I am living in Bahrain

While this article is over a year old I wanted to post it here to show the attitude the middle east has for TV/TG people.

Bahrain may ban ‘expat transgenders’

By: dt news

, Posted on 14-May-2016

Manama : MPs will vote on Tuesday on a proposal to ban importing foreign employment of the transgenders category (men and women).

The proposal was recently approved by the Council’s Services Committee, which consulted several official parties before taking the decision.

DT News reported last summer that MP Jamal Dawood submitted a proposal that obliges “employers who recruited transgenders to immediately cancel their work permits and send them back where they came from.” The proposal also bans recruiting expats from the same category.

The committee studied the proposal since last October and issued a report that would be voted on during the upcoming weekly meeting of the House of Representatives next Tuesday.

In its report, the committee said it approved the proposal considering the second and fifth articles of the Bahraini Constitution.

“The proposal comes in line with the second article of the constitution, which stipulates that Islam shall be the religion of the State, Islamic Sharia a main source of legislation, and Arabic the official language. The fifth article said the family is the corner-stone of society and its strength lies in religion, morality and patriotism. Hence, we shall protect the society from immoral behaviours,” the committee’s report read.

In its reply to the committee, Labour and Social Development Ministry said, “Work contracts are made between the different parties in the agreement. It should not be revoked or amended unless for reasons mentioned in the law. In case the employee was guilty of committing crimes and felonies that disrupt public morals, the employer has the right to permanently terminate the contract if a final verdict was issued against the employee in such cases.”

“Since transgenderism is unaccepted by the Islamic Sharia, the Ministry recommends criminalising such behaviours by a clear legislation. But, since it’s related to personal lives, it’s not fit to be included in the Labour Law,” the Ministry added.

On the other side, Labour Market Regulatory Authorities (LMRA) said the proposal isn’t practical, but when a felony committed, certain legal steps are taken including revoking work permits.

As published on DT News earlier, Dawood explained that his proposal comes after receiving numerous complaints from citizens of both genders, who expressed their irritation from the “bizarre phenomenon” that invaded the Bahraini society lately.

“We’re now subjected to a systematic campaign to destroy our societies. It’s a cultural invasion that must be combated. We must protect our societies and don’t allow such phenomena to gnaw into it. Awareness, unity and family solidarity are the keys to achieve this goal,” he added.

Muhannad Mansour muhannad@dt.bh