LGBTQ rights inKazakhstan | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Legal status |
|
| Gender identity | Transgender people allowed to change legal gender following surgery, medical examinations, hormone therapy and sterilisation since 2003 |
| Military | Gays, lesbians and bisexuals allowed to serve in themilitary since 2022[2] |
| Discrimination protections | No law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation (see below) |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships | No recognition of same-sex couples |
| Restrictions | Code on Marriage and Family explicitly bans persons of the same sex from marrying each other. |
| Adoption | Adoption by single LGBT people is banned since 2024[3][4] |
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Overview |
 LGBTQ portal |
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender andqueer (LGBTQ) people inKazakhstan face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Both male and female kinds of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Kazakhstan, butsame-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.[1]
Since theDissolution of the Soviet Union,Kazakhstan decriminalised both male and female same-sex sexual activity in late 1997de facto (since 1998de jure) and theage of consent was equalised to that of heterosexual activity in late 1997de facto (since 1998de jure).Transgender people have been allowed to legally change their gender since 2003. LGBTQ people are also allowed to serve in the military since 2022.[2] LGBTQ rights in Kazakhstan remain severely limited andhomosexuality remains highlystigmatised in Kazakh society, with no LGBTQ NGOs, strong overtones of official intolerance and no equal rights on the basis of sexual orientation in areas such as employment, education, media, and the provision of goods and services, amongst others.[5]
On 28 October 2025, theMäjilis,Parliament's lower house, proposed alaw explicitly prohibiting "LGBT propaganda", despite opposition from several international human rights organizations, includingHuman Rights Watch.[6][7] The legislation would ban "information containing propaganda ofpedophilia and/or non-traditionalsexual orientation" in both public spaces and the media. Violations would be punishable by a 10-dayarrest and afine.[8][9] On 12 November 2025, Mäjilis approved the draft law in its second hearing. It currently awaits approval by theSenate[8] and subsequent signing by thePresident. Many critics have commented on its similarity to the 2013Russian anti-LGBTQ law. As reported byCBS News andReuters, in recent years, some countries includingGeorgia andEU membersHungary andBulgaria, have also passed anti-LGBTQ "propaganda" laws that observers say are inspired by Russia's.[10]
Many LGBTQ individuals in Kazakhstan tend to hide their sexual orientation in public. Those who are "out" frequently facediscrimination,stigmatization andviolence.
Genghis Khan banned homosexual acts in theMongol Empire and made them punishable by death.[11] LGBTQ history in Kazakhstan has been marked by periods of both tolerance and persecution and dates back to the early 20th century, when homosexuality was first decriminalised in 1917 following theOctober Revolution, which established theSoviet Union.
The Bolshevik government was influenced by the ideas ofMagnus Hirschfeld, a German scientist who argued that homosexuality was a natural manifestation of human sexuality. However, in 1933 the Soviet Union re-criminalised homosexuality as part of a broader campaign against "deviant" behaviour. Discrimination against LGBTQ individuals persisted in theSoviet era, and homosexuality was not officially declassified as a mental illness until 16 July 1997de facto, since 1998de jure.
In October 2025, as response to a similar petition from 2024,[12] 15 Members of theMäjilis proposed a law that would oppose "LGBT propaganda".[6] Officially, it plans to ban "information containing propaganda of pedophilia and/or non-traditional sexual orientation in public spaces, as well as in the media".[10] The petition and draft law sparked concerns by experts from theUnited Nations[12] and several international human rights organizations, includingAccess Now, theCivil Rights Defenders,Human Rights Watch, theInternational Partnership for Human Rights, and theNorwegian Helsinki Committee. The main concern was around the possible censorship of media and the likely endangerement of LGBTQ+ Kazakhs, including queer youth, possible in the case the legislation is adopted.[7][6]
Both male and female same-sex sexual activity have been legal inKazakhstan since late 1997, when under the revised criminal code same-sex relations between consenting adults was no longer a criminal offence.[1] Prior to 1997, Article 104 of the Penal Code of Kazakhstan used to criminalise "buggery". This legislation followed the corresponding Section 121 from the formerSoviet Union, which only specifically criminalisedanal intercourse between men.[13] In late 1997 the law was repealed and replaced with a common age of consent for all sexual activity of 16 years. Lesbianism was never a criminal offence. In 1998, consensual sex between same-sex couples became lawful. There are currently no provisions in theConstitution of Kazakhstan that criminalise any aspect of same-sex sexual relations.
Since 2003,transgender individuals have been allowed to change their legal gender on their official identity documents in Kazakhstan. People who want to change their legal gender have to have received a diagnosis of "gender identity disorder" which involves several medical tests and a 30-day psychiatric evaluation. The psychiatric evaluations are held by medical commissions, but these commissions were previously only able to be assembled inAlmaty, Kazakhstan's largest city. Since 2023, medical commissions responsible for diagnoses of "transsexualism" can now be assembled in every region in Kazakhstan. In practice, however, the only functioning commission is based in Almaty, due to stipulations for separate rooms for urologists, gynaecologists and other kinds of specialist, which cannot be satisfied anywhere else but Almaty at present.[14]
Before trans people in Kazakhstan can be evaluated by a medical commission, they must pay around ₸100, 000tenge. If the commission's decision is positive, applicants receive a certificate which they must use within 6 months to initiate medical transition, otherwise they must start the process anew.[14]
In 2011, new guidelines were established which only allowed changes to be made to identity documents after applicants had undergonegender affirming surgery, physical and psychiatric medical examinations,hormone therapy and sterilisation. Additionally, people under 21 are not allowed to change their gender on their official identity documents.[15][16]
Transgender rights activists in Kazakhstan advocated for amendments and approached theMinistry of Health and other state institutions, which resulted in the adoption of comparatively better processes of legal gender recognition than exist in neighbouring countries as of 2017[update].[14]
Kazakhstan does not recognisesame-sex marriage orcivil unions.
As of 2020, same-sex couples can't legally adopt children in Kazakhstan.[17]
In February 2024, PresidentTokayev signed a law that would prohibit the adoption of orphans by same-sex couples. Deputy Minister of Education Natalya Jumadildaeva even stated, that the sexual orientation of the to-be parent would play a "key role" in the approval of the candidacy. She stated that it would be configured through a "special psychological test". The move was especially criticised by the independent media for settingthe Russian law as an example.[18]
The violence and discrimination against LGBTQ people in Kazakhstan are fairly common and often not reported to the police. No laws exist yet in Kazakhstan that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment, education, housing, health care, public accommodations or credit.
There are no restrictions ongay and bisexual men from donating blood by theGovernment of Kazakhstan.[19]
On 14 June 2012, Defense MinisterAdilbek Zhaksybekov was reported to have declared that gay men are not welcome in thenation's military, saying that they are exempt because they have ‘a disorder of sexual desire’. Since 2022, lesbians, gays, and bisexuals are allowed to serve openly in themilitary.[2] TheMinistry of Defense in 2022, said in an interview that no one is banned from serving in the military because of their sexual orientation.
On 26 May 2015, the Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan declared a pending bill, which would have banned the "propaganda of nontraditional sexual orientation", unconstitutional. The council rejected it because of its vague wording. The bill passed theSenate,Parliament's upper house, in February 2015 and was sent to PresidentNursultan Nazarbayev for signature. It had already been approved by thelower house.[20]Human Rights Watch said: "By rejecting this propaganda bill, Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Council set an important precedent against the adoption of discriminatory legislation."
In September 2019, theSupreme Court ruled in a landmark case that two women would receive compensation from a Facebook user who posted a video showing them kissing without their permission. The video solicited a large number of homophobic and murderous comments, and was viewed 60,000 times in a day before being taken down by the user. Human Rights Watch hailed the ruling as a milestone for privacy rights.[21]
In April 2023, Member of theMäjilis Ardaq Nazarov proposed to prohibit movies and series that bring up the topic of LGBTQ.[22] On 5 April 2024, Members of the MäjilisAshat Aimagambetov and Janarbek Äşimjanov proposed to alter the "On mass media" law in a way that would prohibit the mentions of LGBTQ people throughout Kazakh mass media.[23] Äşimjanov then claimed that this alteration would not censor information, but rather prohibit propaganda and the "imposing of biased information". It was also clarified that the change would not affect news-styled information about LGBTQ and would, rather, help to "stop the promotion of ideas that can cause division in society".[23] It is notable that if this change were to be adopted, the law's new look would liken "LGBT propaganda" to "propaganda or agitation of the cult of cruelty and violence, social, racial, national, religious, class and clan superiority". Aimagambetov, unlike Äşimjanov, refused to comment on the proposal.[24] On April 10, 2024, other Mäjilismen, specifically Edil Jañbyrşin and Samat Musabaev, proposed criminal prosecution of people promoting "LGBT propaganda".[22]
On 12 November 2025, Mäjilis approved a harsher version of the draft law in its second hearing. The legislation would ban "information containing propaganda of pedophilia and/or non-traditional sexual orientation" in both public spaces and the media. Violations would be punishable by a 10-day arrest and a fine.[8][9]
In May 2015,PlanetRomeo, an LGBTQ social network, published its first Gay Happiness Index (GHI). Gay men from over 120 countries were asked about how they feel about society's view on homosexuality, how do they experience the way they are treated by other people and how satisfied are they with their lives. Kazakhstan was ranked 118th, just aboveGhana and belowBurkina Faso, with a GHI score of 29.[25]
According to a June 2015-June 2016 survey by thePew Research Center, 89% of people in Kazakhstan opposedsame-sex marriage, with only 7% supporting it.[26]
In 2016 the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Kazakhstan published afatwa against sex-reassignment surgeries (SRS).[14]
Trans Docha is a Kazakhstan-based activist organisation focused on supporting trans sex workers.[14]
LGBTQ people in Kazakhstan face discrimination and prejudice on the grounds of their sexual orientation or gender identity during the course of their everyday lives. Manifestation of negative attitudes toward LGBTQ people, such as social exclusion, taunting, and violence, often cause the victims physical, psychological and emotional harm. In order to avoid the dangers posed by people who do not approve of non-heterosexual sexual orientations, many LGBTQ people feel compelled to keep their sexual orientation or gender identity a secret from almost all people in their lives. The majority regard it as necessary to conceal their sexual orientation or gender identity from people in the workplace in order to retain their jobs and avoid hostility from bosses and co-workers. Attempts to report homophobic and transphobic violence to police are often met with resistance and even hostility on the part of law enforcement officers.[27]
A 2011 cross-national study by theUniversity of Chicago demonstrated that a growing trend of LGBT acceptance was either slowed or reversed in Russia and some other former USSR republics, a direct opposite of world trends.[28]
According to a 2018 survey, conducted by the Republican Centre for AIDS Prevention and Control and theKazakh Ministry of Health, there were about 62,000men who have sex with men in Kazakhstan; about 6,000 inAlmaty, 3,300 inAstana, and 4,900 inKaraganda Region.[29] This number, however, is expected to be much higher, due to societal homophobia which may prevent individuals from coming out.
Kazakhstan has opposed landmark LGBTQ reforms at theUnited Nations. In 2011, it opposed the "joint statement on ending acts of violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity" at the United Nations.[30]
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| Yes/No | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Same-sex sexual activity | ||
| Same-sex sexual activity legal |  | Since 1997de facto, since 1998de jure, nationwide[44] (Lesbianism was never a criminal offence) |
| Age of consent equalised and full legalisation (16) | | Since 1997 |
| Discrimination laws | ||
| Anti-discrimination laws in employment only |  | |
| Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services | | |
| Anti-discrimination laws in the media | | |
| Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination,hate speech) | | |
| Anti-discrimination laws concerninggender identity in all areas | | |
| LGBTQ sex education and relationships taught in schools | | |
| Hate crime law includes sexual orientation and gender identity | | |
| Same-sex unions | ||
| Same-sex marriages | | Code on Marriage and Family explicitly bans persons of the same sex from marrying each other.[45] |
| Recognition ofsame-sex couples (e.g. unregistered cohabitation, life partnership) | | |
| Adoption and children | ||
| Adoption by single homosexuals in Kazakhstan or (in case of Kazakhstani children) in foreign countries thatdo not recognise same-sex marriage | | [3][4] |
| Adoption of Kazakhstani children by single homosexuals or same-sex couples in foreign countries thatdo recognise same-sex marriage | | [3][4] |
| Stepchild adoption bysame-sex couples | | [3][4] |
| Joint adoption bysame-sex couples | | [3][4] |
| Access to IVF for lesbians and automatic parenthood for both spouses after birth | | Only married couples and single women may access IVF treatments |
| Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples | | Both altruistic and commercial surrogacies are not banned and legal for heterosexual couples |
| Military service | ||
| LGBTQ people allowed to serve openly in the military | | Since 2022[2] |
| Transgender rights | ||
| Right to change legal gender | | Since 2003; but requiressex reassignment surgery, sterilisation, hormone therapy and medical examinations |
| Transgender identity declassified as an illness | | |
| Ability to change legal gender without a psychiatric or psychological evaluation | | |
| Ability to change legal gender without court approval | | |
| Ability to change legal gender for minors | | |
| Ability to change legal name without a psychiatric or psychological evaluation | | |
| Transgender people can change gender marker without sterilisation | | |
| Right to change legal gender without having to end marriage | | |
| Third gender option | | |
| Other | ||
| Conversion therapy banned on minors | | |
| Homosexuality declassified as an illness | | |
| MSMs allowed todonate blood | | Legal[19] |
cbsnews was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).reuters was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).
