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This email is from an e-group I am a member of, and comes from a High School student in Dhaka, Bangladesh. North of India, Muslim country...
I suspect this is one brave young man!
hi guys..
i am so confused. is being gay such a terrible thing as our society
views it as. today? i was flipping through one of my mom's indian
magazines when i suddenly came upon this article on homosexuality. i
quickly began to read it. it was about the advancements of the
homosexuals in the south asian countries. it said of all the reforms
that had come about in india and pakistan for gay men. apparently,
there are a lot of facilities such as clubs, bars, cruising spots,
etc. for the gay guys there. but us being a south asian country as
well, there was not the slightest mention of bangladesh. i know that
pakistan is a much stricter country in terms of islamic bliefs. much
more than bangladesh in fact. yet, i wonder why a country like ours,
where the religion is not followed as avidly as other muslim
nations, does not have any sort of regards for gay men. muslim
cities like dubai, kuala lampur, karachi, etc have places for us. in
fact, my british friend told me that there are gay clubs in london
only for south asian men. but i wonder why there aren't any in
bangladesh? why are we looked down upon in this society alone?
homosexuals have advanced a lot since the 1970's. governments of
most countries have accepted homosexuality and we are being
recognized as normal human beings with equal rights the world over.
yet it is so different in bangladesh. why are we so afraid? why are
we afraid that being gay would get us into trouble? there are so
many gay guys in bangladesh. none of us ever speak up about our
homosexuality. we keep silent about it. we feel embarrased. why
should we? we are not freaks of nature. if we are accepted worldwide
these days. why can't we feel accepted in our own nation. we are an
independant country. we had to fight for our freedom in 1971. this
freedom is for all the benglais, regardless of who or what we are as
long as we are bengali. this includes us gay men. aren't we humans
as well? we gained the freedom too. still, why are we so afraid of
our identity? i am so open about being gay. i told everyone
including my parents. although they freaked out at first, they
slowly began to accept me for who i was. i was their child after all
and i deserved unconditional love as every other child did, be it
gay or straight. even my whole school knows about me and supports
me. i recieve the same treatment as any person i know deserves. the
gay men of our country are so supressed that they think that coming
out is a big difficulty that is better avoided. i have come out in
public and everyone knows about me. am i being stoned or burnt on a
stake? no, i'm not! everyone of us are special regardles of who we
are. we are all beautiful if we look inside ourselves. we all
deserve equal respect as everyone else. so we have to earn that
respect. we shouldn't be afraid of who we are. we deserve to be
heard just as everyone is. i am not telling you guys to start a riot
or anything. all i am asking from you guys is to be more proactive.
make yourself heard. we have to work together to overcome the
discrimination our society puts us through. it cannot be done alone.
we all have to stand up for each other. have some self-respect and
please don't be afraid of who you are. pretending to be someone who
you are not is worse than being someone who is not perfect. so speak
up. be proud of who you are. never self-loath yourself and never
think that homosexuality is evil. if we learn to spread the message
that homosexuality is natural human behavior for some men, we can
overcome the problems we are put through. and maybe someday we can
witness a brighter future for the future homosexuals of our country.
a future where bangladesh isn't considered hell for gay guys but a
place just as some others where being gay is accepted and not let
down.
love shaehan
"Always forgive your enemies...nothing annoys them quite so much." Oscar Wilde
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