Pride Month is a secret celebration in Bangladesh

FILE - In this photograph taken on Jan. 4, 2024, transgender candidate Anwara Islam Rani shakes hands with a man during a campaign event in Rangpur, ahead of Bangladesh's general election on Jan. 7. Although unsuccessful, her campaign garnered significant public support.

Pride Month, the monthlong celebration of LGBTQ+ culture and rights, is not publicly celebrated in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country where same-sex relationships are illegal under a colonial-era law dealing with “unnatural offences,” and conservative religious values are rising, despite the nation's self-imposed secular label.