Uzbekistan set to join growing list of countries with anti-LGBTQ+ ‘propaganda’ laws

Uzbekistan is the latest country to table a new anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda law, joining a list of nations cracking down on queer people and their lives.

Alisher Qodirov, the leader of the ruling Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival) Party, announced on his Telegram channel that the country was drawing up legislation to prohibit LGBTQ+ content, The Times of Central Asia reported.

“The change in the centre of the disease is very good,” he wrote, re-sharing a post from US president-elect Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who said her father would cut federal funding to schools which promote “inappropriate sexual content” and “transgender ideology”.

Qodirov added: “We are working on adopting a law prohibiting any kind of propaganda in this regard.”

Male homosexuality is illegal in Uzbekistan, with men facing up to three years in prison for same-sex acts, and there is no protection from discrimination under the law.

But Uzbekistan is far from the first country to table such legislation in recent years. Previously, Russia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Georgia, and Kazakhstan have also adopted or announced that they will adopt anti-LGBTQI+ propaganda laws.

It should be noted that anti-LGBTQ+ bill has sparked political discussions in Azerbaijan. Government-aligned media have been publishing continuous articles on this topic, aiming to elicit supportive messages from officials for introducing similar legislation in Azerbaijan. 

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