LGBT rights in Pakistan

Lesbianism, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Pakistan are considered taboo. 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, acts of homosexuality are not always prosecuted in the country.[1]

LGBT rights in Pakistan
Area controlled by Pakistan shown in dark green; claimed but uncontrolled regions shown in light green.
StatusIllegal[1]
PenaltyCriminalised under Section 377. Vigilante executions, beatings and torture are also tolerated.
Generally laws against homosexuality are not enforced, mob justice can be occurred.[2][3][4]
Gender identityThird gender recognised; transgender people allowed to change legal gender
MilitaryNo
Discrimination protectionsGender identity protected
Family rights
Recognition of relationshipsNo recognition of same-sex unions
AdoptionNo

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.[5] Nevertheless, the LGBT community is still able to socialize, organize, date, and even live together as couples, if done mostly in secret.[6]

Sexual encounters between same-sex partners are more accessible in big cities such as Karachi and Lahore, for gay and bisexual men in particular. As a result of globalisation, increasing liberalisation trends and advancing social tolerance, private gay parties in Pakistan have been increasing for a number of years.[7] 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.[8]

In 2018, Parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act which established broad protections for transgender people. 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
Community Flag of LGBT of Pakistan

Pakistani law is a mixture of both Anglo-Saxon 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 Anglo-Saxon 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".[9]

As part of the Islamisation of Pakistan, the Hudood Ordinances were enacted in 1977, stipulating severe punishments for adultery, fornication, consuming alcohol and same-sex sexual acts. The amendments included primitive forms of penalization like whipping of up to 100 lashes and death by stoning. An LGBT Pakistani may face either secular or Islamic, or in some cases both, punishments. Although, all of the known recorded cases of these laws being used against LGBT Pakistanis suggest that the more common punishment involves harassment and sporadic blackmail by the police, then the imposition of fines and jail sentences.

Pakistan Penal Code 1860

Relevant sections of the code are as follows:[10]

  • Article 141 – An assembly of five or more persons is designated an "unlawful assembly" if the common object of the persons composing that assembly is...to commit any mischief or criminal trespass, or other offence.
  • Article 153 – Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representations, or otherwise, induce or attempts to induce any student, or any class of students, or any institution interested in or connected with students, to take part in any political activity which disturbs or undermines, or is likely disturb or undermine, the public order shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to two years or – with fine or with both.
  • Article 268 – A person is guilty of a public nuisance who does any act or is guilty of an illegal omission which causes any common injury, danger or annoyance to the public or to the people in general who dwell or occupy property in the vicinity, or which must necessarily cause injury, obstruction, danger or annoyance to persons who may have occasion to use any public right.
  • Article 269 – Whoever unlawfully or negligently does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.
  • Article 270 – Whoever malignantly does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
  • Article 290 – Whoever commits a public nuisance in any case not otherwise punishable by this Code, shall be punished with fine which may extend to six hundred rupees.
  • Article 292 – Prohibits the sale, distribution, exhibition, ownership or importation of any, "obscene" books, pamphlets, or other literature or images.
  • Article 294 – Prohibits any "obscene" public acts, songs, music or poems.
  • Article 371A – Whoever sells, lets to hire, or otherwise disposes of any person with intent that such a person shall at any time be employed or used for the purpose of prostitution or illicit intercourse with any person or for any unlawful and immoral purpose, or knowing it to be likely that such person shall at any time be employed or used for any such purpose, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to twenty-five years, and shall also be liable to fine.
  • Article 371B – When a female is sold, let for hire, or otherwise disposed of to a prostitute or to any person who keeps or manages a brothel, the person so disposing of such female shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed to have disposed of her with the intent that she shall be used for the purpose of prostitution. For the purposes of this section and section 371B, "illicit intercourse" means sexual intercourse between persons not united by marriage.
  • Article 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. Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.
  • Article 496 – Whoever, dishonestly or with a fraudulent intention, goes through the ceremony of being married, knowing that he is not thereby lawfully married, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall be liable to fine.

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.[11]

  • Part II 37. The government pledges to promote Islamic values among its Muslim citizens, to protect marriage and the family and to oppose obscenity.
  • Part IX 227. Islam is the official state religion, and all laws, rules, regulations and other such legislation must be compatible with Islam, as defined by a government appointed Islamic council.

Discrimination protections

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 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.[12]

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."[13]

Gender identity and expression
A group of khawaja saras and transgender people protest in Islamabad.

In most South Asian nations, there is a concept of third gender where members are referred to by society as neither man or a woman. Pakistan is no different and has a vibrant culture of hijras (ہیجڑا). While the term is commonly used in South Asia, it is considered derogatory in Urdu and the term khawaja sara (خواجہ سرا) is used instead.[14][15] They are sometimes referred to as transgender, intersex or eunuchs in English language publications.[16] Like transgender people in many countries, they are sometimes the subjects of ridicule, abuse, and violence.[16] 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.[16] In Punjabi, there are referred to as khusra (ਖੁਸਰਾ), and in Sindhi as khadra (کدڙا).

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.[17] Thought to be born with genital dysphoria and afraid that they might curse one their fate,[18][19] 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.[20] 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.[17]

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.[21] 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.[22]

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 transgender people from discrimination and harassment.[23] Pakistan's Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, was the architect of major extension of rights to Pakistan's transgender community during his term.[24]

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.[25]

In 2017, the Lahore High Court ordered the Government to include transgender people in the national census.[26]

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.[27]

In May 2019, Shireen Mazari, the Federal Minister for Human Rights, appointed Ayesha Moghul, a transgender woman to her department for the first time.[28]

Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Act 2018

Under the Transgender Person (Protection of Rights) Act 2018 (Urdu: مخنث افراد کے لیے (تحفظ حقوق) قانون 2018ء‎), 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."[29] 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."[30]

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.

Discrimination based on gender identity in employment and public accommodations is forbidden under the new law. The Government is assigned broad obligations to provide medical and psychological assistance, small business loans and vocational training, sensitivity training for police and helping professionals, separate prison facilities, and safe houses.

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.[31][29][32][33]

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 implementation of the Act.[34]

Gay/Lesbian

"Passive" gay men in Pakistan are seen as effeminate men who only dress up like men but have the characteristics of women. However, "active" gay men are not typically distinguished from heterosexual males. Lesbians have very minimum focus and are mostly invisible.[35]

On 9 June 2016, Vice News made a small 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.[4]

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 government ministers, e.g. pro-Jamaat-e-Islami former Mayor of Karachi Naimatullah Khan.[36] His character self is often compared to Dame Edna Everage.[37]

Zanaya Chaudhry (Transgender rights activist) and Farhan Wilayat (Philanthropist) from Pakistan celebrating Holi 2020

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.[38] 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".[39]

In June 2016, a small clerical body in Lahore known as Tanzeem Ittehad-i-Ummat declared transgender marriages legal under Islamic law.[40]

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,[41] 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".[42] 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.[43] 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.[43] Hina Pathani, another prominent transgender activist, starred alongside Kami Sid in Rani.[43] 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.[43]

In March 2017, a well-known music band featured a transgender model Rimal Ali in their music video.[44] Rimal Ali has performed as an actress and model in many music videos to further her career.[45][46][47][48]

Living conditions

Several incidents of pederasty by clerics towards young boys at religious schools (madrasahs) have been reported.[49] 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.[50]

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.[51]

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".[51][52] 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.[53] 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.[51]

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 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.[54]

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.[21][55]

In 2016, a 23-year-old activist named Alisha was shot 7 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 were discriminating and taunting them asking 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 next morning, an activist group called Trans Action posted a status on Facebook, after Alisha's death directed to the local authorities saying, "Kill all of us."[3]

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.[56]

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.[57]

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.[35]

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.[58]

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 being Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.[59]

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.[59] It called on member states to promote and protect the human rights of all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation.[60]

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.[61]

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.[62] Farman Nawaz took a different approach while writing for Global Times China: "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".[63]

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.[64]

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.[65]

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.[66] It is believed that the number may have risen to somewhere between 70,000 and 80,000 people,[67] and possibly as high as 210,000 (as in the UNAIDS Pakistan reports).[65]

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.[65] 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.[68]

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.[51]

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.[69]

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 newspaper stated 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.[70]

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".[71]

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.[72]

Additionally, according to that same poll, about 40% of Pakistanis would try to "change" a neighbour's sexual orientation if they discovered he/she was gay. (43% if it's a woman and 45% if it's a man).

Summary table
Same-sex sexual activity legal
Equal age of consent
Anti-discrimination laws in employment / (Since 2018; for gender identity only)
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services / (Since 2018; for gender identity only)
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) / (Since 2018; for gender identity only)
Recognition of same-sex couples
Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples
Joint adoption by same-sex couples
LGBT allowed to serve in the military
Right to change legal gender (Since 2010)
Third gender recognised (Since 2010)
Access to IVF for lesbians
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples
MSMs allowed to donate blood

See also

References
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