asifa lahore

Asifa Lahore grew up in a strict Muslim Pakistani family but upon reaching puberty, before transitioning in her 30s, realised that she was gay. This meant the performer had to reconcile her sexuality with her faith and for many years lived a double life that led to a period of depression. Now the performer identifies as trans and after initial struggles with mental health, her family and even entering into an arranged engagement has now found support from her parents. But self identifying as ‘Britain's first out Muslim drag queen’ has meant that Asifa receives death threats in the mail and online from members of the Muslim community.

After the cabaret drag scene helped define my identity as a gay man, performing made me realise 'Asifa' was more just a stage name – it was my true identity