Pakistan, Asia

Pakistani gay says life easier at home than in USA; culture helps mask same-sex affection   Qasim and his partner Ali are in love and live together. They talk about going abroad to marry, but the only weddings they attend in Pakistan are arranged unions between their gay friends and unsuspecting women. Despite that, “it’s actually easier being gay in Pakistan than in the US,” says Qasim, 41, dragging on a cigarette in a smart coffee shop, as he explains how to live under the radar in one of the world’s most conservative countries. “We can hold hands,” says Qasim, reaching for Ali under the table. “We can sit casually like this. Nobody gives it a second thought in Pakistan.” Qasim says he is never insulted in the street, or called names – something that happened when he lived in the United States. In tribal societies in Pakistan’s northwestern border

Introduction Three native Pakistani men write about living inside their sexually ambivalent culture where gay men live behind masks and love in secret. There is a gay subculture in Pakistan but it is virtually invisible and exists only by word of mouth and in furtive situations–in nighttime parks, discrete parties and in one’s imagination or memory. Internet liaisons and clandestine boyfriends are typical of the ‘scene’ in this Muslim country. Curiously, Pakistani law appears to tolerate male-to-female transgenders/cross dressers (hijras) and it is generally safe to be so. Three stories are presented here that reveal different aspects of gay life in Pakistan. (1) The Prince is Gay – 2006 (2) The Invisible Men – 2002 (3) Gay Life in Pakistan (1) The Prince is Gay by Zafar Khan 2006 To be gay, Muslim and Pakistani isn’t one of the best combinations in the world. I’m gay, have always been and