The Pakistan Penal Code of 1860, originally developed under the British Raj, punishes sodomy with a possible prison sentence and has other provisions that impact the human rights of LGBT Pakistanis, under the guise of protecting public morality and order.
Ĭiscrimination and disapproval of the LGBT community, along with the associated social stigma, mostly stem from religious beliefs and make it difficult for LGBT people to have steady relationships.ĭespite being illegal, people doing acts of homosexuality are not always prosecuted by the government of Pakistan. Nevertheless, the LGBT community is still able to socialise, organise, date, and even live together as couples, if done mostly in secret. Sexual encounters between same-sex partners are more accessible in Lahore, in particular for gay and bisexual men. As a result of globalisation, increasing liberalisation trends and advancing social tolerance, private gay parties in Lahore have been increasing for a number of years. In addition, there is a growing number of individuals-especially those born to parents who have been educated in the developed world, who are usually university graduates and have some sort of understanding about evolution and sexuality-who are coming out to their friends and introducing them to their same-sex partner. In 2018, Parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act which established broad protections for transgender people in everything except public accommodations and services. Earlier, in a historic 2009 ruling, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled in favour of civil rights for transgender citizens, and further court rulings upheld and increased these rights. Pakistan does not have civil rights laws to prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation. Neither same-sex marriages nor civil unions are permitted under current law and are scarcely ever brought up in the political discourse. Pakistani law is a mixture of both British colonial law as well as Islamic law. Under the colonial aspects of the law, the section of the Penal Code criminalising consensual same-sex relations dates back to 6 October 1860 under the colonial rule of the British Raj. Written by Lord Macaulay, the Indian Penal Code 1860, as it was named at the time, made same-sex sexual acts illegal under the British law of "Unnatural Offences", known as carnal knowledge. After Pakistan received independence in 1947, the Parliament decided to continue using the same Penal Code, merely changing the title to Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860).
Within the Penal Code, Article 377 ("Unnatural Offences") states: "Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment. for a term which shall not be less than two years nor more than ten years, and shall also be liable to fine". Īs part of the Islamisation of Pakistan, the Hudood Ordinances were enacted in 1977, stipulating severe punishments for adultery, fornication, consuming alcohol and sodomy. The amendments included primitive forms of penalization like whipping of up to 100 lashes and death by stoning if married (for adultery). Relevant sections of the code are as follows: An LGBT Pakistani may face secular or Islamic punishments, or both. Article 141 – An assembly of five or more persons is designated an "unlawful assembly" if the common object of the persons composing that assembly is. To commit any mischief or criminal trespass, or other offence.