DOCSLIB.ORG

Pakistan 2020 LGBT Index and Exhibits

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Pakistan 2020 LGBT Index and Exhibits [NAME] [FIRM] [ADDRESS] [PHONE NUMBER] [FAX NUMBER] UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR IMMIGRATION REVIEW IMMIGRATION COURT [CITY, STATE] ) In the Matter of: ) ) File No.: A _____________ _______________________ ) ) In removal proceedings ) ) INDEX TO DOCUMENTATION OF COUNTRY CONDITIONS REGARDING PERSECUTION OF LGBTQ INDIVIDUALS IN PAKISTAN TAB SUMMARY GOVERNMENTAL SOURCES 1. Excerpt of Pakistan Penal Code § 377, available at: https://www.oecd.org/site/adboecdanti-corruptioninitiative/46816797.pdf • “Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than two years nor more than ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.” • “Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.” 2. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Dep’t of State, Pakistan 2019 Human Rights Report (Mar. 11, 2020), available at: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/PAKISTAN-2019-HUMAN- RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf TAB SUMMARY • “Consensual same-sex sexual conduct is a criminal offense. The penalty for conviction of same-sex relations is a fine, two years to life imprisonment, or both. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, male transgender, and intersex persons rarely revealed their sexual orientation or gender identity in the public sphere. There were communities of openly transgender women, but they were marginalized and were frequently the targets of violence and harassment.” (p. 43) • “Violence and discrimination continued against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons. The crimes often go unreported, and police generally take little action when they do receive reports. On April 13, unidentified assailants stabbed and killed a 30-year-old transgender person in Karachi. Her death followed the death and apparent torture on March 26 of an elderly member of the transgender community.” (p. 43) • “According to a wide range of LGBT NGOs and activists, society generally shunned transgender women, eunuchs, and intersex persons, who often lived together in slum communities and survived by begging and dancing at carnivals and weddings. Some also were prostitutes. Local authorities often denied transgender individuals their share of inherited property, and admission to schools and hospitals. Property owners frequently refused to rent or sell property to transgender persons.” (pp. 43-44) • “Authorities held female prisoners separately from men. Nevertheless, despite the passage of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018, which provides for separate places of confinement, NGOs reported that prison officials held transgender women with men, and the men harassed the transgender women.” (p. 7) • “While regulations prohibit discrimination in employment and occupation regarding race, sex, gender, disability, language, gender identity, HIV- positive status or other communicable diseases, or social status, the government did not effectively enforce those laws and regulations. Discrimination with respect to employment and occupation based on these factors persisted.” (p. 50) 3. U.K. Home Office, Country Policy and Information Note — Pakistan: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression (v. 3.0 July 2019), available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attach ment_data/file/814050/Pakistan-SOGIE-CPIN-v3.0_July_2019_.pdf • “The Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) does not specifically refer to homosexuality but deals with actions that go against ‘the natural order’. Section 377 states ‘Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or 2 TAB SUMMARY with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than two years nor more than ten years, and shall also be liable to fine . Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.” (p. 13) • “The Offence of Zina (Enforcement Of Hudood) Ordinance of 1979 criminalises any form of penetration outside of marriage, but voluntary sexual acts between persons of the same gender are not covered by the provisions although they suggest that non-heterosexual sexual acts that involve penetration could be prosecuted and sharia law provisions may punish same-sex sexual acts by death.” (p. 7) • “… Sections 377 and 294 (‘Obscene Acts and Songs’) of the PPC has sometimes been used by police as a pretext to arrest, threaten to arrest, harass, intimidate and extort LGBTI persons, particularly men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women . Health workers and educators, reportedly discriminate against persons because of their actual or perceived gender identity and/or sexual orientation.” (p. 7) • “[T]ransgender persons have reported humiliating and discriminatory treatment, violence and harassment by police, including sexual violence.” (p. 8) • “Sources indicate that sexual minorities may be reluctant to report crimes against them for fear of revealing their sexual orientation or because they suspect the response will be inadequate. Despite the passing of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2018, it is reported that police do not provide adequate protection to transgender persons.” (p. 9) • “Pakistan is a conservative Muslim society in which homophobic attitudes persist. LGBTI persons face societal discrimination as well as family and societal pressure to conform to cultural and religious norms, including marriage.” (p. 8) • “There are no laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. There is no legal recognition of same-sex civil unions or marriages, and same-sex couples cannot adopt children.” (p. 12) 4. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Dep’t of State, Pakistan 2018 Human Rights Report (Mar. 13, 2019), available at: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PAKISTAN-2018.pdf • “Consensual same-sex sexual conduct is a criminal offense. The penalty for same-sex relations is a fine, two years’ to life imprisonment, or both. 3 TAB SUMMARY Lesbian, gay, bisexual, male transgender, and intersex persons rarely revealed their sexual orientation or gender identity. There were communities of openly transgender women, but they were marginalized and were frequently the targets of violence and harassment.” (p. 46) • “Violence and discrimination continued against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons. The crimes often go unreported, and the police generally take little action when they do receive reports.” (p. 46) • “According to a wide range of LGBT NGOs and activists, society generally shunned transgender women, eunuchs, and intersex persons, . who often lived together in slum communities and survived by begging and dancing at carnivals and weddings. Some also were prostitutes. Local authorities often denied transgender individuals their share of inherited property, and admission to schools and hospitals. Landlords frequently refused to rent or sell property to transgender persons.” (p. 46) • “Election observers and the transgender community reported incidents of harassment of transgender voters on election day, and the Sindh Home Department reportedly confiscated the Election Commission of Pakistan accreditation cards of 25 transgender observers citing security concerns.” (pp. 46-47) • “Authorities held female prisoners separately from men. Nevertheless, NGOs reported transgender women were held with men and faced harassment.” (p. 7) • “While regulations prohibit discrimination in employment and occupation regarding race, sex, gender, disability, language, gender identity, HIV- positive status or other communicable diseases, or social status, the government did not effectively enforce those laws and regulations. Discrimination with respect to employment and occupation based on these factors persisted.” (p. 52) 5. Excerpt of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, State of Human Rights in 2018 (March 2019), available at: http://hrcp-web.org/hrcpweb/wp- content/uploads/2019/04/State-of-Human-Rights-in-2018-English-1.pdf • “In January, an eighteen-year-old transgender person was kidnapped and gang raped by nine people through the night only to be released the next morning in Peshawar. When the survivor filed a complaint with the police, they refused to register a First Information Report (FIR). The survivor believed that she had been targeted due to a recent protest she had attended against attacks on two other transgender persons. In the same month, three 4 TAB SUMMARY members of the transgender community were returning after attending an event in Swabi’s Yar Hussain tehsil when assailants attempted to sexually abuse them. Upon resistance, the assailants opened fire, critically injuring two of the three survivors. In March, a transgender person and her friend were gunned down in Peshawar by two assailants on a motorcycle. In April, another transgender individual’s residence was raided by armed men in the Kalu Khan area of Swabi. The men beat her before fatally shooting her. In May, another member of the transgender community was murdered over a money dispute in the Kotkay area of Mansehra. News reports indicated that the individual was shot after refusing to provide change for Rs1,000. In June, news reports surfaced
Load more

Recommended publications
  • General Election 2018 Update-Ii - Fafen General Election 2018
    GENERAL ELECTION 2018 UPDATE-II - FAFEN GENERAL ELECTION 2018 Update-II April 01 – April 30, 2018 1. BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) initiated its assessment of the political environment and implementation of election-related laws, rules and regulations in January 2018 as part of its multi-phase observation of General Election (GE) 2018. The purpose of the observation is to contribute to the evolution of an election process that is free, fair, transparent and accountable, in accordance with the requirements laid out in the Elections Act, 2017. Based on its observation, FAFEN produces periodic updates, information briefs and reports in an effort to provide objective, unbiased and evidence-based information about the quality of electoral and political processes to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), political parties, media, civil society organizations and citizens. General Election 2018 Update-II is based on information gathered systematically in 130 districts by as many trained and non-partisan District Coordinators (DCs) through 560 interviews1 with representatives of 33 political parties and groups and 294 interviews with representative of 35 political parties and groups over delimitation process. The Update also includes the findings of observation of 559 political gatherings and 474 ECP’s centres set up for the display of preliminary electoral rolls. FAFEN also documented the formation of 99 political alliances, party-switching by political figures, and emerging alliances among ethnic, tribal and professional groups. In addition, the General Election 2018 Update-II comprises data gathered through systematic monitoring of 86 editions of 25 local, regional and national newspapers to report incidents of political and electoral violence, new development schemes and political advertisements during April 2018.
    [Show full text]
  • Pakistan Page 1 of 16
    Pakistan Page 1 of 16 2005 Human Rights Report Released | Daily Press Briefing | Other News... Pakistan Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 8, 2006 Pakistan is a federal republic with a population of approximately 163 million. The head of state is President and Chief of Army Staff Pervez Musharraf who assumed power after overthrowing the civilian government in 1999. The head of government is Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, whom the national assembly elected over opposition parties' objections in 2004. Domestic and international observers found the 2002national assembly elections, the most recent national elections, deeply flawed. The civilian authorities maintained control of the security forces; however, there were instances when local police acted independently of government authority. The government's human rights record was poor, and serious problems remained. The following human rights problems were reported: restrictions on citizens' right to change their government extrajudicial killings, torture, and rape poor prison conditions, arbitrary arrest, and lengthy pretrial detention violations of due process and privacy rights lack of judicial independence harassment, intimidation, and arrest of journalists limits on freedom of association, religion, and movement imprisonment of political leaders corruption legal and societal discrimination against women child abuse trafficking in women and children, and child prostitution discrimination against persons with disabilities indentured, bonded, and child labor restriction of worker rights The government took significant steps to combat trafficking in persons. Its Anti-Trafficking Unit (ATU) was fully functional and resulted in increased arrests and prosecutions of human traffickers. Cooperative efforts between the military, ATU, and international organizations prevented any increase in human trafficking resulting from the October 8 earthquake.
    [Show full text]
  • Population Health 10 (2020) 100519
    SSM - Population Health 10 (2020) 100519 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect SSM - Population Health journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ssmph Article Informing theoretical development of salutogenic, asset-based health improvement to reduce syndemics among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men: Empirical evidence from secondary analysis of multi-national, online cross-sectional surveys Lisa M. McDaid a,*, Paul Flowers a, Olivier Ferlatte b,c, Kareena McAloney-Kocaman d, Mark Gilbert c,e, Jamie Frankis f a MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow, G2 3QB, UK b Department of Social and Preventative Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Montreal, 7101 Avenue du Parc (3rd Floor), Montreal, Quebec, H3N 1X9, Canada c Community Based Research Centre for Gay Men’s Health, 1007-808 Nelson Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6Z 2H2, Canada d Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow, G4 0BA, UK e School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, 2206 East Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Canada f Department of Health & Community Sciences, School of Health and Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow, G4 0BA, UK ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: Globally, gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) experience an increased burden of poor Syndemics sexual, mental and physical health. Syndemics theory provides a framework to understand comorbidities and Salutogenesis health among marginalised populations. Syndemics theory attempts to account for the social, environmental, and Multimorbidities other structural contexts that are driving and/or sustaining simultaneous multiple negative health outcomes, but Assets has been widely critiqued.
    [Show full text]
  • The Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Indusrty
    THE FAISALABAD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSRTY FINAL ASSOCIATE VOTERS FOR THE YEAR 2016-17 Page 1 of 142 1. 2104577-3610 7. 2106048-4897 13. 2103964-3062 3-A TEXTILES A & H CORPORATION A.A ENTERPRISES P-1 SECOND FLOOR SARA TOWER CENTRE OFFICE # 4, 2ND FLOOR ABUTURAB P-27 GALI NO 7 MOHALLAH QASIM MAIN SUSAN ROAD MADINA BUILDING, AMINPUR BAZAR FAISALABAD ABAD,JHANG ROAD, FAISALABAD TOWN,FAISALABAD NTN : 2681221-5 NTN : 2259549-0 NTN : 1324438-8 STN : STN : STN : 08-90-9999-882-82 TEL : 041-8559844,5506962 TEL : 041-2551678 TEL : 041-8723388 CELL: 0300-9656930 CELL: 0300-9652354,0321-7220920 CELL: 0300-8668801 EMAIL :[email protected], rana_248@hotmai EMAIL :[email protected] EMAIL :[email protected] REP : RANA MUNAWAR HUSSAIN REP : HAMID BASHIR REP : AIJAZ AHMAD NIC : 33100-0147581-1 NIC : 33100-4747059-7 NIC : 33100-5628937-9 2. 2106191-5024 8. 2300939-682 14. 2102967-2222 381 INTERNATIONAL A & H ENTERPRISES A.A ENTERPRISES 1ST FLOOR UNION TRADER OPP. SHELL CHEEMA MARKET RAILWAY ROAD SHOP NO 4 AL HAKEEM CENTRE CHTTREE PUMP NEAR GHOUSHALA DIJKOT ROAD FAISALABAD WALA CHOWK JINNAH COLONY FAISALABAD NTN : 2164711-9 FAISALABAD NTN : 2736536-7 STN : 08-01-5900-008-46 NTN : 2316510-3 STN : TEL : 041-2643933 STN : TEL : 041-2626381 CELL: 0300-8666818 TEL : 041-8739180 CELL: 0344-4444381 EMAIL :[email protected] CELL: 0300-8656607 EMAIL :[email protected] REP : MUHAMMAD ASIM EMAIL :[email protected] REP : JAWAD ALI NIC : 33100-1808192-7 REP : ATIF IDREES NIC : 33100-6169762-5 NIC : 33104-2111449-9 3. 2105589-4504 9.
    [Show full text]
  • Police Organisations in Pakistan
    HRCP/CHRI 2010 POLICE ORGANISATIONS IN PAKISTAN Human Rights Commission CHRI of Pakistan Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative working for the practical realisation of human rights in the countries of the Commonwealth Human Rights Commission of Pakistan The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is an independent, non-governmental organisation registered under the law. It is non-political and non-profit-making. Its main office is in Lahore. It started functioning in 1987. The highest organ of HRCP is the general body comprising all members. The general body meets at least once every year. Executive authority of this organisation vests in the Council elected every three years. The Council elects the organisation's office-bearers - Chairperson, a Co-Chairperson, not more than five Vice-Chairpersons, and a Treasurer. No office holder in government or a political party (at national or provincial level) can be an office bearer of HRCP. The Council meets at least twice every year. Besides monitoring human rights violations and seeking redress through public campaigns, lobbying and intervention in courts, HRCP organises seminars, workshops and fact-finding missions. It also issues monthly Jehd-i-Haq in Urdu and an annual report on the state of human rights in the country, both in English and Urdu. The HRCP Secretariat is headed by its Secretary General I. A. Rehman. The main office of the Secretariat is in Lahore and branch offices are in Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta. A Special Task Force is located in Hyderabad (Sindh) and another in Multan (Punjab), HRCP also runs a Centre for Democratic Development in Islamabad and is supported by correspondents and activists across the country.
    [Show full text]
  • Sexual Preferences and Presentation on Geosocial Networking Apps by Indian Men Who Have Sex with Men in Maharashtra
    JMIR MHEALTH AND UHEALTH Rhoton et al Original Paper Sexual Preferences and Presentation on Geosocial Networking Apps by Indian Men Who Have Sex With Men in Maharashtra Jayson Rhoton1*, MA; J Michael Wilkerson1*, MPH, PhD; Shruta Mengle2*, MSc; Pallav Patankar2, MBA; BR Simon Rosser3*, LP, MPH, PhD; Maria L Ekstrand4, PhD 1Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Sceince Center Houston, Houston, TX, United States 2The Humsafar Trust, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 3School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States 4Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States *these authors contributed equally Corresponding Author: Jayson Rhoton, MA Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences The University of Texas Health Sceince Center Houston 7000 Fannin Street 2610 I Houston, TX, 77030 United States Phone: 1 713 500 9757 Fax: 1 713 500 9750 Email: [email protected] Abstract Background: The affordability of smartphones and improved mobile networks globally has increased the popularity of geosocial networking (GSN) apps (eg, Grindr, Scruff, Planetromeo) as a method for men who have sex with men (MSM) to seek causal sex partners and engage with the queer community. As mobile penetration continues to grow in India, it is important to understand how self-presentation on GSN app is relevant because it offers insight into a population that has not been largely studied. There is very little information about how Indian MSM discuss their sexual preferences and condom preferences and disclose their human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status with potential sex partners on Web-based platforms.
    [Show full text]
  • CRSS Annual Security Report 2017
    CRSS Annual Security Report 2017 Author: Muhammad Nafees Editor: Zeeshan Salahuddin Table of Contents Table of Contents ___________________________________ 3 Acronyms __________________________________________ 4 Executive Summary __________________________________ 6 Fatalities from Violence in Pakistan _____________________ 8 Victims of Violence in Pakistan________________________ 16 Fatalities of Civilians ................................................................ 16 Fatalities of Security Officials .................................................. 24 Fatalities of Militants, Insurgents and Criminals .................. 26 Nature and Methods of Violence Used _________________ 29 Key militants, criminals, politicians, foreign agents, and others arrested in 2017 ___________________________ 32 Regional Breakdown ________________________________ 33 Balochistan ................................................................................ 33 Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) ......................... 38 Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) ....................................................... 42 Punjab ........................................................................................ 47 Sindh .......................................................................................... 52 Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Islamabad, and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) ............................................................................ 59 Sectarian Violence .................................................................... 59 3 © Center
    [Show full text]
  • Sb List for 04.02.2019(Monday)
    _ 1 _ PESHAWAR HIGH COURT, PESHAWAR DAILY LIST FOR MONDAY, 04 FEBRUARY, 2019 BEFORE:- MR. JUSTICE WAQAR AHMAD SETH,CHIEF JUSTICE Court No: 1 MOTION CASES 1. CM Corr Nauman Azhar Ali Khan (Nowshehra) 34/2019(in BA 14- V/s P/2019) The State 2. Cr.M(TA) The Bank of Khyber Abd-ur-Rauf Rohaila 96/2018() V/s (Date By Court) The State CrAppeal Branch AG Office 3. CM(TA) 8/2019() Jahangir Syeda Saima Jafferi V/s Amna Bibi 4. W.P 263/2019() Ajmal Khan Altaf Ahmad V/s Fazle Amin Writ Petition Branch AG Office 5. W.P 371/2019 with Ahad Ali Hayat Khan IR() V/s Sardar Ali Writ Petition Branch AG Office 6. Cr.A 1213/2018() Murad Ali Said Jamil Shah V/s The State CrAppeal Branch AG Office MIS Branch,Peshawar High Court Page 1 of 95 Report Generated By: C f m i s _ 2 _ DAILY LIST FOR MONDAY, 04 FEBRUARY, 2019 BEFORE:- MR. JUSTICE WAQAR AHMAD SETH,CHIEF JUSTICE Court No: 1 MOTION CASES 7. Cr.M(BCA) The State CrAppeal Branch AG Office 2707/2018() V/s Gulalai Ismail i Cr.M(BCA) 2708/2018 The State CrAppeal Branch AG Office V/s Fazal Khan 8. coc. 73/2019 in Muhammad Fateh Khan and Muhammad Alam Khan, C.R 316/2016 others Muhammad Sami ur rehman (Declartion)(Again V/s st decree (stay Munir and other Syed Kausar Ali Shah (Mardan) granted on 17/05/2016) 9. C.R 33/2019 with Mian Khan Khalil Arbab Yasir Hayat cm.
    [Show full text]
  • Extremism and Terrorism
    Pakistan: Extremism and Terrorism On April 21, 2021, a car bomb exploded in the parking lot of the Serena Hotel in Quetta, killing at least five and wounding 11. Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong was staying in the hotel but was not present during the attack. Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility. “It was a suicide attack in which our suicide bomber used his explosives-filled car in the hotel,” the TTP said in a text message to Reuters. (Sources: Reuters, Associated Press) On April 12, 2021, police in Lahore arrested Saad Rizvi, leader of the outlawed Islamist political party Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP). The arrest was reportedly to deter TLP supporters from further demanding the expulsion of France’s ambassador over the publication in France of cartoons featuring Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Rizvi had claimed the government had reached an agreement with his party to expel the ambassador by April 20, while government officials claimed they agreed only to discuss the issue in parliament. In response to Rizvi’s arrest, TLP supporters blocked highways and clash with police across the country over the course of two days, killing at least four people and wounding dozens of others, including at least 60 police officers. On April 18, TLP supporters attacked a police station in Lahore while rallying in the city against Rizvi’s arrest. The protesters took hostage 11 officers. The protesters released the hostages the following day after negotiations with the government. Photos released of the hostages during the negotiations showed they had been tortured. (Sources: Voice of America, Associated Press) Overview Since its independence from British colonial rule in 1947, Pakistan has been divided along ethnic, religious, and sectarian lines, a condition which has been exploited by internal and external organizations to foster extremism and terrorism.
    [Show full text]
  • Gay Immigrants and Grindr: Revitalizing Queer Urban Spaces?
    Gay Immigrants and Grindr: Revitalizing Queer Urban Spaces? “Gay Dance Clubs on the Wane in the Age of Grindr,” proclaimed the journalist Michael Musto in the New York Times in 2016. Musto, who has reported on gay life in New York for decades, had noticed a decline in weekly dance parties. In speaking to club promoters and performers, Musto kept hearing the same thing: people would rather meet others via the comfort of their mobile phones than in a gay space. (“Clubs have been usurped by the right swipe”; “Social media changed the landscape of going out”; “Why pay an expensive cover charge and deal with rude bouncers when you can just swipe on your iPhone?” and so forth.) Similarly, a New Orleans bartender told gay reporter Chris Staudinger: “You could ask any bartender in New Orleans whether the apps have affected business in gay bars, and they would all say yes.” Scholarly research has also pointed to Grindr (and related platforms) as troublesome technologies that might obviate the need for urban gay spaces. Grindr (founded 2009) is a smartphone-only platform that allows mostly gay men (and also queer and trans people) to connect to others in their immediate vicinity via private messages. Related geo-social apps include gay platforms like Scruff, Hornet, Growler or Chappy, or the app versions of websites like Gaydar or PlanetRomeo, and mainstream equivalents like Tinder and Happn. These geo-locative platforms challenge the idea that a “gay space” needs to be a physical space distinct from a straight space, since the “grids of the Grindr interface can be overlaid atop any space” (Roth 2016: 441).
    [Show full text]
  • EASO Country of Origin Information Report Pakistan Security Situation
    European Asylum Support Office EASO Country of Origin Information Report Pakistan Security Situation October 2018 SUPPORT IS OUR MISSION European Asylum Support Office EASO Country of Origin Information Report Pakistan Security Situation October 2018 More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). ISBN: 978-92-9476-319-8 doi: 10.2847/639900 © European Asylum Support Office 2018 Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged, unless otherwise stated. For third-party materials reproduced in this publication, reference is made to the copyrights statements of the respective third parties. Cover photo: FATA Faces FATA Voices, © FATA Reforms, url, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Neither EASO nor any person acting on its behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained herein. EASO COI REPORT PAKISTAN: SECURITY SITUATION — 3 Acknowledgements EASO would like to acknowledge the Belgian Center for Documentation and Research (Cedoca) in the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, as the drafter of this report. Furthermore, the following national asylum and migration departments have contributed by reviewing the report: The Netherlands, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Office for Country Information and Language Analysis Hungary, Office of Immigration and Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Office Documentation Centre Slovakia, Migration Office, Department of Documentation and Foreign Cooperation Sweden, Migration Agency, Lifos
    [Show full text]
  • 24 October 2019 Pakistan
    24 October 2019 Pakistan: Muhammad Ismail, father of woman human rights defender Gulalai Ismail, abducted in Peshawar On 24 October 2019, Muhammad Ismail, the father of Pakistani woman human rights defender Gulalai Ismail, was abducted by a group of unidentified men as he was leaving the Peshawar High Court. The family, supporters and colleagues of Gulalai Ismail have been subjected to relentless threats, intimidation and harassment by officers of the Pakistani Military and Intelligence service since 25 May 2019. Gulalai Ismail is an award-winning woman human rights defender and the co-founder of Aware Girls, who has been compelled to flee Pakistan after two First Information Reports (FIRs) were filed against her on 22 and 23 May 2019 by police in Islamabad. The FIRs accuse her of serious offenses including “sedition” under the Penal Code and Sections 6/7 of the regressive Anti- Terrorism Act. Her father, Muhammad Ismail is a well known human rights defender in Pakistan, and has been critical of human rights violations in the country, particularly the treatment of his daughter by the State apparatus. Front Line Defenders has previously issued an urgent appeal expressing its concern against the filing of false and baseless allegations against Gulalai Ismail and a further appeal condemning the threats against her family, especially her elderly parents and sister. Since May 2019, the family home in Islamabad has been raided by armed military on at least four occasions. During these raids the officials questioned and harassed her parents, confiscated their mobile phones, and photographed Gulalai Ismail’s younger brother, without his consent.
    [Show full text]