Existing
in Kashmir
Sexual and religious minorities in a tense region,
two reports by Ondine de Gaulle and Paul Mesnager
BEING MUSLIM AND QUEER
LGBTQ STRUGGLES IN THE KASHMIR VALLEY
In the Kashmir Valley, LGBTQ individuals face daily battles to exist in a conservative society. This article shares personal stories of resilience of queer and trans persons in the face of family and social discrimination and lack of legal support. This piece would also focus on local activists who create safe spaces and raise awareness for a cause that struggles to gain public discourse. From a love hotel in Srinagar to an NGO advocating for transgender rights, and from cruising parks to mosques, this reportage delves into the heart of a discreet community that remains deeply tied to religion.
Zia* confesses that he dressed as a woman for the first time in his life to celebrate his transgender friend’s birthday.
Zain*, a 29-year-old local TikToker, in his village in southern Srinagar.
Iqbal, an LGBTQ activist from Delhi, came to Kashmir to find the grave of his former Kashmiri lover, who was killed in 2008 by a stray bullet from the Indian army.
Zia*, a professionally trained dancer and bisexual, is the son of a police officer in Kashmir. He stopped dancing a few years ago after receiving death threats from armed militants.
Zain* gets ready before attending the prayer of Eid al Ghadir.
Fakeeh*, a member of Srinagar’s LGBTQ community, is a social worker at PSCS. The NGO distributes free condoms and lubricants, and offers HIV testing.
Faisal*, a high school student from Srinagar’s LGBTQ community, comes from a modest family. He has experienced sexual violence at the hands of the police.
Zain*’s family does not accept his homosexuality and wants to marry him off as soon as possible.
Dr. Rafi Ahmad is the director of the ‘Peoples Social and Cultural Society’ (PSCS), an NGO dedicated to the sexual health of transgender people and men who have sex with men (MSM). Founded in 2008 and funded by the government, PSCS operates throughout Kashmir.
Under this maple tree in a public park, a Quranic verse has been hung to discourage couples from kissing.
Zain*, in a ‘cruising park’ in downtown Srinagar. Many members of the LGBTQ community leave their villages to settle in Kashmir’s capital, a city of more than 1.7 million people, where it is easier to live their sexual identity.
Iqbal now identifies as a transgender woman and has chosen the name Rosie. It was in Srinagar that she began dressing as a woman in public places.
Raheem* is a transgender woman but avoids wearing women’s clothing in Srinagar, where she spends six months of the year. She does not wish to undergo gender reassignment surgery, saying she accepts the body God gave her.
Mahnoor*, a transgender woman, comes from an important political family in Kashmir. She met her friends from the Kashmiri LGBTQ community at the 2022 Pride March in New Delhi.
Zia* poses in a love hotel in Srinagar
Zain* gets ready before attending the prayer of Eid al Ghadir.
THE SHIA OF
KASHMIR
EXISTING IN A REGION UNDER PRESSURE
This piece would shed light on the Shia community and their integration in a Sunni-majority region, marked by decades of political and social tensions. The reportage aims at showing (through photo and text) the progressive integration of this historically marginalised community, who recently saw one of their members win a parliamentary seat in Srinagar during India’s general elections. The reportage would also explore the Kashmiri Shia community’s ties with Iran in a context where they strive to exist between New Delhi and the Sunni majority. The article concludes with an exploration of Shia rituals during Moharram in Shia-majority neighborhoods in Srinagar, offering insight into their cultural heritage and resilience.
Worshippers celebrate Eid al-Ghadir in a Shia mosque in a village south of Srinagar
The turbah is a small clay tablet, often made from the soil of Karbala. Worshippers rest their foreheads on the tablet during prayer (sujood) as a sign of devotion.
Person in charge of the Imambara of Zaadibal.
The Imambara of Zaadibal, the largest Shia mausoleum in Kashmir, embodies the region’s communal relations: set on fire 12 times since the 14th century, it is currently under renovation and about to receive Iranian tiles.
Head of the mausoleum’s renovation works.
Worker installing a Moharram banner.
Interior of the Imambara. The bare concrete walls have been draped in black and red fabrics during the Moharram rituals.
Workers drinking tea among the Moharram banners.
« Live like Ali, die like Hussein » is a Shia slogan referencing the legitimacy of Ali and the martyrdom of Hussein.
Dr. Amjad Ansari, from a powerful Shia family in Kashmir, has researched the Kashmiri ancestors of Ayatollah Khomeini.
A 1979 photograph of Khomeini (bottom left) and Amjad (second from the right) in Qom.
Amjad Ansari’s office.
Moulvi Sahib, a prominent Shia figure in Kashmir.
Worshippers posing with portraits of Shia dignitaries and Iranian martyrs in a Shia mosque in Srinagar.
