbing. The penalty for premeditated commission shall be up to three years of imprisonment; where the offense has been committed under duress, the perpetrator shall be punishable with up to seven years detention.” 

Yahyia al-Zandani, a 23-year-old Yemeni transgender male, lived most of his life in the capital Sanaa before being forced to leave in May 2015 because of the ongoing civil war. 

Speaking to Al-Monitor via Skype, Zandani said that while he has felt discomfort with his birth gender since he was a child, it was only in secondary school that he “realized [his] situation.” This made him “revolt,” and he “decided not to be submissive to the family and community will.”