Asifa Lahore

Last updated

Asifa Lahore
Born
Asif Quraishi

1982or1983(age 41–42) [1]
Occupation Drag queen

Asifa Lahore (born Asif Quraishi; 1982 or 1983) is a British Muslim trans woman who has been described as Britain's first out Muslim drag queen. [2]

Contents

Personal life

Brought up in Southall, London, Lahore is from a Pakistani Muslim family and has spoken about the difficulty in coming out to her parents when she was 23 years old. [3] [4] Her parents first sent her to the doctor and then to their local imam. [4] Lahore was coerced into a relationship with a first cousin in Pakistan in an attempt to change Lahore's sexual orientation. After six months, during which he sought counselling and assistance from LGBT groups, Lahore terminated the relationship. [4] Lahore is a practising Muslim, [5] saying: "I go to the mosque. I fast at Ramadan. I've been on pilgrimage". [6] She has said that her mother now watches and enjoys her drag shows. [4]

In 2009, while still identifying as a gay man, Lahore entered a civil partnership with another man of Pakistani heritage in a large ceremony. In 2014, months after the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom, they converted their civil partnership to a marriage. [7] As of 2017, the two were undergoing a divorce by mutual consent. [8]

In May 2017, Lahore came out as a trans woman. [9] [10] [11] [12] In the same year, she commented on a then-recent wedding which was claimed to be the first same-sex Muslim marriage in Britain, saying: "I'm glad this young boy has declared so openly about his marriage, but [I] want him to know there have been others before him, and will be many more". [7] [8] In 2021, she spoke about being visually impaired. [13]

Career

Lahore became involved in drag in 2011, when she was 27 years old. [14] She says she was first inspired to embrace drag by her mother's elaborate saris. [4] Her performances often reference aspects of her Muslim culture. Those performances include wearing rainbow-coloured hijabs [6] and "a signature stripping act that features a burqa". [15]

In 2014, Lahore was to discuss her experience as a gay Muslim on BBC Three's Free Speech programme. This segment was not aired, following security concerns [16] and because the programme makers did not discuss the segment with the mosque in which the show was being filmed. [17] [18] In 2015, she featured in Muslim Drag Queens, a Channel 4 documentary film, narrated by Ian McKellen. [19] [20] [21] The programme was watched by over 1 million people in the UK. [22] In 2016, she featured on BBC Asian Network where she performed "Punjabi Girl", a parody of Barbie Girl. [23] In 2023, Darius Shu and Shiva Raichandani filmed Always Asifa, a TV documentary featuring Lahore commissioned by Together TV. [24] [25]

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References

  1. ↑ Chaudhary, Vivek (18 October 2014). "Asifa Lahore: My parents are traditional Muslims. It took a lot of courage for me to tell them I'm gay". The Guardian. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  2. ↑ Martyr, Kate (5 November 2022). "Meet Britain's first Muslim drag queen". DW .
  3. ↑ Chaudhary, Vivek (18 October 2014). "Asifa Lahore: My parents are traditional Muslims. It took a lot of courage for me to tell them I'm gay". The Observer .
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Goldhill, Olivia (18 August 2015). "My life as a gay Muslim drag queen". The Telegraph .
  5. ↑ Snowdon, Kathryn (23 August 2015). "Being Gay And Muslim Is A Natural Fit, Says Drag Queen". HuffPost UK .
  6. 1 2 Burns, Amy (25 August 2015). "Muslim Drag Queens, Channel 4 - TV review: A touching insight into the life of Britain's first Muslim drag queen". The Independent .
  7. 1 2 Burgess, Kaya (17 December 2023). "Muslim gay marriage is thriving, says drag queen". The Times .
  8. 1 2 "Gay Muslim weddings are 'much more common than people think'". The Independent . 19 July 2017.
  9. ↑ Semple, Ross (24 May 2017). "'Muslim drag queen' Asifa Lahore comes out as trans". Attitude .
  10. ↑ Beresford, Meka (27 May 2017). "Muslim drag queen Asifa Lahore comes out as trans". PinkNews .
  11. ↑ "Asifa Lahore: What It's Like To Be An Out Muslim Drag Queen". HuffPost UK . 24 June 2020.
  12. ↑ Douglas, Lucy (7 February 2020). "Hope 100: British Muslim drag queens smashing stereotypes". Positive News .
  13. ↑ Baldwin, Philip (28 July 2021). "Let's shine a light on disabled LGBTQ+ people". Gay Times .
  14. ↑ Bugel, Safi (6 September 2021). "Britain's first out Muslim drag queen: Asifa Lahore is a proud clubland pioneer". Mixmag .
  15. ↑ Winship, Lyndsey (24 April 2017). "'Getting rid of the beard is a challenge': the secret world of Asian drag queens". The Guardian .
  16. ↑ "BBC Three show denies censorship". BBC News . 14 March 2014.
  17. ↑ Plunkett, John (13 March 2014). "BBC accused of censorship in row over Free Speech show from mosque". The Guardian .
  18. ↑ Edgar, James (20 March 2014). "Mosque leader compares being gay to paedophilia and murder". The Telegraph .
  19. ↑ Hinde, Natasha (18 August 2015). "Muslim Drag Queen Asifa Lahore Fears Backlash Over New Channel 4 Documentary". HuffPost UK .
  20. ↑ Sweney, Mark (18 August 2015). "Muslim Drag Queens activist voices fears of backlash over Channel 4 film". The Guardian .
  21. ↑ Walker, Danny (20 August 2015). "Channel 4 delve into the world of Muslim Drag Queens". The Mirror .
  22. ↑ Sweney, Mark (25 August 2015). "Muslim Drag Queens watched by more than 1 million on Channel 4". The Guardian .
  23. ↑ "BBC Asian Network – Mim Shaikh, Asifa Lahore, "I'm a Punjabi girl, in a Punjabi world"". BBC. 11 August 2016.
  24. ↑ "S1 E4 Queer Lives Today - Always, Asifa | Together TV". watch.togethertv.com. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  25. ↑ "Destigmatising Transitioning with Shiva Raichandani". www.togethertv.com. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
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