Uzbekistan in Central Asia has joined a growing list of countries with anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda laws including Russia, Hungary, and Bulgaria.
Leader of Uzbekistan’s ruling Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival) Party, Alisher Qodirov, announced on his Telegram channel that the country’s governing body was drawing up legislation to ban LGBTQ+ content, according to The Times of Central Asia.
Qodirov also shared a post from Ivanka Trump discussing her father Donald Trump’s intentions to cut federal funding for schools that promote “inappropriate sexual content” and “transgender ideology.”
Homosexuality is still illegal in the Central Asian nation with penalties of up to three years in prison for same-sex acts. Pink News reports no laws offer protections from discrimination. However, according to Equaldex, gender changes and gender-affirming care in Uzbekistan are legal with a medical diagnosis.
While other countries around the world move forward to protect LGBTQ+ communities, powerful nations like Russia continue to act against these communities. In 2013, Russia first enacted an anti-LGBTQ+ law. Now any mention of LGBTQ+ sentiments or support can be punished there.
In Hungary, a law was passed in 2021 banning discussion of LGBTQ+ identities in schools, legislation which was passed as an amendment to an anti-pedophilia law. Similarly, just this year Bulgaria passed a law banning LGBTQ+ “propaganda.” Georgia also passed a ban on queer content this year, which allows authorities to ban Pride events and flags.
