Bangladeshi lesbian couple arrested for ‘unsocial activities’

Muslim groups call for protests against pro-LGBT human rights activist

A Bangladeshi lesbian couple has been jailed for “unsocial activities,” Gay Star News reports.

Lucky and Mishti lived together for eight months after meeting in a factory in Dhaka. After police were tipped off about their relationship, they were taken in for “sex identification tests” and then arrested.

Gay sex is illegal in Bangladesh and punishable by 10 years of hard labour.

Another lesbian couple was arrested in July and threatened with life in jail.

Meanwhile, Bangladeshi Muslim groups called for protests Oct 1 against Bangladeshi human rights crusader Muhammad Yunus for supporting LGBT people, Agence France-Presse reports.

Yunus is the founder of the Grameen Bank, a wildly successful microcredit institution in Bangladesh. In April, he signed a letter along with three other Nobel Prize laureates, calling for acceptance of gay rights around the world.

“Yunus must apologize for supporting homosexuality or he must be prosecuted for standing against the Koran and Islam,” said Dhaka National Mosque secretary Maolana Moniruzzaman Rabbani.

This is only the latest attack on Yunus, who has fallen afoul of the Bangladeshi government by building the powerful Grameen Bank outside of state control.

Niko Bell

Niko Bell is a writer, editor and translator from Vancouver. He writes about sexual health, science, food and language.

Keep Reading

Job discrimination against trans and non-binary people is alive and well

OPINION: A study reveals that we have a long way to go to reach workplace equality for trans and non-binary people

The new generation of gay Conservative sellouts

OPINION: Melissa Lantsman’s and Eric Duncan’s refusals to call out their party’s transphobia is a betrayal of the LGBTQ2S+ community

Over 300 anti-LGBTQ2S+ bills have been introduced this year. This doesn’t mean we should panic

OPINION: While it’s important to watch out for threats, not all threats are created equally. Some of these bills will die a natural death

Xtra’s top LGBTQ2S+ stories of the year

The best and brightest—even most bewildering—stories from a back catalogue brimming with insight