An Unsafe Haven: Challenges of Bangladeshi LGBTIQ people inside and outside the community
Executive Summary
This report covers an overview of the human rights situation of the LGBTIQ population of Bangladesh and has been designed to identify advocacy priorities in the next five years. The study also sheds light on the existing strategies used by the LGBTIQ organizations and activists to conduct advocacy and poses opportunities and recommendations for them as well as international bodies including ILGA Asia on how they can better support the local LGBTIQ community. The findings of the study will help ILGA Asia, the LGBTIQ community and organizations in Bangladesh, LGBTIQ allies, and other human rights organizations to move forward in alignment and coordinated efforts. The methodology of the study included primary research which consisted of three key informant interviews with LGBTIQ and Hijra organizations in Bangladesh and one consultation meeting with 14 key informants including LGBTIQ community members, representatives of LGBTIQ organizations, and independent activists. It further included a literature review of existing resources including news articles, research papers, interviews, archives, and stories that have been published within the last five years.
The political landscape of Bangladesh is defined by the misuse of power, silencing of voices against State mechanisms, and violation of freedom of speech, expression, and assembly by citizens and activists. The LGBTIQ community are mostly invisible and often pushed to the margins, largely due to religious conservatism which considers homosexuality as a sin, threats of radicalized groups and fear of being arrested by law enforcement agencies under Section 377. Besides the unaccepting nature of social institutions such as the family, online social platforms are generally hateful towards the LGBTIQ community. Attempts at visibility have been carried out by community-based organizations. However, these have subjected the activists to anonymous threats, intimidations, verbal abuse, online attacks, and sometimes even physical assault that was brutally reflected in 2016 when two prominent LGBTIQ activists of Bangladesh were murdered by a terrorist group. Hijra community in Bangladesh remains the most visible and most accepted queer identity and has been supported by a special gazette recognizing them as a separate sex by the Ministry of Social Welfare. However, in a country where conservative social norms and religious views drive the mindset of the masses, the political parties reserve their support for the LGBTIQ community as it goes against the sentiment of the mass. However, the LGBTIQ organizations and activists have been working on numerous innovative approaches to ensure the rights of the community that include advocacy under the umbrella of Hijra issues, knowledge production and advocacy through art, and capacity building of the community to develop their leadership.
