Brave people risked the very real risk of assault by protesting for trans rights in Lebanon.

During the International Women’s Day march in Beirut, trans-inclusive feminists went to the streets to demand diversity and respect.

All the feminist organizations and movements in Lebanon came together on 10 March to ‘express the anger against the ‘patriarchal regime and oppression’.

Thousands march in trans-inclusive women’s protest in Lebanon

Thousands of women, activists and feminists and more than 21 charities walked through Beirut.

It went from the Adlieh roundabout through Barbir to the final destination in Sodeco’s Hawd al Wilaya Park.

The large sign said: ‘Our causes are many, our anger is one.’

‘It was very important to include everyone in the march, especially the trans community,’ Ameen Rhayem, from the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality, told Gay Star News.

‘It was important for the visibility, inclusivity and to highlight the importance of the trans presence in the Lebanese scene, especially the feminist one.

‘We are women, we are sisters, and we share the same struggles’.

Attacks against trans people in Lebanon are ‘continuous’, according to Rhayem.

According to the activist, assaults against trans people ‘never stop’.

‘[There are] attacks and arrests and discrimination in the local media and in the society,’ they said.

There are now plans to create a trans organization to further change in Lebanon.

Lebanon could remove law that makes homosexuality a crime

It comes as one of the leading mainstream political parties has called to remove a law that makes homosexuality a crime.

It marks the first time a mainstream political party has spoken out on LGBTI rights in Lebanon.

‘This is big,’ Georges Azzi, the executive director of Arab Foundation for Freedom and Equality, told Gay Star News.

‘We have been pushing for parties to publicly support the LGBTI community for a long time.

‘We have had closed door promises. But this is the first time politicians have publicly supported us.’

Lebanon criminalizes homosexuality with up to a year in prison. However, Penal Code’s Article 534 which prohibits ‘unnatural’ sex has not been used to jail gay people for a long time.

However, it is still used by police officers to arrest and intimidate the LGBTI community.