terha pakistan
an interview/narrative piece i authored with the generous sharing of some amazing queer pakistanis. while reading the title of this, at first i read “tera” pakistan, tera as in “yours” and i got confused and i thought no, humara pakistan. as in our pakistan.
http://himalmag.com/component/content/article/4994-tera-pakistan.html
then i realized it’s really the different ways in which urdu/hindi is pronounced and transliterated into roman english in different parts of south asia - maybe it’s time - to properly romanize?
“‘Pakistan is a homophobic place,’ Karim* continues. ‘As in any other conservative society, queers can have all the sex and love that they want – as long as they’re quiet about it. One of the problems with this is that people can get away with a lot of things, murder included.’ He pauses. ‘There are no codes, no rules. So if someone fucks you over, you’re totally alone.’ His earlier nonchalance gives way to a more contemplative tone. ‘You’re already a criminal. And that’s tricky business.’”
this is my fav. quote from the piece. can’t say it any better.
