There is no public discussion of issues related to LGBT people in Tajikistan . Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people themselves live a secret life and try not to attract attention. Although the article on sodomy adopted in Soviet times was abolished in 1998, the situation of LGBT people in Tajikistan and the attitude of the population towards them has not changed much since then [1] .
LGBT rights in Tajikistan | |
---|---|
Basic Rights Overview | |
Contact legality : | Same-sex contacts have been legal since 1998. |
Relationship Registration: | Same-sex marriages are not registered. Other forms of unions are not registered. |
Adoption : | not |
Sex change: | Yes |
Legal position
Same-sex relationships were decriminalized in Tajikistan in 1998 [2] . Officially, the age of sexual consent for same-sex and heterosexual relationships is also equalized [3] .
The legislation does not provide for the protection of LGBT people from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity .
Transgenderness is not recognized by the state, and Tajik transgender people do not have access to medical services, so they are forced to undergo sex reassignment operations abroad [4] . Although the legislation of Tajikistan provides for the possibility of changing the sex in the documents, if the medical institution issues an officially approved document, such documents are not officially issued, therefore transsexuals cannot change their passport sex [3] .
Legal practice
Despite the decriminalization of homosexuality, same-sex relationships are still treated as crimes by individual police officers. Police often subject suspects to arrest for several days [5] . Gays and lesbians are often subjected to humiliation, blackmail and extortion , including by law enforcement [6] [7] .
On June 5, 2014 , Tajikistan’s Interior Minister Ramazon Rakhimov said that the names, photographs and fingerprints of persons detained for “crimes against morals” or patients with venereal diseases will be entered into a special database [8] . Despite the lack of a legal definition of the notion of “crime against morality,” over the first two weeks of June, more than five hundred people were detained for “immoral behavior”, including people suspected of sex work or belonging to LGBT [9] . All of them were subjected to compulsory HIV testing and sexually transmitted diseases [8] . On June 12, a representative of the Ministry of the Interior told the press that among the detainees, three were detained for “homosexual behavior” [8] . On June 18, Tajik and international public organizations addressed Rakhimov with a letter expressing fear of the prisoners being denied legal assistance, as well as cases of blackmail and violence by the forces of law and order [8] .
Amnesty International has called on Tajikistan to end the police prosecution of LGBT [10] . A report submitted to the UN Human Rights Committee is devoted to the violation of human rights in relation to LGBT people [11] .
Attitudes of society
There is no public discussion of issues related to LGBT people in Tajikistan . The majority of mentions in the media are accusatory in nature, with each public mention in the press can cause an increase in homophobic attitudes in society, so gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people themselves try to live a secret life and not attract attention to themselves, hiding even from the closest people [ 1] [12] . Most gays and lesbians lead a double life and are married to partners of the opposite sex, hiding their sexual orientation for years [13] [1] .
There is an opinion that the formation of a negative attitude towards LGBT in Tajik society, in which Islam is becoming increasingly important, is greatly influenced by the position of religious leaders [1] . The Supreme Mufti of Tajikistan Saidmukarram Abdulkodirzoda publicly condemned same-sex relations, calling them a “disaster”. He also condemned countries that legalized same-sex marriages and spoke out against the ideas of human rights defenders proposing to adopt laws in the country that protect LGBT people from discrimination [1] [12] [14] .
A number of Tajik psychologists and doctors consider homosexuality to be a form of addiction comparable to drug addiction and alcoholism , and suggest cure methods [15] [16] . It is also reported about the ill-treatment of LGBT by medical personnel [17] .
Summary Table of Rights
Type of | Status |
---|---|
Same-sex relationship | |
Equal age of consent | |
Anti-discrimination laws only in employment | |
Antidiscrimination laws for the provision of goods and services | |
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (including indirect discrimination, hate speech) | |
Same-sex marriage | |
Recognition of same-sex couples | |
Adoption of a child by same-sex couples | |
Adoption for single people regardless of sexual orientation | |
Permission for gays and lesbians to openly serve in the army | |
The right to change the legal gender | (operations required) [18] |
Access to IVF for lesbians | |
Surrogacy for gay couples | |
Permission to be blood donors for MSM |
See also
- Human rights in Tajikistan
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Anora Sarkorov. The double life of Tajik gays and lesbians . BBC Russian (March 10, 2015). The appeal date is April 2, 2015.
- ↑ Violation of Rights, 2013 , p. five.
- ↑ 1 2 Report on the human rights situation in Tajikistan (Not available link) . US Embassy in Dushanbe (2013). The appeal date is April 2, 2015. Archived April 3, 2015.
- ↑ Violation of Rights, 2013 , p. four.
- ↑ Violation of Rights, 2013 , p. 4, 9.
- ↑ Violation of Rights, 2013 , p. eleven.
- ↑ Report on the human rights situation in Tajikistan (Not available link) . US Embassy in Dushanbe (2012). The appeal date is April 2, 2015. Archived April 3, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Tajikistan 2014 Human Rights Report . The appeal date is August 18, 2015.
- Tajikistan Tajikistan Tajikistan Tajikistan Tajikistan Tajikistan (eng.) (13 June 2014). The appeal date is August 18, 2015.
- ↑ 429Magazine. Housing community . The appeal date is August 18, 2015.
- ↑ Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, Equal Opportunities. Human Rights Violations of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) People in Tajikistan: A Shadow Report (Not available link) (July 2013). The appeal date is August 18, 2015. Archived September 24, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 Anora Sarkorov. Tajik mufti condemned gays during a sermon . BBC Russian (February 7, 2014). The appeal date is April 2, 2015.
- ↑ Violation of Rights, 2013 , p. 7
- ↑ The Supreme Mufti of Tajikistan condemned homosexuality . NEWSru.com (February 10, 2014). The appeal date is April 2, 2015.
- ↑ Tajikistan: LGBT Community Stuck in the Shadows (January 23, 2012). The appeal date is August 18, 2015.
- ↑ Shahlo Gulkhoja, Firuz Barotov. A Closeted Life For Tajik Sexual Minorities (February 3, 2014). The appeal date is August 18, 2015.
- ↑ European Union - Tajikistan Civil Society Seminar on "Freedom from Torture or Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment" (June 12, 2013). The appeal date is August 18, 2015.
- 15 1615 L. St NW, Suite 800Washington, DC 20036USA202-419-4300 | Main202-857-8562 | Fax202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. Gay rights in Russia and the former Soviet republics (English) (Neopr.) ? . Pew Research Center. The appeal date is May 22, 2019.
Literature
- Violation of human rights towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Tajikistan . - Geneva, 2013. Archival copy of September 24, 2015 on the Wayback Machine