'All of will be victims at some pot': why Bishkek's only gay club closed | Ci | The Guardian

Contents:

• RABOW RAGE: KYRGYZ RAIL AGAST LGBT COMMUNY AFTER CENTRAL ASIA'S 'FIRST' GAY-PRI MARCH
• GAY LIFE KYRGYZSTAN
• GAYS FEAR NEW LAW WILL DRIVE THEM OUT OF KYRGYZSTAN
• 'ALL OF WILL BE VICTIMS AT SOME POT': WHY BISHKEK'S ONLY GAY CLUB CLOSED
• KYRGYZSTAN GAY TRAVEL - LGBT RMATN SEPTEMBER 2023
• ANTI-GAY BILL SPIR ATTACKS KYRGYZSTAN
• ANTI-GAY LEGISLATN KYRGYZSTAN PROMPTS FEAR OF RSIAN FLUENCE
• NFL ACH BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR U.S. MEN’S PRO SPORTS TO E OUT AS GAY

RABOW RAGE: KYRGYZ RAIL AGAST LGBT COMMUNY AFTER CENTRAL ASIA'S 'FIRST' GAY-PRI MARCH

Suggt Public Opn DataPublic OpnAcceptance of homosexuals as neighbors? 3%) Mentned homosexualsDid not mentn homosexuals (26. HistoryHomosexual activy Kyrgyzstan?

Homosexual activy Kyrgyzstan is legal. UnregnizedCountry jt got rid of the nstutnal ban on gay marriage.

What many nsir the first gay-pri march ever held Central Asia has unleashed a storm of ntroversy Kyrgyzstan, wh threats of vlence agast participants, unterprotts, and fiery parliamentary bate over whether to re civil society. "The men who do not want to have children and the girls who do not want to pour not only be cursed, they mt be beaten, " Kyrgyz parliament puty Jyldyz Mabekova wrote on Facebook of the lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) supporters who took part the march the Kyrgyz pal, wh several of them rryg rabow flags. From behd two heavy metal doors, Nika, a gay man who recently set up a small LGBT support group Kyrgyzstan’s pal, ggerly opens the door.

GAY LIFE KYRGYZSTAN

Popularly known as the “anti-gay propaganda law” has unleashed a mpaign of vlence and timidatn agast the LGBT muny, wh a near 300% crease reported attacks sce the legislatn was people have been asslted, cludg one gay man who was beaten unnsc and gang-raped this year.

It’s a iends’ get-together – except this is now the only safe way they n meet bee of the spate of homophobic attacks. “If I uld afford , I would leave tomorrow, ” says Sergo, one of his ’s dner party: ‘The new law enuraged everyone to go after , whout fear of beg punished’ Illtratn: Andrew North/Coda StoryLeang eastIt was never easy beg lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr Kyrgyzstan’s patriarchal, Mlim-majory society.

Until recently there were even several gay clubs over the past few years, ternal and external forc have “dragged the LGBT muny to a battle for Kyrgyz inty, ” says Met Tiulegenov, chair of ternatnal and parative polics at the Amerin Universy and landlocked, Kyrgyzstan has been a geopolil and enomic supplint ever sce beme pennt after the llapse of the Soviet Unn, always vulnerable to bigger powers. First me a virtual clone of Mosw’s offensive on NGOs, wh legislatn mandg all groups receivg external fundg clare themselv as “foreign agents”, targeted at human rights groups, cludg those advotg for the LGBT, March 2014, MPs om the lg aln announced the “anti-gay propaganda” measur, wh even harsher penalti on paper than the Rsian versn.

GAYS FEAR NEW LAW WILL DRIVE THEM OUT OF KYRGYZSTAN

In effect, beg anti-wtern and homophobic have bee two ends of the same bone a Kyrgyz versn of dog-whistle polics.

“Beg anti-LGBT has been very profable for the natnalists, ” says the meantime, homophobic vlence has risen. Rsian TV channels, wh their explic anti-wtern, homophobic bias, have a solid dience. “It mak me feel guilty about beg gay when I hear some Rsian programm, ” says Nika.

“‘Look there’s the faggot’ another stunt shouted out when he saw me my universy fé, ” says Ilya, another dner more than two years sce the Kyrgyz parliament first troduced the “anti-gay propaganda” measur amid a flurry of pro-Rsian rhetoric, has stalled on actually makg law. MPs gave the bill large majori on s ial two readgs, but no date has been set for the necsary third readg, and would still need the print’s signature ’s siar uncertaty over the “foreign agents” bill targetg NGOs, which was first troduced 2013 – no one knows if or when parliament will bate them so, the police have reportedly been g the anti-gay propaganda legislatn to jtify gog after LGBT dividuals and then extortg brib.

'ALL OF WILL BE VICTIMS AT SOME POT': WHY BISHKEK'S ONLY GAY CLUB CLOSED

“They say they are enforcg the law, ” says Pasha, a gay man who was forced to hand over 4, 000 Kyrgyz Som (about £41) – a large sum a untry wh an average wage of ls than £200 per Kyrgyz journalists have reportedly rorted to self-censorg stori on homophobic attacks, or anythg to do wh the LGBT muny, se they are acced of publishg “pro-gay” propaganda. Dpe repeated requts to talk to Kyrgyz MPs and other officials about their Rsian-spired legislative plans, all said they were too by, or never returned any troductn of the so-lled ‘gay propaganda law’ has seen the suatn for the LGBT muny terrate.

“They would jt say ‘we don’t take s om gays’. In May last year activists om a Bishkek activist group lled Labrys and several other LGBT advocy anisatns were gatherg at a rtrant for the Internatnal Day agast Homophobia and Transphobia when they were attacked by a stormed the rtrant, chantg abe, and one woman was jured. Same-sex sexual activy was crimalized Kyrgyzstan 1998, but the Kyrgyz lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) muny experienc route discrimatn and vlence.

Emulatg Rsia’s 2013 law banng “homosexual propaganda, ” pos a threat to the human rights of the LGBT muny the untry and the regn at large. Proponents have simultaneoly ramped up homophobic rhetoric. Kyrgyzstan prents a difficult challenge for homosexual people.

KYRGYZSTAN GAY TRAVEL - LGBT RMATN SEPTEMBER 2023

In such an environment any chance for tolerance toward “Gay Life Kyrgyzstan” is slim spe the fact that same-sex activy was crimalized 1998, before the breakdown of the Soviet lers Kyrgyzstan. Labrys is mted to improvg the suatn of Lbians, Bisexual women, Gay men and Transgenr people Kyrgyzstan through empowerg LGBT themselv and workg wh general public to tegrate LGBT. A send qutn regardg LBT issu was whether the issue of homophobia was vered efforts of the Kyrgyz Republic to elimate genr stereotyp tn.

Equaly Caravan is a llaborative project between seven NGOs that serve at-risk social groups, members of which are often margalized and silenced wh Kyrgyz society: people wh disabili, gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr people, reverg dg ers, sex workers, people livg wh HIV/AIDS and others. Problems wh Homophobic Police and Prs.

Members of the Kyrgyz Anti-AIDS Associatn and other lol groups were joed by ternatnal partners om anizatns cludg COC, the Dutch LGBT associatn that is the world’s olst gay groups and Genr Doc-M, an LGBT group Moldova. Further outrage ensued when an article appeared a leadg newspaper Uzbekistan which acced the gay rights group of beg “sexual perverted.

ANTI-GAY BILL SPIR ATTACKS KYRGYZSTAN

It stigmatiz and means the human digny of homosexual people. “In particular, we nsir unacceptable to e phras such as “draw passers-by “gay “fah”, quotg statements, drawn om the unmorated Inter foms, puttg of homosexualy on a par wh the vlence and crim agast sexual tegry.

ANTI-GAY LEGISLATN KYRGYZSTAN PROMPTS FEAR OF RSIAN FLUENCE

“We believe that the publitn of this kd the media c hatred the society relatn to the specific groups – this se towards gay people – and may also provoke vlent actns agast them.

NFL ACH BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR U.S. MEN’S PRO SPORTS TO E OUT AS GAY

Homosexualy self is not lked to vlence and do not provoke vlence. “We ll attentn to a signifint risk of the nsequenc that rult by the publitns of this kd – fomentg xenophobia agast gay people, disrd society and an crease aggrsive mood among the populatn. We pay attentn to the fact that the article touch not only gay people, but also rears, sce is assumed that they should like such kd of materials.

For five years as a -operative wh other LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr) groups to protectg their rights.

In 2010 we anized an iative group of gay and bisexual men, where I was one of the lears. – When talkg wh gays, 80 percent of them say they always knew they were gay. Most do not even thk that their child might be gay or lbian.