http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/features/pakistani-gay-says-life-easier-at-home-than-in-us/Author: Agence France-Presse Source: The Jakarta Globe
Qasim, age 41, is a gay man born in Pakistan who had lived in the USA since the age of three, and was a naturalized US citizen. When he found out he had HIV in his 20s, the US deported him back to Pakistan and stripped him of his citizenship (this was back when the US had a policy of stripping naturalized citizens who were HIV positive of their citizenship). He was horrified and had a culture shock, but became happy living in Pakistan because he felt that it was easier to be gay there.
Qasim said "it's actually easier being gay in Pakistan than in the US," . . . 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 [his boyfriend] under the table. "We can sit casually like this. Nobody gives it a second thought in Pakistan."
Because of the culture which separates men from women, over the centuries it became acceptable for men to show affection to one another, while in the US it was not. Qasim explains how he runs a LGBT organization which is supported by the government out of his home that provides medical care, went to underground gay bars (alcohol is illegal in Pakistan), and now lives a quite life at home with his boyfriend. He says unlike in the US, no one shouts at him on the street and he feels respected.
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This article reminded me of an older article I read before (May 2007) which might also be of interest:
The Kingdom in the Closethttp://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/05/the-kingdom-in-the-closet/305774/Author: Nadya Labi Source: The Atlantic
"Sodomy is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, but gay life flourishes there. Why it is "easier to be gay than straight" in a society where everyone, homosexual and otherwise, lives in the closet[?] "
