Democratization activists in Kyrgyzstan are worrying about a roll-back of basic freedoms after a Bishkek court prohibited a film festival from screening a Dutch documentary about homosexual Muslim men.
A critically acclaimed film in Turkey about the murder of a gay man by his father is prompting Turkish society, once again, to examine its tolerance of differences.
With an annual gay pride march planned for this weekend and a vibrant gay nightlife, Istanbul, in many ways, is an oasis for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people in the Muslim world. But instances of hate crimes, along with sluggish police responses, emphasize that Turkey remains divided on the matter of equal rights for LGBT individuals, a new report from Amnesty International suggests.
An appellate case involving a young homosexual man convicted of distributing pornographic films is shaping up as an important test for gay rights in Kyrgyzstan. Local rights activists contend that that the defendant, Mikhail Kudryashov, was entrapped and is a victim of gender-related bias at the hands of police and prosecutors.
In the rundown Istanbul neighborhood of Tarlabasi, Yanki, Helen and Sechil struggle daily making a living as sex workers in Turkey's transgender community. Along with facing discrimination and possible violence, the three are in search, in many ways, of their own identities as well.
Speaking in his apartment in a suburb of Diyarbakir, in southeastern Turkey, Solin and his colleague Koya are so scared of being identified that they will not allow even an obscured photograph of themselves to be published. Nor do they want their real names to be known.
