Gay rights in Pakistan

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There are no gay rights activists in Pakistan and homosexuality is illegal.

Contents 1 Penal Code 2 Persecution and abuse 3 Gay life in the country 3.1 HIV and AIDS 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Penal Code

Section 377, a law introduced by the British government in 1860 criminalizes "carnal knowledge of any man against the order of nature", with a penalty of anywhere from 2 to 10 years.

Islamic law was re-introduced in 1990. Pakistani civil law punishes those who have gay sex with two years to life in prison, while Islamic law, which also can be enforced legally, calls for up to 100 lashes or death by stoning.

[edit] Persecution and abuse

In May 1997, Mohammad Zaman, 38, a mosque worker, and Fahimullah, a 14-year-old student, were lashed publicly in Bara Bazar in Pakistan's western Khyber Agency, an area administered by local Afridi tribespeople. Zaman received 75 blows and the boy got 32. [1]

Police recurrently take money or sex from those they know to be involved in same-sex sex relations.

In April 2003, a UN vote on homosexual human rights was derailed at the last minute by an alliance of disapproving countries, including Pakistan.

Four gay men are known to have been granted asylum in Canada and the United States.

[edit] Gay life in the country

Homosexual sex is a taboo subject in Pakistan's conservative society however sex between men is fairly widespread throughout the country. [2]

Cultural and religious tradition keep homosexual relationships largely hidden in Pakistan. Such relationships are concealed within the context of marriage to a woman. In some areas, homosexual sex is even tactily accepted as long as it doesn't threaten traditional marriage. In recent years, the internet has helped gays to meet discreetly. [3]

Prostitution is common and male sex workers outnumber female sex workers in some red light districts. [4] Boys and young men coerced or forced into sex work are sometimes later arrested under Pakistan's sodomy law. [5]

In the Pashtun-dominated areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, pederasty is a long-observed cultural practice. Married men will often keep younger males as lovers. In the Khyber tribal agency, a 42-year-old Afghan refuge "married" a 16-year-old boy whom he called his "male bride". A tribal council ordered the pair to leave, or be stoned for breaking religious and tribal values. Increasingly, gay couples are living together in some of the big cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Quetta and Islamabad. [6]

Communities of hijra, a transgender group with roots which stretch back to the Mughal empire, are found in all major cities.

In 2003 it was revealed that Ali Mohammed Maher, chief minister of the southeastern state of Sindh, was gay and occasionally cross-dressed at late-night parties. The controversy eventually blew over and Maher was allowed to keep his job. [7]

In 2006 days before Lahore's historic Basant festival President Pervez Musharraf boasted of empowering minorities. Whether or not Musharraf was talking about gays about 150 gay revellers nonetheless joined in the celebrations. [8] [9]

[edit] HIV and AIDS

Due to the sensitivity of the topic, there is widepsread ignorance about AIDS and HIV. It is estimated that between 70,000 and 80,000 of Pakistan's population of 160 million is HIV positive. [10] Pakistan's numerous male sex workers have little access to information about preventing infection. [11]

[edit] See also

• Human rights in Pakistan
• Transsexualism in Pakistan

[edit] External links

• Global Gayz: Pakistan
• Gay Pakistan - 'less inhibited than West'