Re: Gays in Pakistan
Muqawwee bhai i agree with you. Lot of the time when western desis come to India/Pakistan they are shocked to see guys and girls holding hands when this is a common friendship gesture. The Madho Lal Hussain dargah in Lahore was named after Shah Hussain and the Hindu brahmin boy Madho Lal he loved as a good friend. He also wrote many poems for him.
The writer seems to be a similar British Pakistani who might not understand the deeper layers of friendship that exists on subcontinent. You watch movies like Sholay and then you think what people would think of such innocent love today.
In my opinion the whole reason the article was written by BBC and why this issue is in focus is because the BBC is trying to show Pakistanis as being tolerant and open minded towards gay minorities especially after some unfortunate incidents in the UK which has brought them bad publicity. Like some British Pakistanis putting up gay free zones stickers in areas populated by gays in the UK. The documentary was targeted more for british pakistanis and other british people rather than Pakistanis living in Pakistan.
Could community relations survive a homophobic campaign? | Society | The Guardian
BBC News - Residents tackle East End “gay free zone” stickers
Muslim fanatic fined £100 for ‘gay free zone’ stickers - Telegraph The guy was on benefits as well. Could have spent his time more productively finding a job rather than being parasitic to the system and at the same time infringing on the rights of other minorities to leave peacefully.
How would someone of the minority feel if people in Western countries started putting up stickers saying “Indian free zone” or “Pakistani free zone” in predominant asian areas?
When you move to a new country it is important to respect the rules of the country you move to. If you do not want to do that then why move.
Unfortunately this is something only really seen in the UK. I have hardly heard of this happening in the US or Australia.
In my opinion it was not to say that Pakistan has lot of gays and it is bad but to say even though British Pakistanis may not all be as open minded people in Pakistan are. Or that actually not all Pakistanis think alike and that there is diversity of opinion. Even though they might not agree with it if others do it they may tolerate it if it is a private affair and kept under wraps.