Dancg Boys and Gay Espas F--siècle Tashkent: A Sketch om a Queer History of Central Asia

Contents:

• MURR IN TASHKENT: KILLG OF GAY MAN SPOTLIGHTS PLIGHT OF UZBEK LGBT COMMUNY
• UZBEKISTAN: GAY MEN FACE ABE, PRISON
• ATTACK ON BLOGGER DRIV UZBEK GAY MUNY UNRGROUND
• GAY LIFE UZBEKISTAN
• GAY UZBEKISTAN TODAY
• DANCG BOYS AND GAY ESPAS F--SIèCLE TASHKENT: A SKETCH OM A QUEER HISTORY OF CENTRAL ASIA

MURR IN TASHKENT: KILLG OF GAY MAN SPOTLIGHTS PLIGHT OF UZBEK LGBT COMMUNY

But the urse of nversatns and terviews ’s bee obv that this crimalisatn is wily ed to blackmail and threaten om prosecutn for their sexual orientatn, gay Uzbek men experience daily harassment om the public at large. The three stori show that spe danger and antagonism towards them, lbians and gay men Uzbekistan are no longer willg to “remake themselv”, as one person scribed . I once told everyone at work about : lleagu asked what I thought about gays and I said: “Well, what n I thk about gays when I’m one myself?

If someone don’t unrstand what beg gay means, or they only know the stereotyp, I try to expla that we don’t choose our orientatn and that we n’t change . We don’t have a separate subculture: you don’t ever fd people meetg up wh iends, bumpg to other gays and hangg out wh people jt bee they’re also gay. It’s also tertg that I’ve enuntered much more homophobia Mosw than Tashkent – I’ve never been lled a “paedo” here or been threatened, whereas Mosw ’s happened que often.

As soon as I accepted myself I stopped beg aaid of other people, avoidg them or disguisg my gayns, although I never advertised or tried to show off. His whole extend fay followed his social media posts and they were hysterics about his homosexualy, and he eventually closed his acunt and left Uzbekistan bee he was tired of all. But people this untry have no tert what homosexualy is and why there’s no such thg as homosexual propaganda – no one unrstands that if you’re not born a homosexual, you’re not gog to turn to one jt by gog on a uple of Gay paras.

UZBEKISTAN: GAY MEN FACE ABE, PRISON

And sex tn general is a disaster this untry – children don’t know where they e om, what “hetero-“ and “gay” mean and so girliend and I are thkg about how to fill this gap: how we n n a urse to expla the basic thgs to people. And if gay people won’t nfs, they beat them and torture them to the pot where they will start prayg for mercy and do everythg they ask. I uld go reason they don’t want to repeal the article is, I thk, bee the powers that be are homophob - they have a distorted ia of and believe that we prent a threat to our untry.

The btal killg of a 25-year-old gay man Uzbekistan's pal, Tashkent, last week has raised ncerns wh the lol lbian and gay muny, which has been largely ostracized the predomantly Mlim Central Asian untry. The body of Shokir Shavkatov was found an apartment Tashkent on September 12, jt days after he "me out" as gay an Instagram post. "This barbaric killg shows obv signs of homophobia, " one lol activist for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr (LGBT) rights told RFE/RL's Uzbek Service.

ATTACK ON BLOGGER DRIV UZBEK GAY MUNY UNRGROUND

One of his iends claimed that shortly before the attack, Shavkatov was seen a Tashkent nightclub popular wh members of the gay muny. The activist said the police had raid the same nightclub on September 10 -- a day before the attack -- and took away some 10 homosexuals. (Berl) – Men Uzbekistan who engage nsensual same-sex sexual nduct face arbrary tentn, prosecutn, and imprisonment as well as homophobia, threats, and extortn, Human Rights Watch said today.

“Article 120, and ab lked to , has placed gay and bisexual men Uzbekistan a eply vulnerable and margalized posn, leavg them wh almost no protectn om harassment by police and others, ” said Hugh Williamson, director of the Europe and Central Asia divisn at Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch terviewed ne gay men and lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) activists and reviewed other material, such as vios pictg and enuragg huiatn, sults, beatgs, or sexual abe of gay men that were posted onle and homophobic social media groups, such as TashGangs. The men terviewed, who asked to rema anonymo, said that they faced arbrary arrts, threats, extortn, psychologil prsure, and physil attacks by both police and non-state actors for beg gay.

GAY LIFE UZBEKISTAN

In a Febary 2020 report, the Eurasian Coaln on Health, Rights, Genr and Sexual Diversy (ECOM), an alliance of nonernmental anizatns workg on LGBT issu, cg lol activists, documented that police Uzbekistan harassed gay men, tag and terrogatg several of them between Augt 15 and September 15, 2019.

Media outlets Uzbekistan also reported on the shockg se of Shokir Shavkatov, a 25-year-old man who was found stabbed to ath his apartment September 2019, jt days after he me out as gay on his Instagram page. ” In December 2020, ne ternatnal human rights anizatns issued a statement llg on the Uzbek ernment to “stop punishg homosexualy and rpect the human rights of all.

In s May 2020 nclns, the UN Human Rights Commtee lled on the Uzbek ernment to repeal Article 120 and exprsed ncerns about “ntug reports of discrimatn, harassment and vlence, cludg extortn, arbrary arrt, torture and sexual abe, agast lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr persons by State officials and private dividuals, cludg plac of privatn of liberty, and about the mandatory disclosure of private medil rmatn. Human Rights Watch nducted a total of ne terviews wh gay men om Uzbekistan and Central Asian LGBT activists November 2020 and Febary 2021.

GAY UZBEKISTAN TODAY

Alisher hired a lawyer and reported the attack to the police but did not mentn the homophobic motive of the attack, fearg prosecutn unr article 120. He ntued threateng and puttg psychologil prsure on me by sayg that he would disclose my [sexual] orientatn to others, share our nversatns wh the police, and send my photos to homophobic onle groups that publish personal data of LGBT people and ll for retaliatn agast them. Two months later, however, Timur found a photo of himself an onle gay-datg group wh a warng that he was “HIV-posive, blackmailg, and extortg money om people.

After some time, Umid fled his parents’ home, but they ntued to ll him, threateng to report him to the police for beg gay unls he agreed to get married. I don’t thk this is jt a bunch of hooligans or homophob, looks like a gang that has refully planned each and every step, targetg me.

DANCG BOYS AND GAY ESPAS F--SIèCLE TASHKENT: A SKETCH OM A QUEER HISTORY OF CENTRAL ASIA

ALMATY, April 9 (Rters) - Members of Uzbekistan's LGBT muny say they have been driven unrground fear of a vlent backlash after a blogger and some of his supporters were attacked last month followg social media posts llg for gay ralli at Mlim holy s. Bazarov, who is not gay, had posted on social media llg for LGBT gathergs at holy s and for a new "state and gay" secury angry mob later attacked several young people who planned to attend an event anised by Bazarov, although had nothg to do wh LGBT issu and was voted to Korean pop mic and Japane rtoons. "Karpov said he believed the attackers who beat up Bazarov were motivated ls by his posts on gay rights than by his earlier cricism of the ernment, cludg a ll to boytt a parliamentary electn the gay people who spoke to Rters said they were worried their secury had been put at risk by mpaigners terted provokg nontatn unrelated to their rights.

"Bazarov was jt lookg for hype and hurt the (LGBT) muny, " said the human rights Bazarov's remarks, several public figur and one football club have spoken out to nmn homosexualy. "The day we allow (legalised gay sex) will be the day of our ath, " Rasul Kherbayev, a proment member of parliament, said last Williamson, Director of Europe and Central Asia divisn at Uned Stat-based Human Rights Watch, scribed last month's beatgs as "totally awful". End attacks on LGBT people, " he thori, wary both of liberalism and of policised Islamist nservatism, seem to be want both gay rights and the backlash agast to disappear back to the Allamjonov, the head of fluential Media Support and Development Foundatn whose learship clus a dghter of Mirziyoyev, urged lol media not to ver LGBT issu.

The lg dictatorship Uzbekistan has jailed Maxim Popov, a 28-year-old psychologist and AIDS activist the pal of Tashkent, for seven years for promotg homosexualy and th rptg mors through his HIV-preventn work.