LGBT rights

Abstract: Sexual minorities and LGBT rights have always been a taboo to talk about in our country. This behavior can be drawn from many misconception of about sexual minorities and also from religious beliefs that have guided our societies for ages. However, there have been many phenomena in the recent decades which changed the landscape of LGBT right in other countries around the world. There has been many LGBT rights movements have brought remarkable change to society where people have started to see them in different light but not everywhere is so. Western nations of the world may have accepted equal rights for sexual minorities but is a different issue altogether in many Asian countries mostly in South Asia and Middle East. States for these regions not only provide equal rights to LGBTs but also have criminalized some fundamental aspects of Homosexuality. This research is focused on finding out the common perception of our people about LGBTs and LGBT rights and also to find what leads this behavior to such extent. Does religion play a bigger role in shaping this behavior then we thought or is it governed by so many misconceptions that people tend to be less forgiving towards sexual minorities. The hypothesis was that most people in our country have negative attitude towards them and they should not be allowed some of the equal rights that are provided to majority and also that religion plays greater role in shaping these behavior. The findings somewhat approved that. Most people that were surveyed was against same sex marriage, they admitted that religion does influence our behavior towards sexual minorities. Most even agreed with criminalizing homosexuality.
Introduction: LGBT is an initial that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. They refer to non-heterosexual community that are sometimes referred as the third gender. Before the sexual revolution of the 1960s, there was no common non-derogatory vocabulary for non-heterosexuality; the closest such term, third gender, traces back to the 1860s but never gained wide acceptance in the United States. But now, the initial has become mainstream as a self-designation and has been adopted by the majority of sexuality and gender identity-based community centers and media in the United States and some other English-speaking countries (National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association: Stylebook Supplement on LGBT Terminology, NLGJA 2008). The history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) peoples and cultures around the world dates back to the first recorded instances of same-sex love and sexuality of ancient civilizations. What survives of many centuries' persecution—resulting in shame, suppression, and secrecy, has only recently been pursued and interwoven into historical narrative. The history pans over 10000 years where the earliest depiction of homosexuality was found in Mesolithic rock art in Sicily depicts phallic male figures in pairs that have been interpreted variously, including as hunters, acrobats, religious initiates and depictions of male homosexual intercourse. In Ancient Greece and Phrygia, and later in the Roman Republic, the Goddess Cybele was worshiped by a cult of people who castrated themselves, and thereafter took female dress and referred to themselves as female. These early transsexual figures have also been referred to as early gay role models by several authors.
Persecutions against homosexuality rose during the High Middle Ages, reaching their height during the Medieval Inquisitions, when the sects of Cathars and Waldensians were accused of fornication and sodomy, alongside accusations of Satanism. In 1307, accusations of sodomy and homosexuality were major charges leveled during the Trial of the Knights Templar. The theologian Thomas Aquinas was influential in linking condemnations of homosexuality with the idea of natural law, arguing that "special sins are against nature, as, for instance, those that run counter to the intercourse of male and female natural to animals, and so are peculiarly qualified as unnatural vices. In 1791, Revolutionary France (and Andorra) adopted a new penal code which no longer criminalized sodomy. France thus became the first West European country to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults. Prior to the Third Reich, Berlin was a liberal city, with many gay bars, nightclubs and cabarets. There were even many drag bars where tourists straight and gay would enjoy female impersonation acts. Hitler decried cultural degeneration, prostitution and syphilis in his book Mein Kampf. Berlin also had the most active LGBT rights movements in the world at the time. The first US state to decriminalize homosexuality was Illinois in 1961. It was not until 1969 that another state would follow (Connecticut), but the 1970s and 80s saw the decriminalization throughout the majority of the United States. The 14 states that did not repeal these laws until 2003 were forced to by the landmark United States Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas. Most Muslim-majority countries have opposed moves to progress LGBT rights at the United Nations, in the General Assembly and/or the UNHRC. However, Albania and Sierra Leone have signed a UN Declaration supporting LGBT rights. The traditional schools of Islamic law based on Qur'anic verses and hadith consider homosexual acts a punishable crime and a sin, and influenced by Islamic scholars such as Imam Malik and Imam Shafi. With few exceptions all scholars of Sharia, or Islamic law, interpret homosexual activity as a punishable offence as well as a sin. There is no specific punishment prescribed, however, and this is usually left to the discretion of the local authorities on Islam. Mohamed El-Moctar El-Shinqiti, a contemporary Mauritanian scholar, has argued that "[even though] homosexuality is a grievous sin...[a] no legal punishment is stated in the Qur'an for homosexuality...[b] it is not reported that Prophet Muhammad has punished somebody for committing homosexuality...[c] there is no authentic hadith reported from the Prophet prescribing a punishment for the homosexuals..." Hadith scholars such as Al-Bukhari, Yahya ibn Ma`in, An-Nasa'i, Ibn Hazm, Al-Tirmidhi, and others have impugned these statements. Most countries in the south-east Asian region has made same sex sexual activity illegal. Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Maldives punishes same sex activity from 2 years in prison to life sentence.
In Bangladesh LGBT rights are not respected, with LGBT people facing discrimination, verbal and physical abuse, and unique legal and social challenges. Same-sex sexual activity, whether in public or private, is illegal and punishable with fines and up to life imprisonment. Consequently, Bangladesh does not recognize a marriage, civil union or domestic partnership between adults of the same sex. As of 2012, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity has not been prohibited by a civil right law in Bangladesh. Likewise, no law exists in Bangladesh to address harassment against the LGBT community, and there appears to be no organized movement to advance LGBT rights. According to Section 377 of the Bangladeshi Penal Code, "Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description [that is, hard labor or simple] for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine"(Bangladesh: Treatment of homosexuals including legislation, availability of state protection and support services, 2010). Although public display of affection between friends of the same sex in Bangladesh is commonly approved and does not raise any controversies, there appears to be a strong objection towards homosexuality as such. This hostile attitude results from religious tradition of the country, with Islam being professed by approximately 90% of the population, and mentality of Bangladeshi society. There appears to be an intense social pressure to marry someone of the opposite sex, grounded in patriarchal model of the society. Non-family members, including police and religious fundamentalist groups, have been known to blackmail, harass and even physically attack LGBT people. These "morality minders" are not sanctioned by the government, but they take advantage of the absence of civil rights and hate crime laws for sexual and gender minorities. A research-based engagement with a school of public health at a university in Bangladesh recently aimed to raise public debate on sexuality and rights in a very sensitive political context. By bringing together stakeholders, including members of sexual minorities, academics, service providers, media, policy makers and advocacy organizations, the research engagement worked to bring visibility to hidden and stigmatized sexuality and rights issues. Critical steps towards visibility for sexual minorities include creating safe spaces for meeting, developing learning materials for university students and engaging with legal rights groups. (Ahmed, Standing, Mohiuddin, Rashid, n.d.). The first attempt to create an LGBT community in Bangladesh came as late as in 1999, when a man called Rengyu, described as a "middle aged foreign educated guy from an indigenous tribe", opened first online group for Bangladeshi gay people, called Gay Bangladesh. It drew a number of over 1000 members, however, after Rengyu's fatal death, its activity slowed down and the group itself became neglected. In 2002, two other online groups were appeared on the Yahoo! portal, Teen Gay Bangladesh, moderated by Prakash and Abrar, and Boys Only Bangladesh, created by Quazi Haque. Both groups were deleted by Yahoo! authorities in December 2002, and after several re-appear attempts and name changes, the only surviving group remains Boys Only Bangladesh, now called Boys of Bangladesh (BoB). The group, whose current moderator is Tanvir Alim, is the largest network for Bangladeshi gay men, organizing numerous LGBT rights-related events in Dhaka since 2009. Boys of Bangladesh aims at building a gay community in the country and repealing Section 377. Another initiative towards promoting LGBT rights in the country is an online blog Mukto-mona, described by its management as a "secular site for Bengali humanists and freethinkers". In 2010, Dr. Avijit Roy, an independent researcher and a science writer associated with Mukto-mona, published a book titled Homosexuality – A Scientific and Socio-Psychological Investigation. The publication attempted to provide a scientific view and accessible account of homosexuality on several grounds. It was the first book in Bengali language to deal with LGBT people and their human rights. Bangladesh has a law against any kind of intercourse between homosexuals. It criminalizes any intercourse that is seen as going against nature. In 2009 as well as in 2013, the Bangladeshi parliament has refused to overturn section 377. In a statement released by Mohammed Abdul Hannan, the representative of Bangladesh in the UN office, it was said that activities that concern the law are not considered the social norm of the country. While activists have tried to get the law overturned, the government is strong on their stance. On July 23, 2013, a lesbian couple was arrested for marrying in secret. Shibronty Roy Puja, a 16-year-old Hindu, and Sanjida Akter, 21-year-old Muslim fled their town and went to Dhaka, the capital, and got married in a Hindu ceremony. They were then arrested and threatened with life imprisonment. (Kuddus, 2013.). On November 11, 2013, hijras, who do not consider themselves male or female, were recognized as a separate gender by the Bangladeshi government in a cabinet meeting. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that along with males and females, hijras will also be identified as a separate gender on official documents. A survey done by the Ministry of Social Welfare showed that as of 2013, there are 10,000 hijras in the country. Hijras do not consider themselves women nor transgender. They identify themselves as intersex. This is considered a huge step for the country because it is said to promote equality amongst everyone in the country (Karim, 2014).
In January 2014, Bangladesh’s first LGBT magazine was published. The magazine’s name is Roopbaan, a Bengali folk character who represents the power of love. At the magazine’s launch, British High Commissioner Robert Gibson and Barrister Sara Hossain were present to hear the speakers. The magazine is being printed in Bangla and is accepting submissions from volunteers. The editor said the main goal of the magazine is to promote love.
The Internet has allowed individuals to connect with one another. Cyber communities have become a way for the LGBT community in Bangladesh to communicate and feel less isolated. It makes up for their lack of physical contact. The Internet has become a way for LGBT community to grow and flourish. Rights that are naturally provided to LGBTs in other countries are not provided here such as same-sex sexual activity, anti-discrimination law in employment, Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services, Same-sex marriages, Gays and lesbians allowed to serve openly in the military, Right to change legal gender etc. The research focuses on these rights of LGBTs among common masses, what mind set they have about LGBT rights and what drives them.
Research Questions: In my research I plan to investigate young people’s views on sexual minorities. Through this research I want to find out:
Who are sexual minorities?
What are the different kinds of sexual minorities?
Do they think government should recognize same sex relationship?
Do they think we need anti-discrimination laws in employment and owning property for LGBT people?
Do they think sex reassignment surgery should be available to transsexuals?
Do they think religious beliefs are strong reasons for negative behavior against homosexuals?
Do they think normal individuals need to speak out against discrimination on sexual minorities?
Do they think the masses need education on sexual minorities?
Hypothesis: Sexual minorities are often discriminated in in our country. They are not allowed to attend schools or have any kind of employment or any kind of other fundamental rights that provided to a normal person. There were occasions as mentioned above where homosexual people who came out had faced severe from severe trauma to death. Thus People in this country have a very negative attitude against them. They are ignorant about the needs of LGBT rights. From my research I expect to find evidence on this behavior.
Islam is the state religion our country and like so many other religion it is intolerant of homosexuality. Since religious beliefs have a strong influence in our behavior and there is a significant lack of education on sexual minorities, I expect to find people seeing sexual minorities as a threat and have opinions that are very condemning towards them. It is also expected that people would criminalizing their actions and also expect even speak out for stripping their fundamental rights.
Methodology: The methods that were employed in order to make this research consisted survey in and reading through secondary sources for information on LGBTs. The primary research was surveying young people with a questionnaire that contained 19 questions that were all related to the research questions. The questions included Likert scale and other forms. A group of 22 people were surveyed and the survey was tabulated with options representing on percentage. It provided a quantitative picture of the issue. Among the survey takers 20 were male and 2 were female. The data analysis is shown in different forms of charts to provide a visual representation of the findings. Data was inputted in excel with quantifying the number of answers in each question’s choices. Then it was presented in percentage to show which choices had the largest appeal to survey taker.
The secondary research included research materials that were relevant to LGBT perception. Google search was used to find scholar article, journals and media reports on LGBTs. The secondary research provided valuable insight on the matter. Library resources was also used to find restricted journals on sexual minorities and psychology of people about LGBTs. These materials were provide to make qualitative argument on the hypothesis.
Data presentation and Analysis: The data gathered from the questionnaire tabulated below. The table represents questions and choices for those questions. All of the survey answers are computed and converted into percentage.
Type of Questions
Categories

Gender
Male
Female

90.91%
9.09%
Recognized homosexual
Gay
Bisexuals
Lesbian
Transsexual
No

0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
100 %
Have known LGBTs
No
Yes

31.82%
Born Gay or choice
Personal choice
Can be born Gay
Who cares, treat equally

77.27%
4.55%
18.18%
Equal employment for LGBTs
For All LGBTs
Only for Transsexual
No
No comment

45.45%
9.09%
13.64%
31.82%
Property Rights
For All LGBTs
Only for Transsexual
No

36.36%
22.73%
40.91%
Discrimination against Transsexuals
Yes, They are discriminated
NO, Not discriminated
Yes, They are & should be
NO, They are not but should be

68.18%
9.09%
4.55%
18.18%
Access to sex reassignment surgery.
Yes, Let it be their choice
Yes and force them to have it
No

72.73%
18.18%
9.09%
Punishment for homosexuality
Death
14 years in prison
Less Harsh
Abolishment of such law

31.82%
31.82%
13.64%
22.73%
Religion influence on LGBTs
Lot of influence
Mediocre influence
No
Other

45.45%
18.18%
22.73%
13.64%
Condemning homosexuality in Religion
Should be
Reinterpretation of Sharia
Don’t care about religion.

77.27%
9.09%
13.64%
Speaking out for LGBT Rights speak out for it
Agree but won’t speak out
Immoral
Speak out against it

other

13.64%
22.73%
31.82%
18.18%
13.64%
Likert Questions
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Same sex marriage morally wrong?
59.09%
9.09%
13.64%
13.64%
4.55%
Social Movements for LGBT rights
9.09%
22.73%
40.91%
4.55%
22.73%
Hijra as Third Gender
36.36%
22.73%
31.82%
9.09%
0.00%
Legal Marriage of same sex
0.00%
9.09%
31.82%
4.55%
54.55%
Misconception on LGBTs
9.09%
36.36%
27.27%
13.64%
13.64%
Need of education for LGBTs
13.64%
40.91%
31.82%
9.09%
4.55%
Comfort about children learning about LGBTs
4.55%
36.36%
22.73%
22.73%
13.64%

The data consisted over 22 of survey taker of whom 90% of them were male and only 10 % were female. Almost 32 % of them has known someone from the LGBT community.
The data analysis is based on the answers of the survey without dividing them in any way. It provides a raw picture of how the perception is overall.. The data was not divided based on Gender because there was not enough female survey takers to provide an unbiased overview.
Now if we disseminate the data starting with question of homosexuality a choice or biological, there has been many speculation about it. The relationship between biology and sexual orientation is a subject of research. A simple and singular determinant for sexual orientation has not been conclusively demonstrated; various studies point to different, even conflicting positions, but scientists hypothesize that a combination of genetic, hormonal and social factors determine sexual orientation (Frankowski, 2004, P.1828). Biological theories for explaining the causes of sexual orientation are more popular, and biological factors may involve a complex interplay of genetic factors and the early uterine environment ("Submission to the Church of England’s Listening Exercise on Human Sexuality", n.d.). These factors, which may be related to the development of a heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or asexual orientation, include genes, prenatal hormones, and brain structure. A 2010 study of all adult twins in Sweden (more than 7,600 twins) found that same-sex behavior was explained by both heritable factors and individual-specific environmental sources (such as prenatal environment, experience with illness and trauma, as well as peer groups, and sexual experiences), while influences of shared-environment variables such as familial environment and societal attitudes had a weaker, but significant effect. Women showed a statistically non-significant trend to weaker influence of hereditary effects, while men showed no effect of shared environmental effects. Twin studies have received a number of criticisms including self-selection bias where homosexuals with gay siblings are more likely to volunteer for studies. Nonetheless, it is possible to conclude that, given the difference in sexuality in so many sets of identical twins, sexual orientation cannot be attributed solely to genetic factors. Thus it is debated among people in the scientific community about the significance of being born as homosexual. No if we look at the charts, over 75% people said that it was a personal choice to be homosexuals, 18% agreed that it did not matter and they should be treated equally but only 5% of

the people said it was genetic that a person can be born gay. Which means people are against the notion that homosexuality is genetic.
Often it is seen that sexual minorities are discriminated in employment. They are treated as second class citizens and people do not want to treat them with equal opportunity. They are also deprive from certain rights to own property. As recently as 2008, the GSS, a national probability survey representative of the U.S. population, found that of LGB respondents, 27% had experienced at least one form of sexual orientation-based discrimination during the five years prior to the survey. More specifically, 27% had experienced workplace harassment and 7% had lost a job. (Sears and Mallory, 2011, p.2)
During my survey majority of 45% of the people agreed that there should be employment rights for LGBTs, 9 % said only for Transsexuals to have legal rights, 14% replied no to employment rights and 32% were undecided on the matter to employment of LGBTs but only 36 % were agreeable for property rights, 23% said that it should be only allowed to Transsexual or queers and overwhelming majority of 41 % did not agree that there should be any property rights for LGBTs.

Discrimination against LGBTs has been going on from the middle-ages as mentioned before and it does not encompass only employment and property rights. The fact of the matter is sometimes discrimination spawns violence, there have been many cases in US where hate crimes against LGBTs took place. According to Bell and Weinberg (as cited in Herek, 1989, p. 949) for example, reported in a survey they conducted that 35% of the 684 men and 2% of 293 woman in their sample had been robbed or assaulted at least once in connection with their Homosexuality.
During my survey about Transsexuals being discriminated in our country 68% agreed, 9% disagree, 5& said that no they are not but they should be an 19% said they are not but they should, Thus it is clear that people agree about discrimination in society and overwhelming minority have broad prejudice against them. When asked about sex reassignment surgery for transsexuals, 73% said that it should be available to them, 18% wanted to them to be forced to have it, 9% said no.

Societal attitudes towards homosexuality vary greatly in different cultures and different historical periods, as do attitudes toward sexual desire, activity and relationships in general. All cultures have their own values regarding appropriate and inappropriate sexuality; some sanction same-sex love and sexuality, while others disapprove of such activities. Same-sex marriage is legally recognized nationwide in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Uruguay and the United Kingdom. Since the 1970s, much of the world has become more accepting of same-sex sexuality between partners of legal age. The Pew Research Center's 2013 Global Attitudes Survey "finds broad acceptance of homosexuality in North America, the European Union, and much of Latin America, but equally widespread rejection in predominantly Muslim nations and in Africa, as well as in parts of Asia and in Russia". The survey also finds "acceptance of homosexuality is particularly widespread in countries where religion is less central in people's lives. A survey ran by the Levada Centre in Russia in July 2010 concluded that "homophobia is widespread in Russian society". It draws this conclusion from the following findings. 74% of respondents believed that gays and lesbians are immoral or psychologically disturbed people. Only 15% responded that homosexuality is as legitimate as traditional sexual orientation. 39% consider that they should be compulsorily treated or alternatively isolated from society. 4% considered that it is necessary to liquidate people of a non-traditional sexual orientation.
Bangladesh thrives on a conservative society where people are restricted from their sexual freedom and there is a lot of friction between people of liberal minds and conservatives. Thus topics such as LGBT rights are rarely discussed and barely see the day of light. Often any liberal behavior are put down with conservative social pressure. Thus it is hard for anyone with different sexual orientation to come out. It is mostly seen as social misconduct. Lack of proper education also drives some of these behaviors. The average person is hardly aware of LGBTs and apathetic to their rights. Most people that I were surveyed strongly disagreed upon legal same sex marriage or any form of same sex attraction. They find it to be immoral but they agree that education might change perception on LGBTs and they are comfortable about children learning about LGBTs. Over 68 % people strongly agreeing that same sex relationships are morally wrong and 54% are strongly against legalizing same sex marriage but 30% people are undecided and 9% seems to agree with legalizing same sex relationship and 12 % did not seem to find it immoral. Thus there are some significant number of people that are not opposing the idea. With a Majority of 37 % and 40% respectively agreeing on education changes perspective and comfortable children learning about sexual minorities, this numbers can increase in the future.

Most people agreed with government’s action to recognize Hijra as the third gender with 32 % strongly agreeing, 22% moderately agreed, 30% remained neutral and below 10% disagreed with the legislature. Majority were neutral, about 40% remained neutral about social movements for LGBT rights while equal proportion of 22% agreed and disagreed. When asked about speaking out for LGBT rights, majority had response of it being immoral and there was also an equal proportion of people agreeing about the idea and speaking out against it. In the survey when asked Punishing homosexuality over 30% agreed that it should be Death or 14 years in prison and 13% Said the punishment should be less harsh and an overwhelming 23% said such laws needs to be abolished.

Religion plays a large role in our society. The world's largest religions vary widely in their views on same-sex marriage. For example, among larger Christian denominations the Roman Catholic Church's official position is to oppose same-sex marriage, as does the Orthodox Church, some Protestant churches, a majority of Muslims, Hindu nationalists, and Orthodox Jews. Buddhism is considered to be ambivalent on the subject as a whole On the other hand, many churches and denominations, including a number of progressive and liberal Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, and Hindus, as well as modern Hindu communities and Buddhism in Australia support same-sex marriage. Some smaller religions, as well as groups (religious or not) who embrace humanism, are also considered to be supportive. Homosexual acts are regarded as criminal and forbidden in most Islamic countries according to Sharia law. Same-sex intercourse officially carries the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sudan and Yemen.(NGLA It formerly carried the death penalty in Afghanistan under the Taliban. In other nations, such as Bahrain, Qatar, Algeria and the Maldives, homosexuality is punished with jail time, fines, or corporal punishment, however, the Maldives, Afghanistan, and Algeria also allow vigilante executions. In some Muslim-majority nations, such as Turkey, Jordan, Indonesia or Mali, same-sex intercourse is not specifically forbidden by law. In Egypt, openly gay men have been prosecuted under general public morality laws. Several countries impose the death penalty for homosexual acts, per the application of some interpretations of Shari'a law (NGLA). Most international human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, condemn laws that make homosexual relations between consenting adults a crime. Muslim nations insist that such laws are necessary to preserve Islamic morality and virtue. Of the nations with a majority of Muslim inhabitants, only Lebanon has an organization which is trying to get homosexuality legalized.

Majority of the population in our nation is Muslim and fall between secular and non-secular mindsets. Like many other Muslim countries in the world we deliver harsh punishment to homosexuality. It is criminalized in our society and many religious fundamentalist seems to agree with the fact. Although we are not Sharia based country, these laws against LGBTs are still persistent in our country. Among the Survey takers 45 % agreed that religion has large influence on our perception LGBTs, 18% said that the influence is mediocre and 20% denied any relations with the perception. When asked about homosexuality being condemned in region is the way to be, overwhelming 77% agreed, 9% held secular views and 14% did not want to be associated with a religion. Thus, confirming that religion have greater influence on people’s perception and a larger reason for negative attitude towards LGBTs.

Research Findings: Research approves most of the hypothesis that were assumed before conducting the research. As mentioned in hypothesis there is negative attitude about LGBTs among common masses, people perception seem to be that homosexuality is immoral and it is an unnatural act. Most people who were surveyed overwhelmingly agreed that it is a personal choice and people cannot be born gay despite that scientific facts say homosexuality can occur due to genetic, biological and environmental factors. This could point out to the severe misconceptions about LGBTs. Even during survey results majority agreed with that there are large number of misconceptions about LGBTs but they think education can bring change to some of these perceptions, majority seems to agree with this fact. A large disproval of same sex marriage among the people surveyed approves that most people are against homosexuals meaning mostly against Gay and Lesbian individuals. They also agreed that homosexuality should be punished severely but a large number of people seems to disagree with this, they might a minority but they are a significant number of people that hold more broad liberal views about homosexuality than the majority. People are more comfortable with transsexuals as they are high approval for transsexual recognition in our country.
As far as legal rights goes people are most people agree that employment should be provided to sexual minorities but the majority seems disagree about any legal rights to own property but a large minority seems to be opposing this idea. Legal rights to marry people of same sex is strongly criticized. Most people are neutral about social movements for LGBT rights where, this could be due to the perception it being immoral or vastly they disagree with homosexuality. Since most people agree with government approval of recognizing “Hijra” as third gender, this could be further proved as people are more susceptible to change transsexuals or queers but they are against homosexuality
Religion may hold answer to this, as vast majority of the country are subscribed to Islam and other major religion, the society is broadly conservative. Although the country does not absolutely follow the Sharia and constitutionalized as a secular nation, we seem to be cling to religious beliefs when it comes to perception of LBGTs. The primary research seems to agree to this. As overwhelming majority agreed that religion is influential about beliefs on LGBTs. Like many other major religion Islam holds condemning attitude about homosexuals and this could be an important factor for determining the negative attitude about homosexual in our country.
Conclusion: LGBT rights is almost a new phenomenon whose roots goes to ancient times, but it is only recently been a heated issue. Where many countries in Western Europe are open to it, but Asian countries seems to have an intolerant attitude about such rights. The primary research and secondary research confirmed these facts. The research proves the prediction that most people in our country are against LGBT rights but they are some changes as we see government initiatives to recognize third gender. The progress of such change in attitude is slow but we are seeing some progressive minded people to agree with the idea but they are often afraid to speak out because tremendous social pressure subdues them and sometimes it takes the form of violence. Lack of education & Religious beliefs play an important role in producing such beliefs. Thus it is important that we create possibilities for more education and an open platform where such beliefs can discussed and debated to create a better society, where anyone from any sexual orientation can have their fundamental rights.

REFERENCES
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