LGBT rights in Pakistan
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Pakistan do not have equal rights and face social difficulties compared to non-LGBT persons. Even in large cities, gays and lesbians have to be highly discreet about their sexual orientation. Pakistani law prescribes criminal penalties for same-sex sexual acts. The Pakistan Penal Code of 1860, originally developed under the British Raj, punishes sodomy with a possible prison sentence and has other provisions that impact the human rights of LGBT Pakistanis, under the guise of protecting public morality and order. Despite being illegal, people doing acts of  homosexuality are not always prosecuted by the government of Pakistan. Discrimination and disapproval of the LGBT community, along with the associated social stigma, mostly stem from religious beliefs and make it difficult for LGBT people to have steady relationships. Nevertheless, the LGBT community is still able to socialise, organise, date, and even live together as couples, if done mostly in secret. Sexual encounters between same-sex partners are more accessible in Lahore, in particular for gay and bisexual men. As a result of globalisation, increasing liberalisation trends and advancing social tolerance, private gay parties in Lahore have been increasing for  a number of years. In addition, there is a growing number of individuals—especially those born to parents who have been educated in the developed world, who are usually university graduates and have some sort of understanding about evolution and sexuality—who are coming out to their friends and introducing them to their same-sex partner. In 2018, Parliament passed the "Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act" which established broad protections for transgender people in everything except public accommodations and services. Earlier, in a historic 2009 ruling, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled in favour of civil rights for transgender  citizens, and further court rulings upheld and increased these rights. Pakistan does not have civil rights laws to prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation. Neither same-sex marriages nor civil unions are permitted under current law and are scarcely ever brought up in the political discourse. Legality of same-sex sexual activity. Pakistani law is a mixture of both British colonial law as well as Islamic law. Under the colonial aspects of the law, the section of the Penal Code criminalising consensual same-sex relations dates back to 6 October 1860 under the colonial rule of  the British Raj. Written by Lord Macaulay, the Indian Penal Code 1860, as it was named at the time, made same-sex sexual acts illegal under the British law of "Unnatural Offences", known as carnal knowledge. After Pakistan received independence in 1947, the Parliament decided to continue using the same Penal Code, merely changing the title to Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860). Within the Penal Code, Article 377 ("Unnatural Offences") states: "Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment ... for a term which shall not  be less than two years nor more than ten years, and shall also be liable to fine". As part of the Islamisation of Pakistan, the Hudood Ordinances were enacted in 1977, stipulating severe punishments for adultery, fornication, consuming alcohol and sodomy. The amendments included primitive forms of penalization like whipping of up to 100 lashes and death by stoning if married (for adultery). An LGBT Pakistani may face secular or Islamic punishments, or both. Pakistan Penal Code 1860. Relevant sections of the code are as follows: Constitutional rights. The Pakistan Constitution does not explicitly make mention of sexual orientation or  gender identity. It does contain certain provisions that may impact the constitutional rights of LGBT Pakistani citizens. Discrimination protections. No civil rights legislation exists to prohibit public or private sector discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. However, since 2018, discrimination on the basis of gender identity is prohibited in a wide range of areas, including employment, education, health care, access to goods and services, housing and public office. The Green Party of Pakistan has expressed some support for LGBT rights, but most political parties either ignore the issue of LGBT rights or oppose LGBT rights on religious grounds. Sociologists  Stephen O. Murray and Badruddin Khan have written that the penal laws themselves are rarely enforced directly, but are used by the police and other private citizens as a form of blackmail. In March 2012, at the Human Rights Council, Hina Jilani, who was then also Chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and former Special Representative of the Secretary-General, said,it was very important to emphasise that a serious obstacle was the persistent denial of protection for people from violence on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. That denial and rejection were not prudent for  any Government that claimed the commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights. It was not convincing when culture and religion were used as a shield and an excuse for failure to protect. There was no notion of responsibility that allowed duty bearers to selectively hold out on protection. Gender identity and expression. In most South Asian nations, there is a concept of third gender where members are referred to by society as neither man nor a woman. Pakistan is no different and has a vibrant culture of "hijras" (). While the term is commonly used in South Asia, it  is considered derogatory in Urdu and the term "khawaja sara" () is used instead. They are sometimes referred to as transgender, intersex or eunuchs in English language publications. Like transgender people in many countries, they are sometimes the subjects of ridicule, abuse, and violence. That said, they enjoy a certain level of acceptance due to their position in precolonial society. For example, they are welcome at weddings where they will dance as entertainment for the men, and are also welcome among the women. In Punjabi, there are referred to as ' (), and in Sindhi as ' (). Their presence in society is usually tolerated  and are considered blessed in the Pakistani culture. Most "khawaja saras" are deemed to have been direct cultural descendants of the court eunuchs of the Mughal era. Thought to be born with genital dysphoria and afraid that they might curse one their fate, people listen to their needs, give them alms, and invite their presence at various events and functions, e.g., birth of a child, circumcisions, or weddings. This mysteriousness that shrouds their existence was born of the fact that the khawaja sara communities live a very secretive life. In 2004, it was reported that Lahore alone has 10,000 active  transvestites. People have started accepting acts of sex reassignment surgery to change their sex as a norm either compelled by gender dysphoria. There are situations where such cases have come into the limelight. A 2008 ruling at Pakistan's Lahore High Court gave permission to Naureen, 28, to have a sex change operation, although the decision was applicable only towards people suffering from gender dysphoria. In 2009, the Pakistan Supreme Court ruled in favour of a group of transvestites. The landmark ruling stated that as citizens they were entitled to the equal benefit from the federal and provincial governments’ financial  support schemes such as the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). Pakistan's Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, was the architect of major extension of rights to Pakistan's transgender community during his term. In 2010, the Supreme Court ordered the full recognition of the transgender community, including the provision of free medical and educational facilities, microcredit schemes and job quotas for transgender people in every government department. They did not order protections for transgender people against discrimination in public services or housing. In 2017, the Lahore High Court ordered the Government to include transgender people in the national census. In February  2018, a Senate committee determined that transgender people could inherit property without being required to have their gender decided by a medical board. In May 2019, Shireen Mazari, the Federal Minister for Human Rights, appointed Ayesha Moghul, a transgender woman to her department for the first time. Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Act 2018. Under the "Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Act 2018" (), Pakistanis may choose to self-identify as male, female, both or neither. They may express their gender according to their own preferences, and they may have their gender identity of choice reflected on their documents, "including National  Identification Cards, passports, driver's licenses and education certificates." The act ensures transgender people's "fundamental rights to inheritance, education, employment, vote, hold public office, health, assembly, and access to public spaces and property. It confirms that they enjoy all the rights that the nation’s constitution grants to its citizens." However, public accomnodations and services were not covered. The act defines "transgender person" as someone with a "mixture of male and female genital features or congenital ambiguities", or, a male who "undergoes genital excision or castration", or, more broadly, "any person whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from  the social norms and cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at the time of their birth," which allows people to self-identify as such. They are guaranteed the right to inherit assets and to run for public office. The bill unanimously passed the Pakistani Senate in early March 2018. On 8 May 2018, the National Assembly voted to pass the bill. It was signed into law when acting President Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani gave his assent on 18 May 2018. In August 2018, the School Education Department of the second largest province in the country, Punjab, instructed its  officials to guarantee equal access to schools to transgender children as per the "Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018". The department told its officials to include their gender when they are being admitted to schools and give equal importance to transgender children during enrollment drives. The department instructed its officials that the instructions were binding on government as well as privately owned schools in the province. Punjab became the first province to take practical steps in the implementation of the Act. In early 2019 The word "TRANSGENDER" translated as مُتَجَنَّس / Mutajannis for the first time in the Urdu language  by the Lahore-Pakistan based Organization HOPE - Have Only Positive Expectations. Earlier than this there was no translation exists which covers the whole Transgender spectrum includes Transgender Women (trans women /MTF), Transgender Men (trans man / FTM), Khaja Sira, and gender expression. Acceptance in media and popular culture. Gay/Lesbian. On 9 June 2016, Vice News released a short documentary in which they showed different members of the LGBT community in Lahore. Young men who are sex workers were shown in the video and they explained the difficulties of being gay in Pakistan. The documentary also focused on some underground organizations  that work for basic human rights for the LGBT community. In the film, there is a short clip shown of a young boy getting beaten up and is later sodomized with a tree branch after he was caught in homosexual acts by conservative religious society members. It also displayed how gay and transgender people use social media apps like Tinder to get in contact with other people of the community. However, this documentary, made in collaboration with Google's technology incubator Jigsaw, has been criticised by some for its sensational approach and blatantly showcasing Google's agenda of juxtaposing empowerment  through digital technologies such as Tinder and the collective backwardness and oppression as shown through the blurred video of the young boy being beaten. Transgender. In 2005, Ali Saleem, 28, the son of an army colonel, appeared on Geo TV's "Hum Sub Umeed Se Hain" as cross-dressed Benazir Bhutto. So loved were his performances that he has taken to act to extremes on-air and presents his own talk show where he appears as a dragged-up character named Begum Nawazish Ali. Begum would almost always interview influential politicians, e.g. Naimatullah Khan who was a member of Jamaat -e-Islami Pakistan and former Mayor of Karachi. His character self is often compared to Dame Edna Everage. To raise awareness of LGBT issues, author Eiynah published a children's book called "My Chacha is Gay". Toronto LGBT bookstores have added the book to their shelves in recent years. The topic of LGBT issues remains taboo in Pakistan to discuss, despite curiosity. Relative to its total Google searches, for the year ending 15 June 2013, Pakistan was the world leader for searches of the term "shemale sex", second in the world for searches of "man fucking man", and third in  the world for searches of "gay sex pics". In June 2016, a small clerical body in Lahore known as Tanzeem Ittehad-i-Ummat declared transgender marriages legal under Islamic law. In November 2016, Kami Sid, a transgender activist, did a photoshoot with photographer Haseeb M. Siddiqui, stylist Waqar J. Khan and makeup artist Nighat Misbah, as a form of protest against the atrocities committed against transgender people in Pakistan. One of those atrocities was the death of a transgender woman named Alisha. Alisha died because there were delays in care due to an argument whether to put her in the  male ward or female ward of the hospital. While Pakistan has addressed a "third" gender when identifying transgender people, Kami Sid believes more can be done. Sid is quoted as saying "We have to understand that by just mentioning the third gender identity on your CNIC, the state has not done enough. It is not enough that the government has fixed a two percent job quota either. No! It’s a protracted fight that we have to continue to get equal opportunities". Before doing this photoshoot, Kami Sid was already a part of two documentaries "How Gay is Pakistan?" and  Chuppan Chuppai to shed light on what it means to be transgender in Pakistan. In January 2017, Sid discussed a new movie she was starring in, "Rani", in which she played a transgender woman who finds an abandoned baby and raises it as her own. The movie was directed by award-winning director Hammad Rizvi, and was produced by GrayScale. Kami Sid is hopeful that this will have a positive impact on Pakistan's societal view of transgender people, much like the photoshoot. Hina Pathani, another prominent transgender activist, starred alongside Kami Sid in "Rani." Kami Sid was helpful in  confirming and disproving some preconceived notions of transgender people in the recent TV show "Khuda Mera Bhi Hai". Asma Nabeel, the writer of "Khuda Mera Bhi Hai," was more than happy to ask questions for clarification. Kami Sid was also accused of rape and sexual assault after which Aurat March organizers removed her from serving as a part of their organizing team in 2018. Though Kami rejects the allegations but Aurat March organizers issued a statement that she intimidated them. Kami Sid's participation in the PR campaign "Change The Clap" has also been critiqued for appeasing neoliberal forces and  ignoring local practices of the Khawaja Sira community. In March 2017, a well-known music band featured a transgender model Rimal Ali in their music video. Rimal Ali has performed as an actress and model in many music videos to further her career. In March 2017, the first transgender man (trans man) to have officially registered himself as male in Pakistan’s history Mani AQ. Mani is a well known human rights activist and also one of the task force team members who were closely involved during the Transgender Act 2018 and now involved in the Provincial bill for Transgender  Person Protection of Rights. he is actively working on the implementation of the Act, inclusion of Transgender Men in policies, and for visibility of Transgender Men in Pakistan. In 2018, Nisha Rao attained her law degree from Karachi's Sindh Muslim Law College and became Pakistan's first transgender lawyer. In 2020, a transgender woman named Gul Panra was shot dead in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. This is the latest case of attacked on the LGBT community in the county. Along with her, a friend of Gul's were also injured, but escaped death. Since 2015, it is reported  that 68 transgender people were murdered in Pakistan. However, a total of 479 transgender people were attacked since 2018 in the Pakistani provence of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa alone. But, these figures may not include the actual figure, as recording of anti-trans violence is poor. Living conditions. Several incidents of pederasty by clerics towards young boys at religious schools ("madrasahs") have been reported. It is difficult for the victims to get justice in these situations because the public does not want to believe that a cleric could engage in pederasty and the victims, young boys who are forced to be the  receptive partner in anal intercourse, are often perceived as being gay and are thus subjected to social hostility and even legal sanctions. While the LGBT community is not ready to tackle such abuse and prejudices, a growing number of gay and bisexual men are creating social networks. Metropolitan areas like Lahore and Karachi have seen many gay men, mostly from the middle and upper classes, enjoying themselves at parties aimed at proclaiming their "gay pride". These usually involve large numbers of men dancing together in huge isolated rooms modeled into a discothèque environment and making out. In 2008, an incident  that caught the eyes of passers-by was a group of cross-dressed men dancing to Bollywood tunes on a rooftop on the day of Basant. An anonymous interviewee told the BBC that he cannot remember an occasion in almost 10 years that he has felt threatened with regards to his sexuality in Pakistan. In 2003, however, three Pakistani men were arrested in the city of Lahore when one of their relatives turned them in for engaging in same-sex sexual acts at a private party. Their punishment is not known. In 2005, a man named Liaquat Ali, 42 , from the Khyber region bordering Afghanistan married fellow tribesman Markeen, 16, with the usual pomp and show associated with tribal weddings. Upon hearing of the man's religious infidelity, a tribal council told the pair to leave the area or face death. Where men are now opening up to sexuality, lesbianism has lesser exposure in the country and publicized events of women indulging in same-sex relationships are rare. One such court case, decided in 2008, displayed the same disapproving attitude towards a lesbian relationship as it would have towards two men involved. In 2016, a 23-year-old activist  named Alisha was shot seven times and was taken to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, where she was left to bleed to death as the staff argued over whether they should take Alisha to the men's ward or women's ward. Alisha's friends reported that the men discrimined against and taunted them, asked if Alisha's blood was "HIV-positive" and asked for her friend's phone number to invite her to a dance party. Alisha was an avid activist for the transgender community and worked hard all her life to make a living. Alisha's friend Farzana  said that transgender people are easily targeted as they are weak and have no social status. Even though the Government has passed laws in favor of transgender people, the locals tend to not accept them and deny them basic education and healthcare. The morning after Alisha's death, an activist group called Trans Action posted a status on Facebook directed to the local authorities saying, "Kill all of us." In November 2017, a transgender woman was gunned down in Peshawar. Initial reports from the police suggest that the perpetrator was closely related to the victim and that it might be  an incident of honour killing. In 2017, in an interview with Manchester Evening News, a 40-year-old woman who used the name Zayna talked about her life as a lesbian Muslim in Pakistan before she moved to the United Kingdom. She talked about how she had to face major beatings and a lot of discrimination. She was told she cannot be a lesbian if she is a Muslim and was told to leave her university and workplace because of her sexuality. Some transgender people in Pakistan use hormones and silicone to bring focus on their feminine characteristics; however , this is usually done in terrible medical conditions without proper equipment and supervision, as expensive sex change surgeries in Pakistan are not done mostly due to lack of education on the topic and the taboos of society. Even though the Pakistani government recognises a third gender on ID cards, many people from the transgender community are hesitant to apply for it as they will not be allowed to enter the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia as a transgender person. Government stance. UNHRC vote. The Pakistani Government has always shown resistance towards the issue of LGBT rights and never  hid its intolerance. A United Nations vote cast on 25 April 2003 on issues of LGBT human rights was derailed at the last minute by an alliance of five disapproving Muslim countries, including Pakistan. The others were Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. The countries delayed their votes to stall the process and proposed amendments that were meant to kill the measure deliberately, removing all references to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, rendering the resolution meaningless. The resolution was tabled by Brazil with support from 19 of the 53 member countries of the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC ) in Geneva. It called on member states to promote and protect the human rights "of all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation". Politics. Political parties, interest groups and other political organisations in Pakistan are required to support Islam and public morality. The small Green Party has expressed some support for LGBT rights, but political groups tend to avoid the issue or express opposition. Transgender people are treated differently, at least on paper, than gay, lesbian and bisexual people. Pakistani citizens who are transgender or a member of the third gender are a recognized minority group and thus entitled to certain  civil rights. Media. Pakistani media strictly censors LGBT related news stories. In late 2013, the Government of Pakistan censored the website Queerpk.com from being viewed. When a Chinese court accepted to hear a case regarding the issue of same-sex marriage, the news story received substantial international coverage. However, in the Pakistani version of the "International New York Times" ("Express Tribune"), the picture accompanying the article was censored and a blank space was left on the front page of the newspaper. "Daily Times" columnist Farman Nawaz raised several questions about this kind of journalistic approach. In July 2016, a young  Pakistani man named Ihsan wrote an article in the UK-based gay e-zine "Gay Star News" about his experiences of being gay in Pakistan. He described Pakistani society and laws as hostile towards LGBT people. He wrote, "The status of LGBTI people, socially and legally, is at its worst. LGBTI people face prosecution by the state. And the subject is still taboo – considered too disgusting to talk about." His surname was omitted for his security. While national media and state have censored queer discourses, transnational documentaries such as "How Gay is Pakistan?", "Being LGBT in the Islamic Republic of  Pakistan", and "Transgenders: Pakistan's Open Secret" have been critiqued for their neo-colonial, self-othering, disciplinary, and moralistic narratives. Similar documentaries made on other countries such as Uganda and Turkey have been critiqued for their tourist gaze, inadequate research, sweeping statements, and sensational approaches that create binary between sexually empowered Western countries and sexually backward rest of the world. HIV/AIDS. One of the issues that has opened up public discussion about LGBT rights has been the effort to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS among men who have sex with other men, but who do not necessarily identify  as being gay or bisexual. UNAIDS official reports suggest that they are targeting night truck drivers who are known for having sex with younger men. The AIDS pandemic first arose in Pakistan in 1987, and government reports estimate (as of 2004) that nearly 3,000 Pakistanis were living with the syndrome, although several critics believe that the Government is underestimating the problem. It is believed that the number may have risen to somewhere between 70,000 and 80,000 people, and possibly as high as 210,000 (as in the UNAIDS Pakistan reports). Today, a small number of organizations exist in Pakistan to promote  greater education about HIV/AIDS, including the Association for People Living With AIDS/HIV in Pakistan, which was created in 2006. One of the few public educators is a woman named Shukria Gul, who was infected by her husband. She has been fighting ever since to raise awareness of the virus, and has been highly critical of the Government's efforts. Ignorance about the virus, and how it is spread, is commonplace; this is particularly true among people performing high-risk behavior such as prostitutes. Pakistani prostitutes do not have access to condoms or contraception, and there is little effort  to provide any sort of public health education for this high-risk group. Where there was no public call for tolerance or acceptance of LGBT people, the subject of sexual orientation and gender identity are becoming more openly discussed, especially in light of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A survey done in 2009 showed that male and transgender sex workers in Pakistan were at high risk of HIV/AIDS mostly as they had sex with IDU clients. Because of lack of knowledge and education on this topic, the health of sex workers is at risk. US Embassy Islamabad incident. On 4  July 2011, the US Embassy in Islamabad hosted an LGBT event in support of gay rights in Pakistan. The embassy described the event as its first gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender pride celebration. Jamaat-e-Islami and other groups of religious conservatives in Pakistan condemned the event and went on a protest. Over 75 people attended, including Pakistani LGBT organization advocates. Many Pakistanis were greatly offended by this and called this event an act of "social and cultural terrorism against the country". In news speculation, it was also said by religious leaders that homosexuals cannot be "Pakistani" or "Muslim . Dawn" wrote that it was seen as the second most dangerous attack from the US to Pakistan after dropping missiles as this issue was so serious. Violence against the LGBT community raised a lot after this controversial incident. The US Deputy Chief of Mission Ambassador Richard Hoagland replied back to the backlash saying that the US will fight for equal rights for everyone regardless of their sexual orientation and that the embassy will support anyone from the LGBT community. However, many LGBT advocates from Pakistan were not in support of everything that had happened and thought that the public eye  was not what was needed for the LGBT community. Public opinion. Public opinion regarding LGBT politics is complex. In June 2013, the Pew Research Center stated that of 39 countries studied, Pakistan was one of the least accepting of homosexuality with 87% of those surveyed saying "Homosexuality should not be accepted by society". According to a 2017 poll carried out by ILGA, a plurality of 45% of Pakistanis agreed that gay, lesbian and bisexual people should enjoy the same rights as straight people, while 36% disagreed (with rest being undecided). Additionally, 41% agreed that they should be protected from workplace  discrimination. 46% of Pakistanis, however, said that people who are in same-sex relationships should be charged as criminals, while 31% disagreed. As for transgender people, 49% agreed that they should have the same rights, 51% believed they should be protected from employment discrimination and 44% believed they should be allowed to change their legal gender.