Tuesday, May 18, 2021
#Pakistan: How has COVID impacted the LGBT+ community?
The pandemic has resulted in reports of domestic violence and mental distress among LGBT+ people. Restrictions have made it more difficult to find partners because of virus fears and as many return to their family homes.
The coronavirus pandemic has made being LGBT+ in Pakistan significantly more difficult, in a country where those communities already face numerous challenges, including systemic oppression, social stigma and a legal ban on homosexual acts.
The colonial British government criminalized homosexual activities in India in 1860, establishing them as crimes that can result in life imprisonment or even death by stoning. Though these laws are seldom enforced by officials, as gay and queer activities remain largely clandestine, those identifying as LGBT+ rarely come out to their families.
When family members do come out or are found out to be queer, they face threats of violence and disownment. This is why some LGBT+ Pakistanis often move out of their family homes to pursue more freedom to explore their identity and sexuality. However, during the pandemic, exploration and independence have become increasingly perilous for some.
Usman, 32, who works for a multinational company in Abbottabad, a city slightly north of the capital, Islamabad, told DW that during the pandemic he has only managed to meet his long-distance boyfriend once every three months.
"My boyfriend is 25 and living with his family in Gujranwala, so he doesn't have the same freedom to leave his house," he said. "With the lockdowns and travel restrictions in place, our meetups have become more difficult."
Hookup culture and online apps
Though Usman prefers monogamy, he and his partner have an agreement that they are free to explore physical relationships with other men, because of the nature of their long-distance relationship.
Such meetings are largely facilitated by social media, online groups and dating applications. Due to the pandemic, however, Usman said that usage of dating apps and the possibility of actual meetups have been considerably reduced.
"In the beginning of COVID, people were definitely more scared than they are now. I had a few people actually asking me for proof of negative tests on dating apps. I didn't have one at the time, so I moved on from them," he said.
During the fasting month of Ramadan, Usman said many men were also abstaining from casual sex and hookups, as many gay men negatively internalize their sexuality as something shameful or wrong.
"Families don't even acknowledge or dream that their son could be gay. If you are always with a man, he is just considered a friend," he said.
Though Usman has future plans to forge a life in Europe with his partner, other gay men in Pakistan face more challenges in finding love and feel that they have to settle for casual sex and dating.
Saad, 30, told DW that, as a single man, he findd meeting like-minded people and partners to be increasingly difficult, especially during the pandemic.
"Many people moved to their hometowns, and there were less meetings because so many locations were closed or heavily policed. So the risk of getting caught is so much greater too," he said.
Online dating has also suffered a few setbacks. Prime Minister Imran Khan banned the use of dating apps such as Tinder and Grindr earlier last year in order to curb "un-Islamic behavior." However, Saad said, there are lesser-known apps and VPNs through which users can still meet each other.
Dating app users have also found ways around the pandemic by offering more transparency about their health. Saad said some users updated their online status to "COVID recovered" or "vaccinated" in order to engage more potential mates in a safe and stress-free way.
"I just got vaccinated, so I, too, look forward to changing my status now," Saad said.
Domestic violence on the rise
Activists are concerned that the increased alienation and barriers to meeting people is negatively affecting mental health within LGBT+ communities.
Mani, a 36-year-old human rights defender, identifies as a transgender man. His organization called HOPE has carried out several studies on the impact of COVID on his community. He told DW that more cases of domestic violence among gay and transgender partners had been reported during the lockdowns, as the financial and emotional stress led to more clashes, especially for transgender women.
"Some trans women enjoy having a masculine boyfriend because he can make her feel more feminine and loved, but, during COVID, we saw that many women reported more domestic violence," Mani said.
LGBT+ communities have some of the highest rates of suicide in in Pakistan, as well as reports of self-harm and mental health problems.
Mani said communities had stigmatized themselves in some ways by reinforcing sexual identity as an act of defiance.
"Sex is a natural need, and, because our community is so marginalized, we talk about sex more openly among ourselves, which has stereotyped LGBT people as being more sexual," he said, stressing that this stereotype of being hypersexual can also create barriers to finding stable romantic partnerships.
Pakistan has more than 873,000 COVID-19 cases and over 19,000 deaths. On May 8, the government imposed a 10-day nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the virus ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
#Pakistan has strict blasphemy laws, but celebs still tweet antisemitism
By SETH J. FRANTZMANThe pro-Hitler tweets coming from Pakistani social media users were just one instance in a deluge of anti-Jewish sentiments expressed online and in rallies around the world over the last week. A swastika, one of the many pro-Nazi symbols used among Pakistanis who hate Israeli and claim to support Palestinians, was spotted by social media users at a rally in Pakistan. Pakistan has strict blasphemy laws and its leader Imran Khan often complains about “Islamophobia” in the West, but does not condemn pro-Nazi expressions or hatred of Jews.The pro-Hitler tweets in Pakistan were just one instance in a deluge of anti-Jewish sentiments expressed online and in rallies around the world.Adeel Raja, a freelance contributor who had written for CNN in the past, wrote that “the world needs a Hitler,” in a recent tweet. When CNN cut ties with him over the tweet, which was exposed on Sunday, Raja complained that a “single tweet contributed to the Palestine cause and brought it to the limelight with me losing [sic] my job.” He complained that the West supposedly supports freedom of expression and human rights but that he lost his work because of his pro-Hitler tweets. Apparently this wasn’t the first pro-Hitler tweet from him, and in 2014 he had tweeted a similar sentiment, saying that “Hitler did good with those Jews.” Pakistani actress Veena Malik also tweeted support for Hitler. She posted a quote on Twitter, claiming Hitler had said “I would have killed all the Jews of the world, but I kept some to show the world why I killed them.” Twitter removed the tweet but some screenshots of it can still be found online. Some users pointed out the hypocrisy whereby her tweet was removed but her account was not suspended. Apparently pro-Hitler tweets are not a red line on social media. Oddly some Pakistani activists, such as opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, also claim that Israel is like a Nazi state because of its treatment of Palestinians. Sharif even tweeted “Israeli Prime Minister is today’s Hitler.” It’s unclear how, on the one hand some can praise Hitler and on the other also claim Israel is like the Nazis. This inconsistency is common among countries where the Muslim Brotherhood is supported, from Turkey to Malaysia and Pakistan, Qatar and Hamas-run Gaza. In those places Holocaust denial, as well as claims that Israel is like the Nazis, and praise for the Nazis, is often common. This three sided contradictory logic denies that the main crime of the Nazis ever took place, but critiques Israel for committing that crime, and then praises the crime. It makes not sense, but then, antisemitism often makes no sense. In another pro-Hitler tweet a Pakistani who claimed to be an engineer said that “Jews are not humans, they are animals,” a quote the user ascribed to Hitler. Like the quote tweeted by Malik, it was not clear if Hitler even said this. It would appear that Pakistan is awash with fake Hitler quotes. Another man claiming to be Pakistani said he wanted to “repeat the colorful story of Holocaust, respect to Hitler.” Since the recent conflict began there have been many other social media posts praising Hitler, with one person pointing out that in India there are some who claim to admire Hitler, but also support Hitler and engage in holocaust denial, another contradiction among south Asia social media users.
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/pakistani-celebrities-tweet-holocaust-denial-praise-for-hitler-668365
Pakistan: Mob attacks police station in Islamabad to lynch man detained on blasphemy charges
The PTI government has pushed at least 2.5 million Pakistanis below the poverty line – says Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
In a press statement issued from Media Cell Bilawal House, the PPP Chairman said that the puppet Prime Minister had turned out to be the patron of mafias, enabling them to snatch even the last morsel from the mouths of the poor by artificially hiking flour prices. “The rate of inflation and prices of essential commodities in the country have escalated by 15 percent,” he added.
He said that Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi’s imposition as Chief Executive of this country and his subsequent incompetence had exposed his hollow and patently false slogans of change and anti-corruption. “ Imran Khan has completely been exposed to be the most incompetent PM, and he is utterly unfit to run the country’s affairs,” he stated.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also said that the metric for calculating the economic growth of a country lies in the lived experience of the masses, not fudged reports tailored by subordinates sitting in air-conditioned rooms to deceive the masses and to please their masters.
He said that it was a shame that the chief executive of a country like Pakistan has no policy to improve the economy, and keeps it dependent on loans and aid by begging from country to country. A Chief Executive that believes begging is a sustainable and feasible policy to pull a country out of crisis can never rid the country of inflation. “The only way out of the economic quagmire is to get rid of the selected and incompetent PM, Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi,” he added.
The PPP Chairman said that the flawed economic policies of the selected PTI-led Federal government had pushed at least 2.5 million Pakistani citizens below the poverty line in just a single year.
“PM Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi is totally ignorant of the ground realities in the country. He talks about economic growth but doesn’t know workers have seen their wages slashed by up to a quarter,” he pointed out.
جس ملک کے وزیراعظم کو کشکول اٹھانے کے علاوہ کچھ اور نہ آتا ہو، وہ کیسے مہنگائی کا خاتمہ کرے گا؟ چیئرمین پی پی پی بلاول بھٹو زرداری
پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے میڈیا سیل بلاول ہاؤس سے جاری ملک کی بدترین
معاشی صورت حال کے حوالے سے اپنے ایک بیان میں کہا ہے کہ جب سے عمران خان وزیراعظم بنے ہیں، صرف آٹے کی قیمتوں میں 30 فیصد اضافہ ہوا ہے، مافیا کے سرپرست عمران خان نے آٹے کی قیمتوں میں اضافہ کرکے غریبوں کے منہ سے نوالہ چھیننے کی کوشش کی ہے، انہوں نے کہا کہ ملک میں کھانے پینے کی اشیا میں مہنگائی کی سالانہ شرح 15 فیصد تک پہنچ چکی ہے، عمران خان نے بڑے بڑے دعوے کرکے اقتدار تو ہتھیالیا مگر وہ ملک چلانے میں مکمل ناکام ہوچکے ہیں، انہوں نے یہ بھی کہا کہ معاشی ترقی کا پیمانہ جی حضوری کرنے والے افسران کی رپورٹیں نہیں بلکہ عام آدمی کے چہرے کی مسلراہٹ ہوتی ہے، پی پی پی چیئرمین کا کہنا تھا کہ جس ملک کے وزیراعظم کو کشکول اٹھانے کے علاوہ کچھ اور نہ آتا ہو، وہ کیسے مہنگائی کا خاتمہ کرے گا، مہنگائی سے نجات کا بس ایک ہی طریقہ ہے کہ ملک کو عمران خان سے نجات دلائی جائے، چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے بتایا کہ صرف ایک سال میں عمران خان حکومت کی ناکام پالیسیوں کی وجہ سے 25 لاکھ سے پاکستانی غربت کی لکیر سے نیچے دھکیل دئیے گئے جبکہ عمران خان کو خبر ہی نہیں کہ ملک کے تقریبا
نصف کاروباری ادارے اپنے ملازمین کی ایک چوتھائی تنخواہ کم کرچکے ہیں۔