New Video Series Highlights LGBTQ Voices in the Middle East & North Africa

As the debates and protests for LGBTQ rights reignite under the Trump administration, other areas of the world remain mired in an era of state-sponsored repression, criminalization, and severe social stigma for their LGBTQ communities.

In a new video series, "No Longer Alone," Human Rights Watch and the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality (AFE) are highlighting queer voices from the Middle East and North Africa. Though they live in parts of the world notorious for their mistreatment of LGBTQ people, the subjects of the series each illustrate the strength and unity the global community finds in one another.

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"They are telling their stories, building alliances, networking across borders, developing national and regional movements, and finding creative ways to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity," writes HRW. "Through the campaign 'No Longer Alone,' they offer messages of support and encouragement to LGBT people living in Arabic-speaking countries in the Middle East and North Africa."

Watch a compilation of the subjects in the series below, and see their individual stories here.