Last week I posted a list of the legal age of consent for homosexuals in the countries of Europe. Since then, I have received e-mail from several people who asked me to post similar information for other parts of the world. So I am posting the information I have about countries in Asia, Africa and the Americas. I got this information from a danish gay magazine. They usually publish accurate information, but I have no way of confirming their information. According to the article, the information was compiled in cooperation with ILGA, the International Lesbian & Gay Association. Along with the information for the various countries, I am posting some additional info that was published along with the lists. Any errors in translation from danish are entirely my fault. Below is the information for Asia and the Middle East. Asia / Middle East countries ---------------------------- General info: Homosexual relationships are forbidden in many of the countries in the Middle East and Asia. In the Middle East, this should be taken seriously, due to the impact of Islam, whereas in South-East Asia, it is very easy to get in contact with young guys without running into legal problems - e.g. in Thailand, the Phillipines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. Even though there is a ban on homosexual relations in some of these countries, acceptance is either widespread in the general population, or the subject is largely ignored. Only when religious fundamenta- lists bring up the subject - which happens from time to time - there may be problems for a period of time. This has happened in Sri Lanka and in the Phillipines some 4-6 years ago. In Thailand, there are two age limits: One is for ordinary relations between local guys (15 years); another is for more 'commercial' relations (18 years) - for example, this applies to relationships between a foreigner and a Thai. In most countries in South East Asia, there is a relaxed attitude towards suxal relationships between guys - also when it comes to relationships between young locals and older foreigners. Sex between guys is for fun and pleasure before getting married - pre-marital sex is unthinkable in this part of the world. In most countries there is also a very relaxed attitude towards prostitution, In most tourist-class hotels in e.g. Thailand, it is common to allow guests in the rooms, as long as you pay for a double room. Country Legal age of consent -------------------------------------------- Bangladesh illegal Brunei illegal Burma not mentioned in the law Phillipines 18 Hong Kong 21 India illegal, but common Indonesia 18 Iran illegal, death penalty Iraq illegal, death penalty Israel 18 Japan 12 Jordan illegal Cambodia (Kampuchea) no information available South Korea 18 North Korea not mentioned in the law China (Peoples Rep.) not mentioned in the law Kuwait illegal Lebanon illegal Malaysia illegal, but common Nepal not known, but common Oman illegal Pakistan illegal Qatar illegal Saudi Arabia illegal Singapore illegal, but it happens Sri Lanka illegal, but common Syria illegal Taiwan 18 Thailand 15, 18 for relationships with prostitutes United Arab Emirates illegal Vietnam legal, but age is not known -- Henrik Storner (storner@olivetti.dk / storner@diku.dk) Tech. Support Olivetti Denmark.