LGBT asylum seekers in the UK have condemned Suella Braverman as “inhuman” after she said “simply being gay, or a woman” was not enough to gain refugee status.
Addressing a US think tank, Ms Braverman said: “There are vast swathes of the world where it is extremely difficult to be gay, or to be a woman. Where individuals are being persecuted, it is right that we offer sanctuary.
“But we will not be able to sustain an asylum system if in effect simply being gay, or a woman, and fearful of discrimination in your country of origin is sufficient to qualify for protection.”
Sky News spoke to three members of the LGBT community, all of whom left their homelands for a new life in Britain.
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Monsur is a gay man from Bangladesh – a majority Muslim country where it is illegal for males to engage in same-sex sexual activity and is punishable by imprisonment.
Monsur came to the UK in 2009 to live his life in “freedom” and has “proudly” accepted himself for who he is.
Yet, he hasn’t been granted asylum despite being here for over a decade, claiming a court decided he was “manufacturing” his sexuality in order to remain in the UK.
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Monsur said: “I really don’t know what I have to do to prove to them I am gay or part of the LGBTQ [community].
“I don’t know why they didn’t give a decision in my favour… [I am] suffering a lot.”
Responding to what would happen if he had stayed in Bangladesh, Monsur said: “I’d kill myself… because I cannot live closed off in my room.”
Despite not having a job due to his status, Monsur said it is a “good life” for him in the UK and he has friends in the LGBT community supporting him for who he is.
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‘If I went back they would change me back into a woman’
Zain is a trans man from Pakistan.
They came to the UK nine months ago as a student and said they felt “very comfortable” here.
Zain said: “[Here] I am learning who I am and am living my own life here openly.”
They are claiming asylum here on the grounds of gender dysphoria, which they claim is “not admitted in Pakistan”.
Same-sex relations are banned in Pakistan and transgender people face stigmatisation in the country despite the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act passed in 2018, which grants trans citizens fundamental rights like receiving passports and driver’s licenses.
Zain claims if they returned back home their family would “try and change [them] back into a woman”.
They said: “My family could even put me in a room and never let me come out. They could even commit a murder if I don’t understand them… like a honour killing type thing.”
They said due to discrimination by family members for their sexuality their friends have “cut their hands” due to society and family not understanding them.
“Many of the cases there go towards suicide,” they added.
Zain disagreed with Ms Braverman, saying: “If she says that discrimination never leads to persecution then she is wrong. I really condemn this.”
Faced with the prospect of returning home they said: “It’s not easy to live in Pakistan… I can’t express what will happen.”
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‘She is inhuman’
Mazyar Shirali, an Iranian Christian LGBT activist, offers his experience to aid Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Indians, and other communities facing potential persecution back home.
Responding to Ms Braverman’s words, Mr Shirali said: “She is inhuman. Discrimination is a kind of persecution – being discriminated against is the same thing.
“LGBT people are victims in the countries due to lack of awareness and education in communities [where some are] killed and stoned to death.”
He refuted that people claimed to be gay just to come to the UK, saying: “It’s not easy to label yourself, that puts you in trouble to the point that you could lose your life.
“It’s not easy from someone in that community to come to that conclusion so [Ms Braverman] needs to think about this and respect that instead of judging [them].”
