niaz
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My knowledge comes from reading in the newspapers and hearing TV debates on the subject in the UK for the last 50 years.
Until 1967 homosexuality was a crime in UK; famous writer Oscar Wilde was hounded and publically ashamed for his alleged gay relationship. Consensual homosexuality was decriminalized thru the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 with the age of consent set at 21 years. This was amended in the year 2000 when age of consent for both the heterosexual & gay acts equalized at 16 years.
In Pakistan people are more afraid of the sense of shame or ‘honour’ among the community than they are of committing a Sin or a crime; thus that a lot of unpleasant things are swept under the carpet, as if these don’t exist.
For example male Homosexuality is considered a grave ‘Sin’ in Islam; have you heard of anyone ever being prosecuted for it? On the other hand many a young couples who enter into a legal ‘Love’ marriage without their parents’ consent are killed! Even in the UK one reads about girls dragged back to their village in Pakistan and forcibly married off to a cousin.
Admittedly, double standards are not unique to Pakistan. For the example Ireland, a strongly Catholic country, legalised same sex marriage in 2015, first country in the world to do so thru a referendum. Nevertheless it remains the only country in the world where the abortion is banned in the Constitution.
Belonging to the generation born during the middle of the 20th Century, my views about morals are quite archaic compared to the 21st century standards. I am against same sex marriages, against the women employed during the night shift and free for all sexuality. However I do believe in woman’s right to freely choose her life partner. I also against shutting my eyes to the fact that there is an abnormality in nature where a minority is born with the homosexual tendencies. These people are also human beings and the society has a responsibility to ensure that these wretched souls are not exploited.
