Religion is a big obstacle for understanding the importance of homosexuality in Bangladesh’s general public, and this binding has transformed it into taboo. We know more than 90 percent of people in Bangladesh.
At first it is better to say that I am a gay. That is, I am attracted to the same sex person same gender as myself, and I am used to have sex with same sex partner. Although it doesn’t need to be said in such a way in the case of intercourse between a man and a woman, but I have to say this in such separated way as a result of my sexual orientation.
I see this whole affair as a kind of mental torture to those who are like us. As a result of the mental torture we are being unwanted in our own country and living like an invisible minority. A person named Reiner Ebert wrote a long essay about these invisible minorities a few years ago, explaining how we lived in our own country. Where he said-
“Lesbian, Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual or LGB people are our brothers, sisters, friends, neighbours, our teachers and our teammates. Homosexuality and bisexualism have always been part of every society and every culture in human history. It also exists in a wide variety of creatures. Various surveys worldwide showed that between 1 and 10 of 100 people were attracted to same sex. At least, there are 1.5 million gay or bisexual people in Bangladesh. Despite being adequate in number (which is almost equal to the whole population of Qatar) LGB has been counted as invisible minority.
Discrimination against LGB in schools, universities and workplace deprives them from health care and justice. Often, they get less help from family members and friends, often suffering from panic, suspicion and guilt. Article 377 of the Bangladesh Penal Code states that sexual intercourse in same sex is a punishable offense, whose punishment is sentenced to life imprisonment. As a result, very few people openly talk about their sexual orientation. Moreover, most of the compulsions are compulsory to live a life of lies and secrecy under the jurisdiction of ignorant, obscure ideas and mockery of justice and morality. Yet women’s main goal are considered as heterosexual marriages, and tolerance to gay women is particularly low. They are twice as stressed.
In 2002, Men Sex who has sex with men (MSM), the largest organization Bandhu Social Welfare Society (BSWS), surveyed 124 signatures of lesbian and bisexual men, which is the most significant of the local LGB community. Part One out of every two people said that he was a victim of harassment at school or college. Three out of every four people, who told their relatives about their sexual orientation.
They said they were victims of a very negative reaction from their families; For example, beating up, forced to marry, deprived of property, expelled from home or taken to a doctor to cure of their homosexuality. Many have been abused by law enforcement members, local police officers, friendly people or any member from the family. In the survey, 29 of the 80 people reported to the BSWS that they were harassed by law enforcement members or police officers conducted rape and sexual abuse. Others have been told to beat them, get money by force, hinder movements, threats and blackmail. Homosexuals from Mymensingh, Dhaka and Sylhet reported that they were taken to the police station or police barrack and gang raped them.
Such compulsive mobility is very unsafe, which is often the cause of serious physical wounds; As the stool outlet breaks down, internal bleeding, etc. In the report of Human Rights Watch (HRW) in 2003, it is said that these incidents happen very often and since then the nature of violence on the LGB group is revealed in Bangladesh “Is this Islamic state a person to understand the words of Reiner? In which country many people decide on the basis of the book like the Qur’an, and think it is within it all the mantras of science, and what can be expected in such a country? I at least do not expect anything else.
As a gay how much I’ve suffered, I’d say religion is very much responsible for it. Although not only Islam, but also in all religions, homosexuality has been seen as a minor and shown as offense, which I say is a serious blow to humanity.