World
Pakistan opens government school for transgender students
“We have provided them everything that is required” for their schooling to help trans youth get better job opportunities later on in life.
MULTAN, Punjab, Pakistan – In an action that sets unique precedent in this largely conservative Muslim majority country, the Government of Pakistan earlier this month established and opened its first public school for transgender people in Pakistan’s most populous province.
A tweet sent out on July 9, on the official Pakistani Government Twitter account read; “First public school for transgender people has been opened in Multan. This will not just educate the transgender people but will increase livelihood and business opportunities for them as well.”
The school, established by the educational department in Punjab province, where Multan is located, opened its doors on the first day of school with 18 students enrolled the Associated Press reported.
“We have provided them everything that is required” for their schooling, tweeted Murad Rass, Punjab’s education minister. He added that he hopes that the school will help transgender youth get better job opportunities later on in life.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
— Murad Raas (@DrMuradPTI) July 8, 2021
First Day of School for Transgenders by School Education Department Punjab. We have provided them everything that is required for Schooling. Dr Aithesham Secretary School South Punjab and his team have done a great job. TransEducation is the program. pic.twitter.com/pTZkfKEOYX
Ayesha Mughal, a trans advocate in Punjab, told the Associated Press that the trans community is “grateful” to the government for opening the school and “for providing free education to our community.”
Mughal tweeted about the historic occasion. “Today I am so happy, proud and emotional at the same time.”
Today I am so happy, proud and emotional at the same time. First day of school for the Transgender Persons in Multan. All the very best for the effective implementation of this great initiative by Education Dept South Punjab 👏 @hecpkofficial @FBISEOfficial @EduMinistryPK pic.twitter.com/XF7iEkw5Pz
— Aisha Mughal (@_aishamughal) July 7, 2021
Life in Pakistan for Trans people is often fraught with the danger of being physically assaulted, denied basic healthcare, and exclusion from society. Often forced to live on streets reduced to begging for food or everyday necessities, the opportunity presented for good education is a lifeline to many Trans Pakistanis.
In 2018, the country’s Parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act which established broad protections for trans people in the country which was followed in 2019 by the Pakistan Supreme Court which ruled transgender people would be designated as a third gender.
This allowed trans people medical treatment which had been previously denied because doctors could not decide whether to treat them as male or a female and house them in a gender ward appropriately.
Pakistan however still offers no legal protections for Trans, Lesbian, Gay, Queer, or Bi-sexual people and Pakistani law prescribes criminal penalties for same-gender sexual activities. A British Colonial-era law written in the 1860’s is still enforced albeit inconsistently as an act of sodomy carries a possible prison sentence.
LGBTQ Equality rights in the country are also impacted by societal viewpoints of the majority conservative Muslim population. In larger cities in the country same-sex relationships are more accessible but with most LGBTQ people, especially gay men adhering to an absolute mindset of absolute discretion.
The framework of the country’s laws does not offer protection from discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation. Nor are same-sex marriages or civil unions are permitted under current Pakistani law.
Hungary
Charges against Budapest mayor for organizing Pride march dropped
Country’s new government took office last month
Hungarian authorities on Thursday dropped charges against Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony over his role in organizing the city’s 2025 Pride march.
Karácsony spoke at the event, even though then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government banned it.
More than 100,000 people defied the ban and participated in the march that took place on June 28, 2025. The Associated Press notes the Budapest Chief Prosecutor’s Office in January charged Karácsony with “organizing the unlawful assembly despite a prohibition order.”
Karácsony, who has been Budapest’s mayor since 2019, described himself as a “proud defendant” after his indictment.
“It seems that in this country, this is the price you pay if you stand up for your own freedom and the freedom of others,” he said in a statement, according to the AP. “If anyone thinks they can ban me, deter me, or prevent me and my city from doing so, they are gravely mistaken.”
Budapest is Hungary’s capital and largest city.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar took office last month after his center-right Tisza party ousted Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP coalition in elections that took place on April 12.
Hungarian police on May 29 announced they will allow the Budapest Pride march to take place this year.
The European Union’s top court, the EU Court of Justice, days after Orbán’s ouster struck down Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law that MPs approved in 2021. The BBC notes Hungarian authorities cited the decision in their decision to drop the charges against Karácsony.
Authorities in Pécs, a city near Hungary’s border with Croatia, have also dropped charges against Géza Buzás-Hábel, who organized a 2025 Pride event.
Hungary
Hungarian authorities lift Budapest Pride ban
Country’s new government took office last month
Hungarian police on May 29 announced they will allow the annual Budapest Pride march to take place.
“The Budapest Metropolitan Police has approved the 2026 Budapest Pride Parade and also has issued restrictive orders in relation to three counter-demonstrations,” a Budapest Metropolitan Police spokesperson told Politico.
Budapest is Hungary’s capital and largest city.
Hungarian lawmakers last year passed a bill that banned Pride events and allowed authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify participants. MPs later amended the Hungarian constitution to ban public LGBTQ events.
More than 100,000 people defied the ban and participated in last year’s Budapest Pride parade. The event became one of the largest protests against then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government since he took office in 2010.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar took office last month after his center-right Tisza party ousted Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP coalition in elections that took place on April 12. The European Union’s top court, the EU Court of Justice, days after Orbán’s ouster struck down Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law that MPs approved in 2021.
The EU on May 29 announced it will release more than €16 billion ($18.59 billion) in funds to Hungary that it withheld while Orbán was in office.
The Budapest Pride march will take place on June 27.
“We will march freely in fresh air for our rights, for the democratic Hungary,” said Budapest Pride on its Facebook page.
Colombia
Claudia López comes up short in Colombian presidential election
Former Bogotá mayor would have been country’s first lesbian head of government
Former Bogotá Mayor Claudia López on Sunday finished fifth in the first round of Colombia’s presidential election.
López, a centrist who ran as an independent, received 225,517 votes. This figure is .95 percent of the total votes cast.
López was the Colombian capital’s mayor from 2020-2023. She was a member of the Colombian Senate from 2014-2018. López, whose wife is outgoing Colombian Sen. Angélica Lozano, would have become the country’s first female and first lesbian president if she would have won the election.
The LGBTQ+ Victory Institute honored López in D.C. in 2024.
“We need to listen to each other again, we need to have a coffee with each other again, we need to touch each other’s skin,” she told the Washington Blade during an interview. She hadn’t yet declared her candidacy, and did not specifically discuss her plans to run.
Runoff to take place June 21
Abrelardo de la Espriella, a far-right lawyer who has praised U.S. President Donald Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, on Sunday finished first with 43.74 percent of the vote. Senator Iván Cepeda, a member of outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s Historic Pact party, came in second with 40.9 percent of the vote.
Neither men received a majority of votes. A runoff between them will take place on June 21.
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