How Gay Is Pakistan? (Documentary) (UK)

I’ve known about Mawaan Rizwan for a while now, but I only just got around to watching this documentary he made a few years back. He’s a really popular, openly gay guy of Pakistani descent living in London, and he starts the film by talking about how he came out to his folks recently—apparently, it was the "worst news ever" for Pakistani parents. He ends up heading back to Pakistan to see what his life would’ve looked like if his family had never moved to the UK. It’s a pretty intense journey where he tries to figure out how the LGBTQ+ community actually survives in a place where being yourself can be genuinely dangerous.

He starts off in Karachi, where he spends a lot of time with Kami and her partner Sid. They’re basically the life of the party for the underground queer scene, even though they don't exactly live a fancy life. Their big dream is to get married in South Africa by an Imam who actually supports gay marriage. Through them, Mawaan gets a look at the trans experience in Karachi and how much harassment they deal with just walking down the street. He also hangs out with Kami’s friend Shahzadi, who’s thinking about gender-affirming surgery but is pretty lost on how it all works, which leads to a glimpse into the traditional "hijra" community. It’s heart-wrenching to hear stories about effeminate teenagers being kidnapped and abused. Mawaan even sits down with an Imam who, predictably, tells him that he needs to either change who he is or get out of the country for his own safety. Later, in Lahore, he meets a guy who moved back from the US to run a health clinic for queer people, even though he and his staff live under constant threat of being killed. One of the most interesting parts is when he talks about "men who have sex with men" (MSM). It’s a concept that’s hard for Westerners to get, but in crowded labor quarters, guys hook up with each other just for a release without ever identifying as gay.

Pakistan is such a country of contradictions, with a mix of extreme poverty and high-end sophistication. If you're wealthy, being gay is somewhat accepted as long as it stays underground, and they use social media to organize private club nights. It was a bold move to film this, but you can tell people are only willing to say so much on camera. It seemed a lot easier for him to interview trans people than gay men or lesbians, who were basically invisible in the doc. I found it fascinating when the guy from the US mentioned he had the best sex of his life with "straight" men back in Pakistan, which totally ties back into that MSM culture. I’ve read about this before—since men and women are so segregated, guys turn to each other and don't really feel any shame about it, even if they won't talk about it publicly. It was a relief to see a health organization handing out condoms and trying to educate people. By the end, Mawaan didn't exactly say things weren't as bad as he feared, but he definitely realized that Pakistani society is actually "quite gay" in its own hidden way. Still, he was incredibly relieved to head back to London because he just couldn't imagine living there openly.

As a South Asian guy myself, none of this was really a surprise to me, but I definitely appreciate Mawaan bringing this perspective to a bigger audience through the BBC. It’s clear that people are taking some brave steps over there, but man, they have such a long and difficult road ahead of them. It’s an eye-opening watch, even if it only scratches the surface of a very complicated place.

It’s a gutsy and personal look at a hidden world that feels both heartbreaking and surprisingly human, even if it leaves you worried for the people involved. (5.5/10)