In fear of their lives after militant attacks, gay Bangladeshis retreat into closet

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Bangladesh’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community was already marginalised, with gay sex being illegal, punishable by a maximum of life in prison. Photo: Reutersu

Published: 4:04am, 6 Dec 2016Updated: 4:04am, 6 Dec 2016

Seven months after al-Qaeda-linked militants hacked Bangladesh’s most prominent gay activist to death, the South Asian country’s LGBT community remains in hiding, while more than a dozen LGBT people have fled abroad.

We have never imagined the situation would be like this

A gay activist in exile

“The whole community has been sent back to the closet,” a gay activist in exile told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on condition of anonymity because he fears for his safety.

“Any kind of work – whatever we had been doing – it has been completely shut down. There is no movement, no visibility, no work. It is a horrible situation. We have never imagined the situation would be like this.”

Bangladesh’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community was already marginalised, with gay sex being illegal, punishable by a maximum of life in prison.

Then there was a coming out of sorts with the 2014 launch of the country’s first LGBT-themed magazine, Roopbaan, which became a subject of interest in the media and on social media, prompting a backlash and threats.

The community suffered escalating threats and then on April 25, Xulhaz Mannan, the founder and publisher of Roopbaan, and gay actor Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy were hacked to death at Mannan’s home in Dhaka.