Asifa Lahore: The Boy Behind the Burqa (The story of UK’s first muslim drag queen)

Asifa Lahore, is the UK's first out, Muslim Drag Queen. She shot to infamy in 2014 after being censored by the BBC while speaking about homosexuality and Islam. Her bravery and outspokenness on the topic inspired a groundswell of national support and she's since become a symbol of hope to many, reframing dialogues about Muslim identity and sexuality.
In this entertaining, yet highly personal talk, she discusses her journey into drag - via mosques, arranged marriages and even death threats. Despite all these experiences, it was the need to live an ‘authentic life’ that spurred her on to become the person we see today - a brave, beautiful, eloquent ‘boy in a dress’ who’s breaking down boundaries and leading the narrative about sexuality and religion.

[@salmazanbour8664]

I'm not homophobic i think they have the right to do whatever they want just like straight ppl but the thing i don't get is , why would he as a gay person follow a religion that is clearly against his sexual orientation/ life style

[@wiernyinaczej]

Oh...religion is so poisonous. It's kind of like heroin but without any high.

[@PersonWConscience]

+Em Jay He/She is a cultural Muslim and no one can take that away from him/her.

[@buterflyz]

Are you white?

[@salmazanbour8664]

fridge freezer me ?

[@buterflyz]

no that 'wiernyinaczej' person

[@parmdeepjagdev8395]

To all the people posting negative comments. and calling asifa haram etc. He comes from a place of love. we can't deny love. love is genderless. Why live in fear of happiness? Most of you would have rather he married his cousin and suffered all his life. He saved his cousin from certain unhappiness. Very few people can do what he does.

[@alysha1204]

No one saying don't be happy he can be happy just don't involve a religion where it is not allowed you cannot change religion

[@samadam9621]

Only good thing he done was not marry his cousin saved the girl from lifetime of hell. As for love so love is sodomising fornicating with shit that’s harmful it’s lust harmful and perverse desires whispered into him by the devil. He has accepted these vile desires which he can no one stopping him but never will true Islam accept homosexuality. So he cannot call himself a Muslim until he repents for his evil sins

[@jiaali2056]

you know what he can't be muslim and gay at the same time there are some parameters of religion ..you just can't say i eat but i am fasting at the same time ..that's the rule you can't eat while you are fasting and one more thing he is totally lying being gay since he was kid because this not a natural process you are not born with this

[@AuntAgatha0fullmoon]

@@jiaali2056 His faith is between him and his God. You, as a random troll on the internet, do not have a say. Also, am I supposed to take your word more seriously than his when it comes to his childhood experiences? Are you saying you can prove that his childhood story was a lie, or that he didn't react the way he did? Because if you can't, you have no fucking business talking that way about another person's life experiences. Also, recent studies in epigenetics actually have found genetic links to (male) homosexuality. The research is still in its infancy, but it's being studied. Also, grammar and punctuation might be stuff you should look into, just saying.

[@Candolad]

"You know, you know". "I was like". "He was like". "She was like". "You know".

[@mariarayo1430]

Asifa thank you!.I do not have words, you are incredible human, thank you, thank you. You really are not a drag queen, you are the Queen. Thank you forever!. Freedom. All my respects.

[@sureyamohammed1737]

It is fine to be whatever she/he wants to be. I only wish she/he leaves the religion (Islam) out her/his speech. Obviously, this person doesn’t look like a Muslim, doesn’t act like a Muslim, doesn’t talk like a Muslim. So ...I wonder why she/he is obsessed with word “Muslim”?

[@adenleila9357]

For fame

[@ilyessabidar6616]

For real, it doesn’t make any sense

[@RafiqulIslam-zm7sb]

@@adenleila9357 i actually somewhat agree with this

[@Hi-vf9wx]

She's gorgeous I'm gonna cry, ok she's my fav drag queen now ;_;

[@oslatron]

is this Tatianna from RPDR?:)

[@angelah.3402]

He is a riot!!! His personality is everything!! I love him.

[@cali5224]

Get ya head out of his ass 🤪

[@sabrin-rn4119]

Seems like she just wants make fun of islam and get lots of attention and fame through this . This is respectless to the muslim community.

[@verenaelisabeth3866]

asifa lahore has been an inspiring person for me since i know her. people like her also gave me another view on religion, on faith. thank you

[@cheshirecat2641]

I love you! You're fantastic! I've seen you in channel 4 advert. Wish you all the best.

[@aliallawi3463]

Well done I like your self esteem 👍🏼👍🏼

[@PersonWConscience]

Yes, and very well spoken.

[@kotarouthewitch6560]

Asia, oh man, I met her once, so funny, amazing person

[@metta8]

Excellent!

[@WW-bv8hk]

"I used to be very cute as a child." *One eye facing the floor, one eye facing the ceiling.* Yeah buddy, am sure you were... 🤣🤣🤣

[@MiddleclassTravellers]

Wooah!!! Loved it! Keep it up👍👍💕

[@hidayatshaikh3860]

You cannot be Muslim and gay at same time

[@Candolad]

As lots of gay Muslims I know say too. It's an impossibility.

[@nikkigoddess450]

Asifa...you are fabulous ! Keep the good work... Spread love to those who are still in the dark ... Brava Asifa .

[@MohammadAtifLatif]

The Goddess Good work !!!!! Seriously ???

[@nikkigoddess450]

Atif Latif She's only human and I respect her life to be as she is .... do you have a problem with that ?

[@MohammadAtifLatif]

The Goddess offcourse Not, but only problem me and all other Muslims have is that the way he is using and disrespecting Islam and Muslims is not right and is not acceptable. He stop mentioning the Religion, we have no problem at all with what he does. It is so disappointing to see people like you who rather then stopping these people from doing this, you praise them.

[@nikkigoddess450]

Atif Latif Religion for me is between me and God and no other human will tell me if I am right or wrong, UNLESS that so called human could walk on water and perform miracle ! I only preach about LOVE and ABSOLUTELY NOT about HATE !!!! I believe in GOD and GOD is FORGIVING !

[@MohammadAtifLatif]

Wow ... what a belief.... someone Mocking and Disrespecting the religion and that is OK (because it is either Freedom of Speech or Between Me and God). But you can not ask someone to stop doing it, because that is not right .... amazing ...

[@user-cc7ud7zs2x]

What you are amazing you are our Inspiration there are Muslim people who are suffering from Gender Deformity and they need your help please sister Help us.

[@johnnj3858]

Intelligent, beautiful and very charming.

[@Electroma94]

Arrogant, hideous, and utterly charmless 😂

[@hidayatshaikh3860]

6:35 this is not natural

[@a1upptrades262]

Wallahi the end is near.

[@Electroma94]

😂😂

[@bumithemadman]

Isnt this basically blackface but with genders

[@gname8252]

true that!

[@treskonopelko2615]

I love it!!!!!!!xxxxx

[@Candolad]

At 10:53 you say "I feel very comfortable being a woman", but I think you mean you feel comfortable dressed as a woman.

[@buterflyz]

Every religion has rules.you can't just pick and choose what suits you and ignore the ones that don't.You can be an Asian drag queen but leave Islam out of it.you know full well that music, dancing and cross dressing go against the religion yet you insist on doing it.You do have the right to be whatever you want but if you want to be part of Islam you can't be a drag queen.

[@buterflyz]

i dont? im a woman and wtf are you even talking about.

[@miissBaByLurv]

what does that mean ? she's trying to say do whatever but don't do it being a part of a religion , your not Muslim so u wouldn't understand

[@patrizia9044]

I wasn't talking about that at all. But I deleted my comments anyway cause seemed pointless

[@mohamedferousfaruk6]

U r right and al-yawmul-quiyam is near

[@rac717]

I suggest that ALL drag queens wear burqas.

[@kotarouthewitch6560]

Amen!

[@prakashramadhar6300]

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS,KEEP IT ALIVE LOVE YOU .

[@tamarathompson8967]

I love her dress!

[@najahmeshly1]

I dont care for what ever you do to your self or talk about but do not involve islam in your conversation

[@MohammadAtifLatif]

exactly, it does because of the hypocrits like him where he call himself as a Muslim but do exactly what is not permissible in Islam. He want to use word Islam/Muslim on every forum, not because of his love for the religion but for the Publicity the words Islam, Pakistan etc will give to him.

[@saimakhan2168]

your right

[@HassanAliLondon]

Qeen N 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@kotarouthewitch6560]

@@MohammadAtifLatif yes! That is true, and it's not a bad thing. Because if he use that publicity to give more power to marriage equality then it's a good thing. So what if he makes a few extra bucks in the middle of it. Unlike your preachers, he got the talent to deserve it

[@LankyScotty]

You can't just gatekeep a religion. religion is not a checklist. You're not any less holy for being gay

[@amjadbaig7377]

Wtf 🤬

[@ijazmohammed4744]

she's brave

[@dan292009]

Inspirational

[@Electroma94]

Attention seeking is not the same as bravery

[@sanakhan142]

Baygarat

[@ayahosmani6184]

She's not a Muslim...doesn't she get that?

[@PersonWConscience]

Ayesha It is not for you to decide.

[@PersonWConscience]

Vorrection Ayah

[@buterflyz]

You're an idiot

[@buterflyz]

For me? And who are you? Homosexuality and cross dressing is against islam. The end

[@buterflyz]

They can Identify how they want, they don't need to publicity disgrace Islam in the process

[@MaroGhaziUmmati313]

Asifa is not a Muslim 😂😂😂😂😂

[@haidershahid5267]

gay boy

[@IK-fg4gw]

Gay or trans??

[@mslittlexmiss6899]

Besharam!

[@Nursestudent1]

Isn't study of Lut alaihasalaam mentioned in quran and Bible and it shows that his whole people were given punishment of being gays... ? God will take it as love for us while for them it was a sin.... Please answer me If I am wrong....

[@kotarouthewitch6560]

Thank God that I don't believe in I am no longer religious, but when I was, I did intensive study on that, at least for the Bible, then reason for punishment is rape, not homosexuality

[@fahimmohimen7065]

It was a shitty myth

[@hammertime4437]

To all the religious nuts who say you can't pick and choose in religion. The beginnings of your religion started out by people who picked and choose what they wanted in their religion.

[@Candolad]

Yes, but Islam treats those who attempt to change the Qur'an as blasphemous and calls for their death. The UK, in common with all developed Christian heritage Capitalist countries invented the freedom that other religions appear to like, but then seek to destroy. Islam is the biggest threat to Western values of democracy, freedom to criticise, women's equal and LGBT rights.

[@jujuukekeke7668]

Good he’s happy but, do NOT involve Islam in this at all. He literally goes against everything in Islam and says he’s a Muslim

[@adamson786bi3]

WHEN THEY DENY THE TRUTH, ALLAH ALLMIGHTY LEAVES THEM TO LIVE IN BLINDNESS, AND THEY CONTINUE TO CURUPT THEMSELVES AND PEOPLE AROUND THEM BECAUSE THEY CHOOSE TO DISBELEIVE THE TRUTH. INSTEAD OF REPENTING FOR HIS SINS, HE IS NOW PROMOTING SIN AROGANTLY. ALLAH ALLMIGHTY HAS SAID ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT ALLAH WILL FORGIVE THE BELEIVERS WHO USE TO KEEP THEIR SINS A SECRET AND THEY USE TO REPENT. BUT ASIFA LAHORE IS OPENLY SPREADING HIS SINFULL AROGANT LIFE AS A LESSON TO BE PROUD OF HIS SIN, THIS WILL SURELY GO AGAINST HIM ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT. MAY ALLMIGHTY ALLAH FORGIVE ALL OF MANKIND AND GIVE ALL BELEIVERS THE HIGHEST STATION IN PARADISE, AMEEN. I ACTUALLY LIKE ASIFA LAHORE AS A PERSON, AND I BELEIVE HE'S KIND TOWARDS PEOPLE'S FEELINGS, BUT.... THE TRUTH IS THE TRUTH!

[@qsbachekabul8882]

Burn

[@thasniashahrin2944]

Im not hateing at all but what will Allah think

[@heavymetalsmoker69]

Sure, be a woman. But even as a woman he is far from the Islamic message of modesty. What with all those provocative dance moves and revealing clothes.

[@sanakhan142]

Shame on you

[@hotpotato101]

He never wore a burqa. I don’t get it cos I’ve only ever seen him dressed in trashy outfits.

[@MrShahspice]

Jahanmi....

[@jiaali2056]

@Sarah P he is going to hell because he is doing sin and not just doing it but promoting it and that is the only place for the devil disciples

[@RR-tg5ue]

Since when going hell was so fun? Face Allah swt ? Lol mate fear Allah

[@sunnysharma-wk3xs]

RR'omena lol allah is fake

[@robbiecrosbie4506]

Weirdo. Once ya dead that's it

[@RafiqulIslam-zm7sb]

They find it their next hot vacation.

[@RafiqulIslam-zm7sb]

And their last

[@Electroma94]

Ooo big bad allah, very scary

[@Muhammedthemaverick]

this is not right!

[@aj90ar]

Don't act like a women. now people get confuse you are boy or girl

[@MsArembi]

aj why bothers you?

[@buterflyz]

You need God

[@PersonWConscience]

She has God.

[@svettralph1984]

She is better than those that go to church every day and then secretly going to gay bars. So she has got her God

[@RafiqulIslam-zm7sb]

@@svettralph1984 they may be closer than others but we still cannot spread misinformation that this is not a sin

[@BeverlySchnett]

Muslims could be proud of Asifa Lahore and i mean that very serious!

[@MohammadAtifLatif]

BeverlySchnett Seriously ??? Proud of what ??? for example ??? For Disrespecting and mocking the religion everywhere ? Breaking the Laws set by God and Religion ???

[@BeverlySchnett]

Asifa Lahore has a message and she has something to say, she worked hard and she has an opinion. I can‘t expect from everyone to share her opinion but what about respect to different opinons? What about to consider God is not a single-minded accountat who hates everyone who is not like an accountant?

[@MohammadAtifLatif]

The problem is not about having an opinion but being hypocrit. There are basically two points: 1. According to Islam, either you can be a Gay or Muslim. These laws are set by God, not me or you. So no point trying to create justification. 2. He dont want to be called a Gay Muslim because he loves Islam but because of the fact that if he doesnt attach Islam/Pakistani Culture with him then no one will care about him( cant seek this much attention).

[@BeverlySchnett]

Regarding 1.: so God creates a world full of homosexuals and forbids them to be homosexual. Why? I can`t belive that. Regarding 2.: Everyone who is in the public seeks attention.

[@MohammadAtifLatif]

1: God Created She-males and we accept and respect them. But God havent made Homosexuals, they made themselves like that. So first of all make the point clear. 2: Seeking attention is not a problem but using wrong means, disrespecting other faiths, cultures to seek attention is wrong.

[@esskay3694]

I respect the fact she is gay but why is she in a religion which clearly prohibits homosexuality? She can't have been that surprised with the response she got/is getting.

[@MohammadAtifLatif]

Sulaka Kay it is so simple to do that but he would never, believe me !!!! You know why??? How will he seek attention if he does that ???

[@Danieledm-ju5of]

Because being gay is not a choice, and completely natural/biological. Being Muslim is a choice, and Asifa has the freedom to CHOOSE whether she wants to continue in her faith. Perhaps, she continues to follow Islam because she believes in its theological teachings. She may use logic and not take religious text literally, as it was written thousands of years ago, and, like it or not, it has been influenced by the social norms and values of the time. Imagine if a religious text prohibited having a genetic disease. Wtf right? Something we have no control over, but said prohibition was made due to socially constructed concepts of what is deemed to be normal. All in all, education is key. Please be open to being informed on such topics, the LGBT is the definitely the most disadvantaged and discriminated group in our world and it is simply so inhumane.

[@RafiqulIslam-zm7sb]

@@Danieledm-ju5of it's not attraction which is forbidden but intimacy

[@neemahmed5054]

Disgrace

[@dan292009]

Not at all.

[@buterflyz]

Agreed

[@sabzk6943]

this is haram I feel bad for Asifa May Allah guide her bc she really doesn't realize that what she is doing for whatever reason makes no sense in reality, in Islam, to her own well being

[@user-ug1fd1bh5u]

He just used his religion like .. itsnot matter if u mislim or not

[@buterflyz]

White people there's no need to comment on this video.You're coming from a completely different perspective.you don't understand the Asian culture or Islam.That 'do whatever you want' attitude doesn't work because we're not heathens.

[@Tiz604]

fridge freezer I'm a Heathen and proud ! You morons Don't even understand that different Layers and complexity in the west . this is A GAY MUSLIM Drag Queen this is REAL dash with it ..fool.

[@kazookid4776]

Look dude race has nothing to do with it CULTURE does so saying WHITE PEOPLE is totally invalid

[@levon5574]

lol white people good one

[@Muhammedthemaverick]

haram child you'll get punished