LGBT rights in Asia

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Asia are limited in comparison to many other areas of the world. Same-sex sexual activity is outlawed in at least twenty Asian countries. While at least eight countries have enacted protections for LGBT people, only Israel and the Taiwan provide a wider range of LGBT rights - including same-sex relationship recognition.

LGBT rights in Asia
Asia on the world map
Status	Legal in 28 out of 49 states Legal in all 4 territories
Gender identity	Legal in 27 out of 49 states Legal in 1 out of 4 territories
Military	Allowed in 7 out of 49 states Allowed in 2 out of 4 territories
Discrimination protections	Protected in 9 out of 49 states Protected in 3 out of 4 territories
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	Recognized in 2 out of 49 states Recognized in 2 out of 4 territories
Restrictions	Same-sex marriage constitutionally banned in 4 out of 49 states
Adoption	Legal in 2 out of 49 states Legal in 0 out of 4 territories

In Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, homosexual activity is punished with the death penalty.[1][2] The legal punishment for same-sex sexual activity has varied among juristic schools: some prescribe capital punishment; while other prescribe a milder discretionary punishment such as imprisonment. In some relatively secular Muslim-majority countries such as Azerbaijan and Jordan, homosexuality is legal, but usually socially unacceptable.

Egalitarian relationships modeled on the Western pattern have become more frequent, though they remain rare.[2][3][4] Cambodia, East Timor, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam and Cyprus are viewed as the most open to the LGBT community in Asia. Japan, Israel, Thailand, Taiwan and Nepal are the major players in legislation. As of 2019, only Taiwan, the British Overseas Territories of Akrotiri and Dhekelia and the British Indian Ocean Territory have legalized same-sex marriage.

In a 2011 UN General Assembly declaration for LGBT rights, state parties were given a chance to express their support or opposition on the topic. Only Armenia, Georgia, Cyprus, Israel, South Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Nepal, Thailand, and East Timor expressed their support. They were later joined by Vietnam and the Philippines. State parties who expressed opposition were Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, the Maldives, North Korea, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Syria, Afghanistan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. Other Asian parties did not show support or opposition.

The first and only LGBT political party in the world, Ladlad, was established in the Philippines in 2003.

In 2016, during an African-led coalition to dislodge the recently established UN expert on LGBT issues, the majority of Asian nations backed to retain the role of the UN LGBT expert, with only Muslim nations, with the addition of China and Singapore, declaring their opposition.

In 2019, a survey by The Economist found 45% of respondents in the Asia-Pacific believed that same-sex marriage is inevitable in the region, while 31% of respondents disagreed. Furthermore, three-quarters of those surveyed reported a more open climate for LGBT rights compared to three years ago. Of those reporting an improving climate for LGBT people, 38% cited a change in policies or laws. Meanwhile, 36% said coverage of LGBT issues in mainstream media was a major factor. The top reasons cited for diminishing openness was anti-LGBT advocacy by religious institutions.[5][6]

Homosexuality laws in Asia
Same-sex sexual activity legal

  Marriage performed

  Foreign same-sex marriages recognized

  Other type of partnership

  Legal guardianships or unregistered cohabitation
(stripes: nonbinding certificates)

  No recognition of same-sex couples

  Restrictions on freedom of expression

Same-sex sexual activity illegal

  Prison on books but not enforced

  Prison

  Life imprisonment

  Death penalty on books but not applied

  Death penalty

---

Legislation by country or territory

Main article: LGBT rights by country or territory

This table:

Central Asia

LGBT rights in:	Same-sex sexual activity	Recognition of same-sex unions	Same-sex marriage	Adoption by same-sex couples	LGB people allowed to serve openly in military?	Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation	Laws concerning gender identity/expression
Afghanistan	Illegal Penalty: Long imprisonment or death penalty (No known cases of death sentences have been handed out for same-sex sexual activity after the end of Taliban rule).[1]
Kyrgyzstan	Legal since 1998[1]		Constitutional ban since 2016[7]				Requires sex reassignment surgery[8][9]
Tajikistan	Legal since 1998[1]						Requires sex reassignment surgery[10][9]
Turkmenistan	Male illegal Penalty: up to 2 years imprisonment. Female always legal[1]
Uzbekistan	Male illegal Penalty: up to 3 years imprisonment. Female always legal[1]

Eurasia

LGBT rights in:	Same-sex sexual activity	Recognition of same-sex unions	Same-sex marriage	Adoption by same-sex couples	LGB people allowed to serve openly in military?	Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation	Laws concerning gender identity/expression
Abkhazia (Disputed territory)	Legal after 1991
Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom)	Legal since 2000 + UN decl. sign.[1]	Civil partnerships since 2005	Legal since 2014		UK responsible for defence	Bans some anti-gay discrimination[11]
Armenia	Legal since 2003 + UN decl. sign.[1]		Constitutional ban since 2015[12][13]		[14]
Artsakh (Disputed territory)	Legal since 2000		Constitutional ban since 2006[15]
Azerbaijan	Legal since 2000[1]
Cyprus	Legal since 1998 + UN decl. sign.[1]	Civil unions since 2015				Bans all anti-gay discrimination[16]	Gender identity and expression is protected from discrimination.
Georgia	Legal since 2000 + UN decl. sign.[1]		Constitutional ban passed but yet to take effect			Bans all anti-gay discrimination[17]	Requires sterilization and sex reassignment surgery for change[18]
Kazakhstan	Legal since 1998[1]				[19]		Requires sex reassignment surgery, sterilization, hormone therapy and medical examinations[9]
Northern Cyprus (Disputed territory)	Legal since 2014[20][21][1]					Bans all anti-gay discrimination[20][21]
Russia	Male legal since 1993 Female always legal[22][1] Illegal in practice in Chechnya, where homosexuals are abducted and sent to concentration camps based on their perceived sexual orientation. See Gay concentration camps in Chechnya for more information.		Constitutional ban proposed[23]				Requires sterilization and sex reassignment surgery for change[18]
South Ossetia (Disputed territory)	Legal after 1991
Turkey	Legal since 1858[1]				Proposed[24]	Proposed[24]	Requires sterilisation and sex reassignment surgery for change[25]

West Asia

LGBT rights in:	Same-sex sexual activity	Recognition of same-sex unions	Same-sex marriage	Adoption by same-sex couples	LGB people allowed to serve openly in military?	Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation	Laws concerning gender identity/expression
Bahrain	Legal since 1976[1]
Iran	Illegal Penalty: 74 lashes for immature men and death penalty for mature men (although there are recorded cases of minors who were executed because of their sexual orientation).[26] For women, 50 lashes for women of mature sound mind and if consenting. Death penalty offense after fourth conviction.[1]						Legal gender recognition legal if accompanied by a medical intervention[27]
Iraq	Legal since 2003[28]
Israel	Legal since 1963 (de facto), 1988 (de jure)[29] + UN decl. sign.[1][30]	Unregistered cohabitation since 1994.	/ Foreign same-sex marriages are recognized and recorded in the population registry	Since 2008[31]	Since 1993	Bans all anti-gay discrimination[32][33][34]	Almost full recognition of gender's ID without a surgery or medical intervention (Excluding changing gender and name in birth certificate) ;[35] equal employment opportunity law bars discrimination based on gender identity[36][37][38]
Jordan	Legal since 1951[1]						Allowed since 2014[39]
Kuwait	Male illegal Penalty: Fines or up to 6-year prison sentence. Female always legal[1][40]
Lebanon	Illegal under Article 534 of the Penal Code. Some judges have ruled not to prosecute individuals based on the law, however, this has not been settled by the Supreme Court and thus homosexuality is still illegal.[41]						Legal gender change allowed, but sex reassignment surgery required[42]
Oman	Illegal Penalty: Fines and prison sentence up to 3 years (Only enforced when dealing with "public scandal").[1]
Palestine (Disputed territory)	West Bank: Legal since 1951 (As part of Jordan)[1] Gaza: Male illegal Penalty: Up to 10 years imprisonment. Female always legal[1]
Qatar	Illegal Penalty: Fines, up to 7 years imprisonment[1]
Saudi Arabia	Illegal Penalty: Prison sentences of several months to life, fines and/or whipping/flogging, castration, torture or death can be sentenced on first conviction. A second conviction merits execution.[1]
Syria	Illegal Penalty: Up to 3 years imprisonment (Law de facto suspended)[43][1]						Transgender people allowed to change legal gender
United Arab Emirates	Imprisonment, fines, flogging, execution, and deportation;[44][45][46][47][48][49][50]						In September 2016, the Government passed Federal Decree No 4, a series of changes to reduce doctors' criminal liability. The new law allows doctors to perform medical intervention on intersex people so as to "correct" their sex, effectively removing either the male or female genitalia. Sex reassignment surgery remains illegal. [51][52][53]
Yemen	Illegal Penalty: Unmarried men punished with 100 lashes of the whip or a maximum of one year of imprisonment, stoning for adultery is not enforced. Women punished up to three years of imprisonment; where the offense has been committed under duress, the punishment is up to seven years detention.[1]

South Asia

LGBT rights in:	Same-sex sexual activity	Recognition of same-sex unions	Same-sex marriage	Adoption by same-sex couples	LGB people allowed to serve openly in military?	Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation	Laws concerning gender identity/expression
Bangladesh	Illegal Penalty: 10 years to life imprisonment (Not enforced).[1]						A third gender option (hijra) besides male and female is available[54]
Bhutan	Illegal Penalty: Prison sentence up to 1 year (Not enforced).[1] (decriminalization pending)[55]		Proposed
British Indian Ocean Territory (Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom)	Legal since 2001 + UN decl. sign.[1]	Civil partnerships since 2005	Legal since 2014		UK responsible for defense
India	Legal since 2018[56]		Proposed	Proposed	Proposed[57]	Bans some anti-gay discrimination (in state and government bodies only)	A third gender option (hijra) besides male and female is available; transgender people have a constitutional right to change gender[58]
Maldives	Illegal Penalty: Up to 8 years imprisonment, house arrest, lashings and fines[59]
Nepal	Legal since 2007 + UN decl. sign.[1]	Proposed	Proposed	Proposed	Since 2007	Bans all anti-gay discrimination	Gender change legal since 2007[60]
Pakistan	Illegal Penalty: 2 years to life sentence (Not enforced).[1]						Right to change gender; transgender and intersex citizens have legal protections from all discrimination and harassment[61]
Sri Lanka	(Ruled unenforcable by the Supreme Court, various outlets report it as decriminalized under the Sri Lankan legal system)[62][63]					[64][65]	Transgender persons can change their legal gender and name after completion of medical intervention[66][67]

East Asia

LGBT rights in:	Same-sex sexual activity	Recognition of relationships	Same-sex marriage	Adoption by same-sex couples	LGB people allowed to serve openly in military?	Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation	Laws concerning gender identity/expression
China	Legal since 1997[1]	"Legal guardianship" since 2017					Transgender people allowed to change legal gender, but only after sex reassignment surgery
Hong Kong	Legal since 1991[1]	/ Same-sex marriages registered overseas for government benefits and taxation, and limited recognition of local cohabiting partners		LGBT individuals may adopt, but not same-sex couples[68]	The central government of China is responsible for the defence of Hong Kong.[69]	Bans some anti-gay discrimination (government discrimination only)	Transgender people allowed to change legal gender, but only after sex reassignment surgery
Japan	Legal since 1880 + UN decl. sign.[1]	/in several cities	Pending		The Japan Self-Defense Forces allow gay people to enlist.[70]	/ No nationwide protections, but some cities ban some anti-gay discrimination[1]	Transgender people allowed to change legal gender, but only after sex reassignment surgery
Macau	Legal since 1996				The central government of China is responsible for the defence of Macau.	Bans some anti-gay discrimination
Mongolia	Legal since 1961 + UN decl. sign.[1]					Bans some anti-gay discrimination	Transgender people allowed to change legal gender
North Korea	Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity has ever existed in North Korea)[1]						Unknown, although there are heavily obeyed gender roles for both male and female. See also: Let's trim our hair in accordance with the socialist lifestyle
South Korea	Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity has ever existed in South Korea) + UN decl. sign.[1] But same-sex sexual in the military occasion is illegal.					/ Protection from discrimination varies by jurisdiction in some areas, including Seoul	Transgender people allowed to change legal gender
Taiwan	Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity has ever existed in the country)[71]	[72]	Legal since 2019[73][74][75]	/ Stepchild adoption only		Constitutionally bans all anti-gay discrimination	Transgender people allowed to change legal gender[76]

Southeast Asia

LGBT rights in	Same-sex sexual activity	Recognition of relationships	Same-sex marriage	Adoption by same-sex couples	LGB people allowed to serve openly in military?	Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation	Laws concerning gender identity/expression
Brunei	Illegal Penalty: Death penalty (in abeyance), imprisonment and 100 lashes for men. Caning and 10 years prison for women.[77]
Cambodia	Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity have ever existed in the country)[1]	/ Partnerships recognized in certain cities	There has been at least one recorded case of a legally registered and recognized same-sex marriage; constitutional ban	/ Officially banned, but numerous same-sex adoptions have taken place
East Timor	Legal since 1975 + UN decl. sign.[1]
Indonesia	Legal nationwide, except; Illegal in the provinces of Aceh, South Sumatra, and the city of Palembang (Applies only to Muslims);[78][79][1] Age of consent discrepancy				[80]		Transgender people allowed to change legal gender, but only after sex reassignment surgery
Laos	Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity has ever existed in the country)[1]
Malaysia	Illegal Penalty: fines, prison sentence (2-20 years), or whippings.[1][81]						Generally no way to change gender. However, a 2016 court ruling recognizes gender changes as fundamental constitutional rights[82]
Myanmar	Illegal Penalty: Up to life sentence (Not enforced).[1]
Philippines	Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity has ever existed in the country)[83][1][84]	Pending[83]	Pending[85]	LGBT individuals may adopt, but not same-sex couples[86]	Since 2009	/ In certain cities and provinces,[87] including Cebu City,[88] Quezon City, and Davao City;[89][90] National bill pending	[91]
Singapore	Male illegal Penalty: up to 2 years prison sentence (Not enforced since 1999); Court decision pending. Female legal since 2007[1]				/ Due to conscription, but gays are not allowed to go to command school or serve in sensitive units		Transgender people allowed to change legal gender, but only after sex reassignment surgery
Thailand	Legal since 1956 + UN decl. sign.[1]	Pending[92]		Pending[93]	Since 2005	Bans all anti-gay discrimination	Bill pending to allow transgender people to legally change gender after sex reassignment surgery.[94] Anti-discrimination protections for gender expression.[81]
Vietnam	Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity has ever existed in the country)[1] + UN decl. sign.[1]				Irrespective of one's sexual orientation		Gender changes recognized and officially practised since 2017;[95][96] previously, gender changes were only allowed for persons of congenital sex defects and unidentifiable sex

See also

• Recognition of same-sex unions in Asia
• Human rights in Asia
• Over the Rainbow (organization)
• LGBT rights by country or territory
• LGBT rights in Europe
• LGBT rights in the Americas
• LGBT rights in Oceania
• LGBT rights in Africa

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External links

https://www.pinkalliance.hk carries the “Asian Gay Literature” booklist/bibliography of 400 modern works, representing over 20 Asian countries, with country-by-country arrangement (see the Gay Culture tab at the website).

This website and its Facebook page also carry much historical and current information on the Hong Kong and wider lgbt community