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My name is Mawaan. I'm 24 years old.
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I was born in Pakistan and I grew up in Essex and earlier this year,
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I told my parents that I'm gay.
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And they weren't too happy about it.
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MUSIC: Thrift Shop by Macklemore
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I mean, I don't know why they were shocked.
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I've spent the last five years mincing around on YouTube.
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Leave a comment in the section below
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or leave a video response if you think you're a bad man.
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All the signs were there, but to a Pakistani parent,
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it was the worst news ever.
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I want to know what, in our culture, has led them to be like that
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and why they don't agree with being gay.
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So, what I really want to do is go back to Pakistan
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and see what life is like there, being gay.
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I want to know if there's a gay scene. Do they party?
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Do they all hang out together? Is it top secret or can people be open?
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I want to know if there's cruising grounds,
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I want to know how dangerous it is.
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I'm really curious to see what my life would have been like
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had I stayed in Pakistan when I was a kid.
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It's an exciting but scary prospect because I'm trying to, I guess,
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lift the lid on something that my parents would never talk to me about
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and I've been told to totally suppress and hide.
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This is Karachi, one of the world's most dangerous cities.
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It's notorious for terror attacks, kidnapping and organised crime.
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The last time I was here was about eight years ago.
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For me, it's two worlds that have never collided before, you know.
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Being Pakistani and being gay
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are not two things that go together in my head,
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so I'm a bit, I'm a bit nervous.
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First, I'm going downtown to remind me of the sights and smells
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of the country I was born in and to get a new look.
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I need to take off my skinny jeans, basically,
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cos I look really out of place.
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Not very connected to the everyday Pakistani man.
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Man.
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- Can you see yourself wearing those?
- Yeah!
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Yeah, yeah, this is definitely my colour.
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Are you meant to bargain here?
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Thank you. They're 200 rupees. It's a bit out of my budget.
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£1.60 - that's a lot.
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Karachi is Pakistan's largest city. 23 million people live here.
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It's a place where, whatever you want, you can get a bargain.
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CHICKENS SQUAWK
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It's 200 rupees for a chicken. That's the same as the slippers.
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HE RECITES HALAL SLAUGHTER CHANT
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I don't want to see my food being killed.
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MUSIC: Komeigi Beat by Darthreider
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Oh, I need to get some spices. Look at that!
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'Looking around, I'm getting the feeling
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'Pakistan may just be a little gay.'
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Whoa, look at them! Rainbow chicks! Look at that!
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That would go down really well at a gay bar, wouldn't it?
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It's just like Soho.
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Rainbow chicks? Men in pink hats? Holding hands in public?
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It all seems pretty gay to me.
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But really, just how gay is Pakistan?
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When Pakistanis were asked in 2013
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whether homosexuality was acceptable, only 2% said yes.
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MUSIC: Komeigi Beat by Darthreider
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I've only just arrived
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and already I've been invited to my first ever gay party in Pakistan.
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It's been organised by gay activists Kami and Sid.
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I'm a bit nervous now. I'm going to...
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I might feel really out of place, you know.
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I just wonder if it'll be anything like Soho.
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- Let's go.
- All right, let's go.
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MUSIC: Dola Re Dola by Kamaicha and Rawanhatta
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I'm Mawaan.
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MUSIC: Dola Re Dola by Kamaicha and Rawanhatta
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They don't... They haven't been drinking.
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This is just their first hour of the party.
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It's very Bollywood. It's very like...
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Big shapes. The bigger, the better is the motto on the dance floor.
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Hi.
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- Nice to meet you. I'm Mawaan. You're the Sid.
- Yes.
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Oh, brilliant. Nice to meet you, man.
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I wore a shirt. I never wear a shirt. I thought I'd be smart to be relaxed.
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- I have...
- Ha-ha, I just realised what that is!
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Brilliant! That is a buttocks on your... Yeah, brilliant.
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How many people know about something like this?
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I guess it's not very public.
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- So, that's Kami?
- That's Kami. Kami!
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'Sid and Kami have been together for seven years.
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'Kami is a transgender woman.
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'Their parties are well-known on the local gay scene.'
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Despite the risk, people were willing to talk to me.
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Do your family know you're gay?
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When you go to a party, what do you tell them?
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Do you ever feel in danger?
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Talking to the people at the party,
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it was clear there was a real sense of fear.
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But still, they were determined to have their voices heard
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and to show me the way they live their lives.
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CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
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It's the day after the party
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and Sid and Kami have invited me over to their place.
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Hey! How are you doing, man?
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- I'm good.
- Good to see you.
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- Hello, Kami, how are you?
- Hello, how are you?
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Good to see you again.
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It was a great party, guys, really good,
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really fun.
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'Even though last night's party passed off without a hitch,
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'that's not always how they turn out.'
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When you realised they had guns, were you scared?
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- No, why should I?
- Because guns are scary!
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Kami and Sid are openly campaigning for gay rights.
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That's pretty rare in Pakistan.
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Now they are preparing to go even further to show how they feel.
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- Right... And he's going to marry you?
- Yeah.
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- So you're going to have a big, gay Muslim wedding?
- Yeah.
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'Sid and Kami are determined to return to Pakistan
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'to live as an openly gay married couple.'
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So, you want to get married but you want to stay in Pakistan?
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So you could, potentially,
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- be the first gay couple to get married in Pakistan.
- Yeah.
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- Right, bye, guys.
- Bye-bye.
- Bye-bye.
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They're lovely, loving, creative people.
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But at the same time, there's a sense of, you know,
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"We're not going to take any shit from anyone",
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and if they have to get aggressive, they will,
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and they will do what they need to do to survive.
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I never imagined a Muslim imam anywhere in the world
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would be willing to carry out a gay wedding.
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So what about the local imams? How do they feel about us gays?
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I'm on my way to go and meet an imam
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and so I thought I'd go and buy a traditional Pakistani kurta
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cos I want to pay my respects. I'm a bit anxious, to be honest,
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cos I've never really spoken to a religious leader
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about what it means to be gay. I've never really had the urge to.
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But I'm really looking forward to hearing his point of view.
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- What do you think he might say?
- Um, I get the feeling
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that he's not going to be a massive fan of the gays.
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'Maulana Hakeem Akbar Dars is one of Pakistan's leading Islamic scholars.
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'He's even got his own TV show.'
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I'm really nervous now.
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Salaam alaikum.
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'This guy is well-respected in the community
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'and people come to him from across the country for advice.'
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But I don't think I'm a patient. It's not an illness.
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I'm a perfectly healthy man and you and the rest of society
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keep referring to me as a patient. That's quite degrading for me.
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Or leave the country of origin? OK.
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So, which out of those three options do you think I should do?
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Which is the best option for me?
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- Allah hafiz.
- Allah hafiz.
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I don't really know what to say.
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I feel, I feel quite sad, in a way,
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because it makes me think, if I was living in this country
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and I was handed over to someone like him,
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I would have no say in how I live my life whatsoever.
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I can't wait to ungay myself at the clinic. That should be interesting.
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MUSIC: Sutrix by Talvin Singh
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Having the imam tell me that my life is in danger was a reality check.
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But I feel lucky knowing that I can hop on a plane
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and run back to London.
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But for most of Pakistan's gay community, leaving isn't an option.
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Back at Sid and Kami's house,
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I'm about to meet their flatmate, Shahzadi,
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who's a transgender woman, like Kami, and has agreed to talk to me.
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After she was kicked out of home,
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Kami and Sid offered her a place to stay.
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- Hello.
- Hello. How are you, Sid?
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Good to see you, man.
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- Good to see you again.
- Is Shahzadi in?
- Yes, she is in.
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'Shahzadi sometimes works as a prostitute
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'to get enough cash to live.'
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Good to see you.
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Thank you very much.
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'Since being beaten up,
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'Shahzadi finds it difficult to leave the house on her own.
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'Today, she's got a doctor's appointment,
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'so she's asked her boyfriend, Amir, to take her.'
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'Amir met Shahzadi on Facebook.
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'They've been together for six months.'
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Almost every transgender woman in Pakistan takes female hormones.
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They reduce your body hair, increase breast size
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and shrink your testicles.
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But Shahzadi thinks that the hormones she's been taking aren't working.
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They've left her depressed and her hair is falling out.
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For transgender women in Pakistan,
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the removal of the male sexual organs
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is the final stage of becoming a woman.
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It's commonly referred to here as castration.
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Shahzadi's life here is very tough.
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She's got to deal with the problems of transitioning to a woman
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and, at the same time,
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she faces the daily threat of physical violence and sexual assault.
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But is there any legal protection
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to help transgender and gay people in Pakistan?
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Maliha Zia is a human rights lawyer
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who has worked on many cases for the LGBT community.
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- Hi.
- Hi.
- I'm Mawaan.
- Maliha Zia, nice to meet you.
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Nice to meet you, Maliha.
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'I know that homosexuality is illegal in Pakistan,
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'but I want to see it in black and white.'
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Section 377 of the Pakistan Penal Code states,
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"Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse
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"against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal
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"shall be punished with imprisonment for a term
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"which shall not be less than two years to life imprisonment.
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"Unnatural offences consists of penetration
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"of the penis into the anus."
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So, this very categorically targets gay communities.
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It's actually an Anglo-Saxon law. It predates Pakistan.
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It was made in the colonial times,
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which then carried on when Pakistan adopted the Pakistan Penal Code.
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There have been incidents of murders of homosexuals,
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there have been instances of ragging them, of torture, etc, etc.
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How would someone like a transgender sex worker...
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get justice for some of the abuse they've faced or something like rape?
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I've met with some people who've been through a lot of sexual abuse
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and they've sort of just accepted it.
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It feels like the justice isn't there for them.
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That is probably definitely the case, sadly as I must say.
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While we have a section on rape... Section 376 talks about rape
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but it talks about only heterosexual rape,
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where it talks about man on a woman or a girl.
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I think what shocked me the most
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was that there's not anything in the law
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that says a man raping another man is illegal.
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I feel like...
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I feel like, back in England, at least I feel supported legally.
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There's some basic rights that are there
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that enable me to live a safe life
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and not feel like I have to be in hiding,
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whereas here, the law could very much be used against me.
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Despite being illegal,
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convictions for homosexuality in Pakistan are rare.
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The government and police seem to turn a blind eye,
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as long as it's all kept behind closed doors.
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But Kami and Sid seem determined to bring gay rights out into the open.
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Kami and her friends have invited me
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to go to shopping for a wedding dress in downtown Karachi.
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I thought we were going to meet in a shopping mall
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but it looks like we're going to go shopping out and about in the market,
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which will be interesting.
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I'm not too sure how people are going to react to Kami in public
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and I feel slightly on edge about it.
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- Hello.
- Hey.
- How are you? Good to see you.
243
00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:46,600
- Hello, Kami.
- How are you?
- How are you? Good to see you again.
244
00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:58,400
- And are we going to be in public, outdoors?
- Yes, yes, yes.
- OK.
245
00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,560
MUSIC: Dancing Drums by Ananda Shankar
246
00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:15,080
What colour do you want? Red?
247
00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:23,920
- And you want to be traditional?
- Yes. It should be traditional.
248
00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,680
- I know. I feel really watched right now.
- Yes.
249
00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:35,960
But they've just stopped. They're not even subtle.
250
00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:39,520
MUSIC: Ina Mina Dika by Asha Bhosle
251
00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:57,440
OK, thank you so much. Thank you so much.
252
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:43,760
- OK, thank you.
- You're welcome.
253
00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:47,000
'And outside the shop,
254
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,560
'Kami and her friends are beginning to attract even more attention.'
255
00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:05,440
Thank you so much.
256
00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:09,160
THEY TALK IN URDU
257
00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:14,920
CALL TO PRAYER
258
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:20,160
CALL TO PRAYER
259
00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:27,880
Look at the people. They're all still standing there, watching.
260
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:40,600
I was feeling anxious.
261
00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,120
I wanted to stop him but Kami was like, "Bring it on.
262
00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:46,840
"I know how to deal with this." And I was like, "Yeah, can we go?"
263
00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:50,240
I just wanted to get out of there. That was really uncomfortable.
264
00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:54,920
It could have kicked off, I reckon, if it had carried on.
265
00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:59,480
I want to go back to zone 2, London, and crawl up in a little ball.
266
00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:01,520
I'm done with Pakistan.
267
00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:05,800
Despite what I've just seen,
268
00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,800
the sight of a transgender woman on the streets here
269
00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:11,320
is more common that you might think.
270
00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:13,000
They are known as hijras
271
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:17,280
and they've been part of the culture for centuries.
272
00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:21,200
Some people think there as many as a million living in Pakistan.
273
00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,200
Later that night, across the other side of town,
274
00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:35,000
Shahzadi's taken me inside the hidden world of transgender women.
275
00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:40,240
She's come to visit her friends.
276
00:28:56,520 --> 00:29:00,560
In Pakistan and India, hijras are often rejected by their families
277
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:02,520
and live on the margins of society.
278
00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:08,240
The hijra community is run by gurus. Shahzadi's guru is Zeni.
279
00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:11,280
A guru is, basically, a mentor,
280
00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:13,960
someone who can help newer members of the hijra community
281
00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,080
with any problems they may face -
282
00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:19,360
everything from housing to boyfriends.
283
00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:00,800
Like many transgender women,
284
00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:05,280
Shahzadi has been taking female hormones to transition to a woman.
285
00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:09,520
'Now she's thinking about taking it to the next stage
286
00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:11,560
'and having the operation.'
287
00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:13,440
THEY SPEAK IN URDU
288
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,680
- It's interesting.
- Yeah, really interesting.
289
00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:19,680
It feels like, behind that closed door,
290
00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:23,160
there's a real sense of community and identity
291
00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:25,840
and an abundance of talent and ambition.
292
00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:28,400
It's just, when they go into the outside world,
293
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:31,480
I feel like that's when they feel threatened.
294
00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:53,240
- Hello.
- Hello.
295
00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:55,400
With their marriage only months away,
296
00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:58,240
Kami and Sid have come to see Shazia Mahommed.
297
00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:05,640
She's a marriage counsellor who's sympathetic to the gay community.
298
00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:11,400
What are the kinds of things that you imagine will come up
299
00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,760
once the two of you make it official?
300
00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:32,000
KAMI LAUGHS
301
00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:42,120
The reason I said that, I wasn't joking.
302
00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:43,600
I said it in a joking way
303
00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:47,640
- cos the first thing you mentioned was violence.
- Yes.
304
00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:52,520
Your fear is real, like your voice...
305
00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:55,360
It's in your voice, it's in your body movements.
306
00:32:55,360 --> 00:33:01,240
There's a very real fear that there might be a violent backlash.
307
00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:15,800
- Thank you so much.
- No, thank you.
308
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:23,080
When Kami mentioned the word "violence",
309
00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:25,400
when he mentioned a threat to his safety,
310
00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:28,040
I know that that's a very real threat.
311
00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:32,120
So safety is a very, very real concern,
312
00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:34,560
a VERY real concern.
313
00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:37,240
You, obviously, meet a lot of gay couples.
314
00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:40,640
Is there a pattern with gay individuals and couples?
315
00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:45,200
Yeah, shame, debilitating shame,
316
00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:50,600
because they're constantly given the message, from a very young age,
317
00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:54,200
that there's something wrong with them, constantly.
318
00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:57,760
And there's a conflict between wanting to be oneself
319
00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:02,440
and being told that the way you are is not OK, it's not acceptable.
320
00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:05,240
If I am like this, is there something wrong with me?
321
00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:07,560
Am I going against God's wishes?
322
00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:09,600
It's just pervasive
323
00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:13,360
and it's a very, very difficult process for some people.
324
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:21,720
So, Shazia mentioned that safety was a concern.
325
00:34:21,720 --> 00:34:23,600
Is this something you think about
326
00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:25,960
and you're worried about after marriage?
327
00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:57,080
By getting married, Kami and Sid are saying that there is no going back,
328
00:34:57,080 --> 00:34:59,800
their homosexuality isn't curable.
329
00:35:02,240 --> 00:35:03,800
Bye-bye.
330
00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:07,400
It's a permanent expression of themselves and their sexuality
331
00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:09,240
and that they're here to stay.
332
00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:18,120
As my first week in Pakistan comes to an end,
333
00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:20,560
I've seen a society which, at its worst,
334
00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:23,000
rapes and threatens violence to gays
335
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:27,440
and, at its best, either turns a blind eye or offers up cures.
336
00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:33,480
Before leaving Karachi,
337
00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:37,360
I want to take up the Mullah on his offer to cure my gayness.
338
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:40,520
I'm very curious about what, exactly, the cure is.
339
00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:46,440
Salaam alaikum.
340
00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:32,000
- OK, thank you...
- Thank you.
- ..for your time.
- Thank you.
341
00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:36,880
So, we've just got to collect the medicine from the pharmacy.
342
00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:41,880
Salaam alaikum.
343
00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:51,200
It smells like...cumin and Coco Pops.
344
00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:53,480
PHONE RINGS
345
00:37:57,440 --> 00:38:00,200
What is this stuff?
346
00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:04,440
He never said. He didn't really tell me what I'm taking.
347
00:38:26,400 --> 00:38:30,000
£12! £12 for a bit of seasoning!
348
00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:39,240
- And the humiliation.
- Oh, yeah. The humiliation is priceless.
349
00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:49,720
If you're having problems with your sexuality
350
00:38:49,720 --> 00:38:53,640
and you're trying to deal with that psychology and that process,
351
00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:55,960
this is who you go to for help.
352
00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:58,360
That's... That's scary.
353
00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:02,400
If you're in that situation, and you're made to believe
354
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:06,680
that you've done something wrong and there's something fundamentally...
355
00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:11,320
..dirty and ill about you,
356
00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:16,600
THAT can actually have long-lasting psychological effects on someone.
357
00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:22,840
After making sure it's safe to take, I'm ready to be cured.
358
00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:29,320
OK, here goes.
359
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:37,720
Oh, it tastes really bad!
360
00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:40,800
It just makes me sad
361
00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:43,320
to think of some of the people who might go to him and...
362
00:39:44,880 --> 00:39:48,600
..and then the stuff, you know, the feelings they have to live with
363
00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:51,520
of feeling like they're on the mend
364
00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:54,880
from something that's completely natural.
365
00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:58,320
The next tablet's in a few hours.
366
00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:01,440
Here's to being straight.
367
00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:21,200
Lahore, the capital of the Punjab and Pakistan's second-largest city.
368
00:40:21,200 --> 00:40:23,120
It's also where I was born.
369
00:40:23,120 --> 00:40:27,160
Lahore is the place my parents always described
370
00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:30,360
as full of life and character.
371
00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:33,480
I do feel a special connection to Lahore,
372
00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:35,160
even though I don't know it at all.
373
00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:39,040
I've not been back here for almost ten years.
374
00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:42,400
MUSIC: Tera Jasia Pyara Koi Nahin by Usha Khanna
375
00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:47,760
I've come to visit Naz Male Health Alliance,
376
00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:50,720
one of the only organisations working openly
377
00:40:50,720 --> 00:40:53,200
with the LGBT community in Pakistan.
378
00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:59,280
They run a drop-in centre in the middle of town.
379
00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:04,480
People come here to be tested for sexually transmitted infections.
380
00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:13,760
- Oh, wow. So, these are hot spots where sex workers are.
- Yes.
381
00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:24,320
- Is there a lot of positive results?
- Yes, of course.
- Exactly.
382
00:41:24,320 --> 00:41:29,400
'They also come here to socialise, escape the streets
383
00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:31,720
'and forget their worries.'
384
00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:11,480
Qasim Iqbal is the boss here.
385
00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:16,040
What we're doing, what our staff does every day,
386
00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:17,760
is risk their lives....
387
00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:21,960
..when they come to the office. We can be killed.
388
00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:24,920
Anybody could drive by and throw a bomb at our office.
389
00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:30,160
And nobody would miss us. It might not even make it in the news.
390
00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:32,320
Qasim grew up in the US.
391
00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:36,160
But then, at the age of 35, his US citizenship was revoked
392
00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:38,360
because he contracted AIDS.
393
00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:42,120
How was it going from the US to then coming to Pakistan
394
00:42:42,120 --> 00:42:45,600
and having to hide a lot of your identity?
395
00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:49,760
You know, to be honest, right after coming to Pakistan...
396
00:42:51,720 --> 00:42:56,520
..I was having a lot of gay sex and with the type of men
397
00:42:56,520 --> 00:43:00,680
that I would not have been able to access in the US,
398
00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:03,000
because these were, like, straight men.
399
00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:08,240
And straight men in Pakistan, a lot of them - not all of them -
400
00:43:08,240 --> 00:43:10,240
do have sex with other men.
401
00:43:10,240 --> 00:43:13,200
They're not attracted to them but they have sex with them
402
00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:16,600
because women, females, are not accessible easily.
403
00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:19,400
Right...
404
00:43:22,720 --> 00:43:26,280
MSM stands for Men Sleeping with Men.
405
00:43:27,280 --> 00:43:29,400
Straight men sleeping with each other
406
00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:32,640
is not something I ever thought happened in Pakistan.
407
00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:40,800
At sunset, we head out to one of the city's sex hot spots
408
00:43:40,800 --> 00:43:44,480
to hand out condoms specifically to MSMs.
409
00:43:44,480 --> 00:43:47,760
MUSIC: Kashmir by Led Zeppelin
410
00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:14,440
It's not long before we're surrounded
411
00:44:14,440 --> 00:44:17,640
by dozens of men eager to get their hands on the freebies.
412
00:44:26,160 --> 00:44:29,640
Most of them are uneducated labourers from the rural areas
413
00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:34,000
who don't know anything about STIs and the dangers of unprotected sex.
414
00:44:44,720 --> 00:44:47,480
The outreach team knows most of these guys.
415
00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:52,680
Anyone they don't know is taken away for a chat to a nearby cafe.
416
00:45:12,280 --> 00:45:15,840
Many of the labourers live in the nearby hotels.
417
00:45:15,840 --> 00:45:19,440
They can't afford female prostitutes, so they sleep with each other.
418
00:45:19,440 --> 00:45:23,400
I'm not prepared at all for what I'm about to see and hear -
419
00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:25,880
the reality of the MSM world.
420
00:45:46,080 --> 00:45:49,120
Oh, wow. 20p a night to stay here.
421
00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:18,640
Everyone's freezing in the winter!
422
00:46:21,240 --> 00:46:24,840
MUSIC: All Things To All Men by The Cinematic Orchestra
423
00:46:49,240 --> 00:46:51,720
I find it really interesting how, just one wall away,
424
00:46:51,720 --> 00:46:54,480
there's a religious shrine and people are praying
425
00:46:54,480 --> 00:46:58,760
and then here, it's basically a sex den.
426
00:46:58,760 --> 00:47:01,920
MUSIC: Dirge by Death In Vegas
427
00:47:04,600 --> 00:47:07,760
It's so strange. I've never seen this side to Pakistan before.
428
00:47:07,760 --> 00:47:11,800
All of a sudden, there's sex everywhere. It's just all around us.
429
00:47:15,640 --> 00:47:19,520
What these guys are doing is frontline work, you know.
430
00:47:19,520 --> 00:47:23,880
It feels like the state and the general nation
431
00:47:23,880 --> 00:47:27,480
is ignoring that sex even exists, specially gay sex.
432
00:47:28,600 --> 00:47:32,280
And these guys are talking to these people one on one,
433
00:47:32,280 --> 00:47:34,880
you know, like three guys.
434
00:47:34,880 --> 00:47:40,960
This is the Pakistan that was never...exposed to me, you know.
435
00:47:42,600 --> 00:47:46,400
Most Pakistanis wouldn't think of MSM sex as gay sex.
436
00:47:46,400 --> 00:47:49,000
To me, it definitely is.
437
00:47:52,880 --> 00:47:57,040
It feels like this entire country is in denial about the whole issue.
438
00:48:01,320 --> 00:48:05,880
I'm even beginning to think that gay sex is actually quite tolerated here.
439
00:48:10,400 --> 00:48:12,400
But then I get a call from Qasim.
440
00:48:14,360 --> 00:48:18,040
He wants to show me a video he's been sent from a rural part of Pakistan.
441
00:48:20,160 --> 00:48:24,040
It shows a 15-year-old boy who's been caught with his gay lover.
442
00:48:26,440 --> 00:48:30,400
So...this video was sent to my drop-in centre
443
00:48:30,400 --> 00:48:32,720
and then it was sent to me from there.
444
00:48:32,720 --> 00:48:34,720
This is the video.
445
00:48:34,720 --> 00:48:38,400
MUSIC: Over by Portishead
446
00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:44,040
'The video is too gruesome to show.
447
00:48:44,040 --> 00:48:47,840
'The boy is being sodomised with sticks by an angry mob.
448
00:48:49,080 --> 00:48:51,280
'He screams in pain.'
449
00:48:51,280 --> 00:48:54,320
VIDEO SOUNDTRACK IN BACKGROUND
450
00:49:12,400 --> 00:49:15,360
I don't think I can watch any more.
451
00:49:15,360 --> 00:49:19,440
'The video ends with the group trying to throw him off a cliff.'
452
00:49:19,440 --> 00:49:22,720
And there's little children watching.
453
00:49:22,720 --> 00:49:27,080
'It's only the intervention of a bystander that saves his life.'
454
00:49:27,080 --> 00:49:29,840
VIDEO SOUNDTRACK IN BACKGROUND
455
00:49:40,720 --> 00:49:45,280
- So, you know what I mean? What do we do with this?
- That's disgusting.
456
00:49:45,280 --> 00:49:47,520
There's nothing we can do with this.
457
00:49:47,520 --> 00:49:51,200
There is no way we can find out if this guy...
458
00:49:51,200 --> 00:49:55,200
if this BOY - it looks like a young 15-year-old boy -
459
00:49:55,200 --> 00:50:00,440
if he is still alive and I bet you the only option
460
00:50:00,440 --> 00:50:06,800
he would have had, if he survived, was to run away from home.
461
00:50:06,800 --> 00:50:10,200
And once you run away from home, at the age of 15,
462
00:50:10,200 --> 00:50:13,680
you're living out on the streets, you're even more vulnerable.
463
00:50:13,680 --> 00:50:16,880
You are living in this country where this stuff is happening
464
00:50:16,880 --> 00:50:20,720
and you're still working in the field that you're working in.
465
00:50:20,720 --> 00:50:23,480
Yeah, because there is nobody else who will.
466
00:50:26,040 --> 00:50:28,800
What Qasim has shown me is truly shocking.
467
00:50:30,160 --> 00:50:33,080
Thankfully, attacks like this are quite rare,
468
00:50:33,080 --> 00:50:35,880
even in remote, rural communities.
469
00:50:41,360 --> 00:50:44,040
Before I head home, I'm meeting up with Shahzadi.
470
00:50:46,200 --> 00:50:49,400
Hello, Shahzadi. How are you? Good to see you.
471
00:50:49,400 --> 00:50:51,680
'She's flown 1,000 miles from Karachi
472
00:50:51,680 --> 00:50:54,360
'to see a doctor here at the drop-in centre.
473
00:50:55,960 --> 00:50:58,440
'She's worried that the hormones she's been taking
474
00:50:58,440 --> 00:51:01,040
'to help her sex change are having side effects.
475
00:51:03,640 --> 00:51:05,760
'Even here, the doctor is worried
476
00:51:05,760 --> 00:51:08,280
'about being seen treating LGBT patients,
477
00:51:08,280 --> 00:51:10,480
'so he has asked not to be identified.'
478
00:53:03,200 --> 00:53:05,520
Thank you so much.
479
00:53:42,880 --> 00:53:44,880
I wish you the best.
480
00:53:51,080 --> 00:53:53,280
- OK, have a safe journey.
- I hope they love this.
481
00:53:53,280 --> 00:53:56,560
MUSIC: Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You by Led Zeppelin
482
00:53:59,680 --> 00:54:01,120
# Babe
483
00:54:04,040 --> 00:54:08,400
# Baby, baby I'm gonna leave you... #
484
00:54:08,400 --> 00:54:10,400
After two weeks here,
485
00:54:10,400 --> 00:54:14,120
I feel like I've got a much better idea how gay Pakistan really is.
486
00:54:14,120 --> 00:54:16,800
# I said baby... #
487
00:54:18,920 --> 00:54:24,600
Pakistan isn't this, you know, super rigid heterosexual place,
488
00:54:24,600 --> 00:54:26,960
like my family and friends make out to be.
489
00:54:28,400 --> 00:54:31,200
There's actually a lot going on
490
00:54:31,200 --> 00:54:36,360
and, despite what my expectations were, I've actually found
491
00:54:36,360 --> 00:54:41,080
that there is a really exciting underground LGBT movement.
492
00:54:41,080 --> 00:54:46,040
There are a lot of people taking big, brave steps to fight for equality.
493
00:54:47,320 --> 00:54:52,720
I think I really value that I'm really lucky
494
00:54:52,720 --> 00:54:56,160
that I can live openly and freely
495
00:54:56,160 --> 00:54:59,080
and not have to be scared for my life every day
496
00:54:59,080 --> 00:55:03,160
which, sadly, isn't the case for a lot of the people that I've met.
497
00:55:18,120 --> 00:55:22,320
DIAL TONE
498
00:55:22,320 --> 00:55:24,400
Hello?
499
00:56:01,080 --> 00:56:03,560
HE LAUGHS
500
00:56:03,560 --> 00:56:06,160
# My girl, my girl
501
00:56:06,160 --> 00:56:09,400
# Don't lie to me
502
00:56:09,400 --> 00:56:14,600
# Tell me where did you sleep last night
503
00:56:16,400 --> 00:56:19,440
# In the pines, in the pines
504
00:56:19,440 --> 00:56:22,720
# Where the sun don't ever shine
505
00:56:22,720 --> 00:56:29,040
# I would shiver the whole night through... #
42554
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