Asif Quraishi

Asifa Lahore, the alter-ego of Asif Quraishi is Britain’s first out Muslim drag queen, pushing the boundaries of what it means to be Gay and Muslim.

In 2014 Lahore came into the national spotlight when she was famously censored from discussing Islam and Homosexuality on BBC Free Speech. This caused uproar in the British press and allowed Lahore the rare opportunity to speak openly about the topic. She received death threats for her music videos and stage act due to highlighting the issue. Later that year Lahore was nominated by readers of The Independent newspaper for their Rainbow List of most prominent LGBT people in Britain entering the list at Number 86.

In 2011, Lahore made her debut and won the bronze medal of the annual Drag Idol UK competition to find the newest cabaret talent in the UK. She went on to promote and DJ at London's top Gaysian club nights, before setting up her own night, Disco Rani.

This year Asifa is featured in Channel 4’s documentary Muslim Drag Queens which aired in August 2015 drawing an audience of 1.1 million viewers. Alongside Muslim Drag Queens, 2015 has seen Asifa become established as a leading figure within in the Gaysian community receiving the prestigious LGBT award at the Attitude Magazine Pride Awards.