Quite by chance I’d stumbled across the gay and lesbian community during my travels through Central Asia. Whilst same sex relationships are not illegal in the countries I’d passed through, they are far from socially acceptable.
A hidden world, quite unfamiliar to me, tolerated in the cities by predominantly Muslim societies, the odd clue in listings magazines, clubs that drift around between venues, a brief mention in the guide book, little else. Places where one might meet, discreetly, even if the location is sometimes quite public.
Denied the de-facto freedom of expression of identity taken for granted in most Western societies, family pressure to conform to accepted norms, and the result? Shell marriages, even emigration to more tolerant nations. Terribly sad.
