In Kazakhstan, a transgender woman has filed a legal case against the country’s largest bank, whose manager refused to serve her when she presented ID with a male name on it.
Of course, the situation in terms of LGBT rights, and transgender people in particular, is much better in Kazakhstan than, for example, Chechnya, where people are openly persecuted. But as across Central Asia, the rights and freedoms of LGBT people are restricted by law in Kazakhstan.
Central Asian states have a lot in common in this regard: same-sex marriages are banned and same-sex partnerships are unrecognised, while same-sex partners are banned from adopting children. LGBT person also face discrimination during their military service – they are simply banned from serving or working in law enforcement agencies. Central Asian states also lack anti-discrimination legislation. In Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, however, people can undergo surgery to change their sex.
