LGBT rights in Pakistan

LGBT legal Issues

Pakistani law is a mixture of both Anglo-Saxon colonial law as well as Islamic law, both which proscribe criminal penalties for same-sex sexual acts. The Pakistan Penal Code of 1860, originally developed under colonialism, 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. Yet, the more likely situation for gay and bisexual men is sporadic police blackmail, harassment, fines, and jail sentences

Pakistan Constitution

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.

Pakistan Penal Code 1860

Abuse issues

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.

A Kahuta based Pakistani cleric stated on 31 December 2007 that every homosexual person should be killed to stop this sudden growth towards sexual awareness suggesting either beheading or stoning the involved.

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 of 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 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 Khyber region bordering Afghanistan married a 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 one hears rarely of events that matter to women indulging in same-sex relationships. One such court case, decided in 2008, displayed the same disapproving attitude towards a lesbian relationship as it would have towards two men involved.

Transsexualism and intersexuality

In most South Asian nations, a concept of third gender prevails where members of the same are referred to as neither man or a woman. Pakistan is no different and has a vibrant culture of hijras. They are sometimes referred to as transsexuals 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 Desi society. For example, they are welcome at weddings where they will dance as entertainment for the men, and are also welcome among the women.

Their presence in society is usually tolerated and are considered blessed in the Pakistani culture. Most hijras 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, his circumcision or weddings. This mysteriousness that shrouds their existence has born of the fact that the hijra 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 or just for the sake of it. 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 and protection of the law and called upon the government to take steps to protect transvestites from discrimination and harassment. Pakistan's chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was the architect of major extension of rights to Pakistan's transgender community during his term.

Acceptance in media and popular culture

In 2005, Ali Saleem, 28 and 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 government ministers, e.g., pro-Jamait-e-Islami former mayor of Karachi, Naimatullah Khan. 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 book stores have added the book to their shelves recently. 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 female identified 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 identified as Alisha, who had a gunshot wound. Alisha died because there was a delay 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 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 per cent 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 of 2017, Sid discussed a new movie she is starring in, Rani, in which she plays a transgender woman who finds an abandoned baby and raises it as her own. The movie is directed by award-winning director Hammad Rizvi. 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, will be starring 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.

Government's stance on homosexuality

Pakistani law is a combination of the colonial and Islamic view. Under the Pakistan Penal Code (PCC), same-sex sexual acts are deemed a crime that are punishable by a prison sentence. With the Islamicisation of Pakistan policies under the rule of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Islamic sharia laws were intervened with the existing laws. A complete compilation of Islamic laws that amended the policies were called the Hudood Ordinance that stipulated severe punishments for adultery, fornication, consuming alcohol, and same-sex sexual acts. What was excluded, however, were punishments for actions that involved pederasty, with pederasty becoming confused with other carnal acts.

Under the colonial aspects of law, since 1860, same-sex sexual acts were a crime punishable by a sentence of two to 10 years in prison. Buggery is punishable by an automatic life sentence in prison. However, when the Islamic laws were introduced to the system, amendments included primitive forms of punishments like whipping of up to 100 lashes and death by stoning. A LGBT Pakistani may face either secular or Islamic, or in some cases both punishments combined. Although, all of the known recorded cases of these laws being used against LGBT Pakistanis suggest that more common punishment involves police harassment and the imposition of fines and or jail time.

Under section 377 of the PPC, it states:

Of Unnatural Offences
Section 377: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than two years nor more than ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

In the PPC, the provision defining the offence and prescribing the punishment for it is titled unnatural offences where people would argue that while same-sex sexual acts are generally an offence under Pakistan's Penal Code (PCC), this particular law does not specifically refer to homosexuality.

The UNHRC vote

The Islamabad government has always shown resistance against the issue of gay 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 being 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.

Civil rights

No civil rights legislation exists to prohibit public or private sector discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Green Party of Pakistan has expressed some support for LGBT rights, but most political parties 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 emphasize 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 was not prudent for any Government that claimed 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."

LGBT politics

Political parties, interest groups and other political organizations in Pakistan are required to respect Islam and "public morality", which may preclude any endorsement of LGBT rights. The one exception seems to be Pakistani citizens who are transsexual or a member of the third gender. In 2009, the Pakistani Supreme Court ruled that the government must take proactive steps to protect transsexuals from harassment and discrimination, although no legislation in the area of gender identity has advanced. 'Third gender' was officially protected from discrimination by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2010.

In June 2013 the Pew Research Center stated that of 39 countries studied, Pakistan was found to be one of the least gay-tolerant, with 87% of those surveyed saying homosexuality should be rejected. Also in late 2013, the government of Pakistan censored the website Queerpk.com from being viewed. Surprisingly, 60% of Pakistanis would have no concerns about having a gay or lesbian neighbour, and 32% of Pakistani people support gay marriage.

Related issues

A growing number of gay and bisexual Pakistanis, mostly from the urban, middle and upper classes, are more open about their sexual orientation and are attending or hosting social functions. Underground night clubs exist in Karachi for same-sex romances. Under a veneer of strict social conformity, most of these men do not reveal their identity outside of the underground "group sex parties." While there is no political movement being launched, the Internet has played a large role in social networking and fighting isolation with websites like Facebook, Orkut, blogs and websites. The blogosphere so far has been immune to the modern emergence of queer desi identity. Blogs now highlight stories and issues specific to this marginalised community.

One of the issues that has opened up public discussion about LGBT rights has been the effort to combat the spread of AIDS-HIV among men who have sex with other men, but who do not necessarily identity as being gay or bisexual in orientation. UNAIDS official reports suggest that they are targeting night truck drivers who are known for having sex with younger men. Of most concern is the spread of HIV and AIDS.

Fighting HIV and AIDS

The AIDS pandemic first arose in Pakistan in 1987, and the official government reports estimate (as of 2004) that nearly 3,000 Pakistanis are living with the disease, 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 got infected from her husband. She had been fighting ever since to raise awareness of the disease, and has been highly critical of the government's efforts. Ignorance about the disease, 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. All but a handful of LGBT Pakistanis are in the closet, the most public form of same-sex sexual acts involving illegal prostitution. Young children are often forced into prostitution due to poverty, or outright coercion and have no means of protection.

US Embassy Islamabad incident

On 4 July 2011, the US embassy in Islamabad hosted a 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.

Media Coverage

Pakistani media strictly censors LGBT related news stories. Recently a Chinese court has accepted to hear a case regarding the issue of same-sex marriage. As such, the case got substantial coverage. However, in the Pakistani version (Express Tribune) of the International New York Times, the picture accompanying this news story 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 type journalism in Pakistan. However Farman Nawaz (editor Border Times Pakistan) adopted a different approach while writing for Global Times China. He wrote "Secular and liberal viewpoints are not given space on the pages of newspapers and news channels in Pakistan and liberals have to wrap their ideas in religion and customs to make them worth publishing. But people have found social media a more accommodating space".