Association Shams ( ar, جمعية شمس, Jamʿiyyat Shams) is a Tunisian organization for

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

, campaigning for sexual minority rights in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. The non-governmental, non-profit organisation derives its name from the Sufi mystic

Shams Tabrizi Shams-i Tabrīzī ( fa, شمس تبریزی) or Shams al-Din Mohammad (1185–1248) was a Persian * * * * Shafi'ite poet, who is credited as the spiritual instructor of Mewlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi and is ref ...

(with also being Arabic for "sun") and its logo is made up of two whirling dervishes.

Foundation and guidelines

Association Shams was legally registered under Tunisian law on May 18, 2015. The focus of the organisation is the decriminalisation of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

. On their website, they published a set of other goals such as: * Raising awareness about

sexually transmitted diseases Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral sex ...

* Mentoring and supporting

sexual minorities A sexual minority is a group whose sexual identity, sexual orientation, orientation or practices differ from the majority of the surrounding society. Primarily used to refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual, or non-heterosexual individuals, it can als ...

around the country by providing financial, emotional and psychological help. * Defending the rights of minorities and provide a safe environment regardless of their sexual orientation or

gender difference Sex differences in humans have been studied in a variety of fields. Sex determination occurs by the presence or absence of a Y in the 23rd pair of chromosomes in the human genome. Phenotypic sex refers to an individual's sex as determined by the ...

Radio Shams

In 2017, Radio Shams was created to help give LGBT voices in North Africa more representation. The founder was sent 4000 death threats within the first two weeks of operation.

Incidents and controversy

The existence of Association Shams has been received with scepticism by Tunisians. Several public figures were opposed to the existence of an LGBT activist group in the country. Homosexuality is still criminalized under Tunisian law. As stated by the Article 230 of the Tunisian Penal code, homosexuality is a punishable crime and people accused of it can face up to three years in prison. The authorities accuse people with sodomy without proper evidence and oblige them to undergo anal tests that have no medical relevance. In December 2015, a controversy took place in several local media outlets and following that a case was filed against the organisation by Kamel Hedhili, the head of state litigation. The government stated that Shams is violating the association law of the country and that it deviated from its main course. The activities of the NGO were suspended for a whole month starting from January 4, 2016, by a decree of the Tunisian Court of First Instance. One of the founders and leading LGBT activists of the organisation, Ahmed Ben Amor, faced harassments and death threats upon openly sharing his views and campaigning for the NGO on Tunisian TV. Following the controversy supermarkets and public spaces banned the entrance of homosexuals to their premises. The sign « No Homosexuals allowed » showed up in different neighbourhoods around the capital city Tunis.

References

{{Reflist, 30em 2015 establishments in Tunisia Human rights organisations based in Tunisia LGBT political advocacy groups in Tunisia Non-profit organizations based in Africa