Now a days when people are publicly accepting the gay culture and homosexuals around the world. The gay rights movements have been established in major countries in the world including U.S where they have made gay marriage legal. So if we talk about Pakistan in the context of homosexuals the thing which comes upfront is that Ever since its creation, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has been influenced by various Islamic ideologies coming from different governments. Furthermore, the country’s independence inherited many British Era laws including Article 377: the most petitioned against gay men. Because the entire society is heavily influenced by religion, homosexuality remains a taboo. All the major sects of Islam have completely forbidden homosexuality but the existence of an homosexual population cannot be denied in Pakistani society.
Homosexuality is a kind of sexual orientation. A homosexual person is romantically or sexually attracted to people of their own gender.
This was rarely seen or talked about back in the day. But now, as many countries like the US and Russia’s government has allowed same-sex marriages. Many people have been inclined towards this issue.
In Islam, homosexuality is strictly prohibited proven by what the people of Hazrat Lut A.S. went through. They were all destroyed by a violent tornado.
Now, let’s look at all the people who have felt a little different than all others around them.
Interview : “Haseeb Rathore is a young gay man from Lahore, Pakistan who “recognized himself” and felt different from others at a very young age, but was not allowed to express his feelings. Like other gay boys, Haseeb tried his best to be accepted but nothing ever worked for him. During grade school, college and even in his professional life, he felt cornered, exposed to bullying by family members, classmates and colleagues.
Haseeb has always been an independent person, he left his parents’ house early on since his family wanted him to either change his sexual orientation or leave. Haseeb found himself with no place to go and had no choice but to take shelter at a friend’s place. This is when Il Grande Colibri learned about Haseeb’s story and took the opportunity to interview him about his identity as a gay Muslim from Pakistan”. SOURCE : sogica.org
source : bbc.com
Interview : “The boy who was always shy and didn’t play or speak that much didn’t know who he could talk to about all this because when he once saw a man kissing another man on TV, his father took the remote from him and told him about how these people will go to hell. His family was homophobic to the extent that he could no longer even look them in the eyes, fearing that they might somehow find out.
But why was he guilty? He was just a 5-year-old boy who hadn’t even done so much as hug his friends.
However, when he turned 19, he decided that day, that he will tell his family about his sexuality because he couldn’t keep it a secret anymore. That night, he was killed by his own father.
Look at that boy, who didn’t indulge in any haraam act. Whatever he felt, he didn’t act on it. He just wanted his family to understand him.
It doesn’t even have to be a male
A girl was homosexual. When she told her mom about it, it resulted in her getting married to a complete stranger within a few weeks. She committed suicide the day she found out she was pregnant. She had never wanted any of this and she couldn’t take it anymore”. SOURCE: parhlo.com
What does it mean to be gay in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan?
To be a gender minority in Pakistan is the worst. This is a country where discrimination based on color, caste, race, and wealth is very common and when it comes to sexuality, hypocrisy and double standards make it unsustainable for the gender minorities. It’s easier to live a hidden life than to live openly in public.
How do gay men in Pakistan spend their life?
Most gay men spend their life in guilt, carrying a burden of sins. In our society they only have two options: one is to come out of the closet and live a horrible life and being bullied; the other is to conceal their sexuality for the rest of their lives. People usually choose the second option. They get married and start living a dual life: one for the family and society, the other for their own satisfaction. This makes life very pathetic and a under continuous threat of being caught. Very few men come out and even when if that happens, they get very little support from family and society.
Islam doesn’t allow homosexuality. But it doesn’t allow forced marriages and killing someone either.
What people don’t seem to understand is the concept of “live and let live“. If you don’t like something that someone is doing, then leave them alone. Don’t force them to change. You have no right to make them do something they don’t want to do.
If you or anyone close to you wears a hijab, imagine someone telling them to take it off forcefully and making them go around without one. Imagine the opposite too, that if the person close to you doesn’t wear a hijab, she is frowned upon and shunned every time she goes in public.
It’s their life. You have no right to make them live by your own moral code.
