Balkan is governed by federal Turkmenistan law. Learn more
    Homosexuality
    ✖ Male illegal, female legal
    Gay Marriage
    ✖ Unrecognized
    Censorship
    Ambiguous
    Changing Gender
    ✖ Legal, but requires surgery
    Gender-Affirming Care
    ✔ Legal
    Non-Binary Gender Recognition
    ✖ Not legally recognized
    Discrimination
    ✖ Illegal in some contexts
    Employment Discrimination
    ✖ Gender identity only
    Housing Discrimination
    ✖ No protections
    Adoption
    ✖ Single only
    Intersex Infant Surgery
    Unknown
    Military
    Ambiguous
    Donating Blood
    ✔ Legal with restrictions
    Conversion Therapy
    ✖ Sexual orientation only
    Age of Consent
    Female equal, male N/A
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Public Opinion

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History

Homosexual activity in Balkan

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Homosexual activity in Balkan is male illegal, female legal.

Current status
Since 1999
Male illegal, female legal
Male homosexuality is explicitly illegal and sodomy— defined as sexual intercourse between men —is punishable by up to two years in prison, with additional terms of two to five years in a labor camp possible, under the Criminal Code of Turkmenistan, Chapter 3; Article 135, section. In addition, the provisions of Article 19 of the code allow for increased penalties for repeat convictions, applying to any crime under the code. Prior to a 2019 amendment, the 1997 code's maximum term was two years.
Sources:
www.lemonde.fr
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Male illegal, female legal
up to 2 years imprisonment for men
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Mar 7, 1934–Jan 1, 1998
Male illegal, female uncertain under federal Turkmenistan law
An article under which sodomy was punishable by imprisonment from 5 to 8 years appeared in the Soviet Criminal Code on March 7, 1934 - number 154-a: “Sexual intercourse between a man and a man (sodomy) - imprisonment for a term of three to five years. Sodomy committed with the use of violence or taking advantage of the dependent position of the victim - imprisonment for a term of five to eight years."

Same-sex marriage in Balkan

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Same-sex marriage in Balkan is unrecognized.

Current status
Since May 18, 1992
Unrecognized
Marriage is not recognized. However, it is implied to be illegal for male as male homosexuality is illegal.
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Censorship of LGBT issues in Balkan

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Censorship of LGBT issues in Balkan is ambiguous.

Current status
Since Apr 14, 2022
Ambiguous
No laws censoring LGBTQ+ issues
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Until Apr 14, 2022
Other punishment
In Turkmenistan, there are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics.
Sources:
No laws against it
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Right to change legal gender in Balkan

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Right to change legal gender in Balkan is legal, but requires surgery.

Current status
Since Apr 5, 1972
Legal, but requires surgery
the Soviet 1972 law allowing legal sex change after undergoing sex reassignment surgery was never repealed
Until Apr 5, 1972
N/A
No Rules in Place.
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Gender-affirming care in Balkan

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Gender-affirming care in Balkan is legal.

Current status
Since 1999
Legal
In 1999, Turkmenistan adopted the ICD-10 classification, which contains codes for diagnosing transsexualism in adulthood and childhood, which authorize the initiation of medical transition.
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Legal, but restricted for minors
In 1983, transsexualism began to be professionally diagnosed in the Soviet Union, which allowed the prescription of hormone therapy.
Sources:
russiapost.info/society/lgbt
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Restricted
In 1926, the Soviet Union's Ministry of Internal Affairs legalized sex reassignment surgery
Sources:
russiapost.info/society/lgbt
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Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Balkan

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Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Balkan is not legally recognized.

Current status
Not legally recognized
there are no laws recognizing this.
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LGBT discrimination in Balkan

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LGBT discrimination in Balkan is illegal in some contexts.

Current status
Since Jul 1, 2009
Illegal in some contexts
Transsexual people who have undergone a formal gender change are protected against discrimination under labor law, including the protection of their privacy.
Until Jul 1, 2009
No protections
As male homosexuality is illegal, there are no protection for LGBTQ+ populations (including women and other gender identities)
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LGBT employment discrimination in Balkan

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LGBT employment discrimination in Balkan is gender identity only.

Current status
Since Jul 1, 2009
Gender identity only
Article 7 of the Labor Code of July 1, 2009 and Art. 6 of the Employment Law of June 29, 2016, specify state guarantees regarding legal protection against all forms of discrimination, including those contained in Art. 17 1) within the scope of the obligation to inform, submitted to the National Employment Agency in order to monitor potential cases of discrimination, including on the basis of gender. Since 1972, pursuant to the MOH regulation and then pursuant to Art. 21 of the Civil Code of July 17, 1998, Transsexual people have the right to legally change their gender after undergoing gender reassignment surgery, which was confirmed in an official document of the Turkmen State Publishing Service in the field of medicine and health from 2012, which recognized Transsexualism as a problem under consideration in Turkmenistan, taking into account medical procedures based on ICD(1981, 1999). According to Law No. 519-V on information about private life and its protection of March 20, 2017, Transsexual people who have formally changed their official documents are protected against discrimination by employers.
Until Jul 1, 2009
No protections
No anti-discrimination laws regarding sexual orientation or gender for transgender people
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LGBT housing discrimination in Balkan

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LGBT housing discrimination in Balkan is no protections.

Current status
Since May 18, 1992
No protections
Homosexuality is illegal there.
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Same-sex adoption in Balkan

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Same-sex adoption in Balkan is single only.

Current status
Since Jul 1, 2020
Single only
Article 57 of the Act on Civil Status Records specifies in point 1 that an application for adoptive adoption of a child should be submitted to the competent RYNÝ institution through a written application for state registration of the child's adoption, containing the decision of the voivode or a final court decision on the adoption of the child. Such an application may be submitted by an individual or a heterosexual couple.
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Until Jul 1, 2020
Illegal
NO laws for same sex couples.
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Intersex infant surgery in Balkan

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Intersex infant surgery in Balkan is unknown.

Current status
Unknown

Serving openly in military in Balkan

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Serving openly in military in Balkan is ambiguous.

Current status
Ambiguous
The legal status regarding the service of homosexual and transgender people in Turkmenistan is unknown.
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Blood donations by MSMs in Balkan

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Blood donations by MSMs in Balkan is legal with restrictions.

Current status
Legal with restrictions
HIV test is required. There is no ban on blood donation by homosexuals in Turkmenistan.
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Conversion therapy in Balkan

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Conversion therapy in Balkan is sexual orientation only.

Current status
Since Dec 10, 2012
Sexual orientation only
The document of the Turkmenistan State Publishing Service in the field of medicine and health from 2012 recognizes Transsexualism as a medical problem under consideration in Turkmenistan, taking into account medical procedures based on the ICD (1981, 1999). Due to the functioning of exclusively state health care, the guidelines must be followed by all doctors.
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Until Dec 10, 2012
Not banned
According to the ILGA World, there's no ban on conversion therapy in Turkmenistan.
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Equal age of consent in Balkan

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Equal age of consent in Balkan is female equal, male n/a.

Current status
Since Jan 1, 2014
Female equal, male N/A
Set age of 16 years for same sexual activity between women and for heterosexual sexual activity. However male same sexual activity is illegal
Sources:
"NGO Submission In Connection with Turkmenistan's Mid-Term Reporting On the Implementation of the 2018 UPR Recommendations (Third Cycle)"
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