HuffingtonPost.com – Anna Kirey
Very few people can immediately place where I am from. When I say “Kyrgyzstan” I have to add: a mountainous country in Central Asia, once part of the Soviet Union, that is predominantly Muslim. It sounds like the middle of nowhere. And when I add, “I am a lesbian, and I work to help lesbian and bisexual women and transgender men there,” they can’t imagine how hard the task might be.
Kyrgyzstan is a conservative society, with deeply rooted norms governing how men and women should act. Those who do not conform are constantly at risk.