ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses what may await the LGBTQ Qatari community now that the tournament has concluded. Qatar is an independent nation-state situated on a small peninsula in the Arabian Gulf, about 11,586 square kilometers in size. Qatar’s form of governance is a hereditary monarchy led by the current Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Democratic participation is restricted only to the country’s small citizen population and, even then, is limited to voting for candidates to the country’s advisory bodies known as the Shura Council and the Central Municipal Council. To many Western journalists and researchers, Qatar presents an interesting case study of a nation’s rapid and unprecedented development and globalization. While the backgrounds of the interviewees varied, all spoke about the substantial struggles and trauma they have faced as LGBTQ nationals of the Gulf.
