Catholic LGBTQ+ Group Aids Transgender Refugee Seeking Asylum

As longtime readers of Bondings 2.0 may be aware, we often cover laws around the globe which criminalize LGBTQ+ people and often punish them harshly and severely.  We cover this issue for three reasons: 1) because Catholic Social Teaching requires that human dignity must be respected, and such laws are severe violations of that tenet; 2) because, shamefully, in a number of nations, Catholic leaders are often strong supporters of such harsh laws; 3) because, on the other hand, there are also many faithful Catholic leaders who speak out strongly against such laws and harsh treatment, including Pope Francis who in 2023 said that “being homosexual is not a crime” and that laws criminalizing such people are unjust.

Through “Arslan,” a gay man who fled his home in Turkmenistan whose story of oppression was previously featured by Bondings 2.0, the Italian LGBTQ+ Catholic organization La Tenda di Gionata came into contact with Dayana, a 30-year-old transgender woman from the same country who was similarly persecuted. Now outside her country but still living in an unstable and unsafe situation, Dayana is seeking humanitarian asylum and hoping to reach a host country where she can rebuild her life free from discrimination and subjugation.

Before helping these two victims, Alessandro Previti, a volunteer of La Tenda di Gionata, had already supported two other young gay men from Central Asia, Azat from Turkmenistan and Mansur from Tajikistan, in their efforts to leave the region and seek safety. 

Bondings 2.0’s Elisa Belotti recently spoke with Dayana to learn more about her story. TRAUMA WARNING: this story relates experiences of violent treatment, rape and torture.

When did you begin to understand your identity as a transgender woman? What did it mean to grow up in Turkmenistan with that awareness?

Ever since I was born, I felt I should have been a girl. While my mother was pregnant, she believed she was expecting a daughter, but unfortunately I was born male. From my earliest childhood, I was like a girl. I played with dolls, dreamed of becoming a woman, and naturally had a feminine way of walking. My classmates laughed at me because of it. My mother drank heavily and beat me, hoping she could change me.

What was your childhood and adolescence like?

I was born this way, but still people humiliated and insulted me. They said I wasn’t even a human being, but some kind of alien. My brother beat me because he wanted to make me into a boy, but he never succeeded. I remained who I was: a girl. I loved wearing makeup, sewing clothes, and everything connected with being a woman. That has always been who I am. But I was never respected or loved.

When did you realize that you were not safe in your country?

In 2012, when I was 16 years old, a classmate invited me to her birthday party. When I arrived at the location, there was an adult man about 30 years old,  and it turned out that my classmate sold me to him. She took the money and left. I wanted to leave too, but he locked the door and gave me alcohol. I don’t even know what exactly. I was so scared and he gave me a pill called Tramodol, a powerful opioid. He took off his pants and started raping me. I screamed, but no one came to help. I kept bleeding and crying, but he threatened that he would tell my parents and I was scared of my brother, of what he would find out about this experience.

After two weeks, the police arrived  and took me to their department’s headquarters. They interrogated me for five hours, asking me how I knew the man . I told them everything that had happened , but the police laughed at me. They said there was no rape, and they intimidated me further. They told me I would no t longer leave prison alive. Finally I was forced to admit to being homosexual, and I was arrested. They sentenced me to two years in a juvenile colony. My abductor received a sentence of two years in prison, too.

What happened after prison? Were you able to live freely in Turkmenistan?

After I was released through a presidential pardon, I found a job as a waitress and tried to rebuild my life. But the harassment never stopped. The police continued to target me because they saw me as a homosexual. They mocked and humiliated me. They even told my employer that I was “like a woman,” that I was gay, and that someone like me was not worthy of working there.

I had to leave that job and look for another one, but no one wanted to hire me because I walked and spoke like a woman. Even my neighbors used to insult me, calling me homosexual. My brother also beat me. I cried constantly. There were times when I wanted to end my life because of the way I was being treated.

What led you to the decision to leave your country and how did you manage to do it?

I was arrested for a second time in 2018, when I was 22 years old, because of accusations related to homosexuality. I was eventually released, again through a presidential pardon, but the police continued to harass me and never left me in peace. I kept trying to work and survive.

Then, in 2022, I was imprisoned for a third time and served a full sentence. In prison I was tortured. I was beaten, threatened with electric shocks, and struck with batons. The guards told me that I would never change and that they could kill me in prison. Other prisoners also beat me because I behaved like a woman.

After I was released, the persecution continued. Former inmates threatened me, saying that I would never survive outside prison and that I would end up behind bars again. I was living under constant stress. I began drinking, I was assaulted, and I continued to be persecuted. When I learned that the authorities wanted to arrest me for a fourth time, I realized I had no choice but to flee my country.

At the moment, you are outside Turkmenistan (for your safety, we will not say where), but your situation remains unstable. What are the main challenges you are facing, and what do you hope for in order to find safety?

I’ve been away from Turkmenistan for almost six months now, but I’m not entirely safe. I was treated for tuberculosis here and am currently being treated for HIV, that I got when I was raped as a teenager. My only dream is to live freely, to be free to show myself as a woman, to be able to dress as I want and live peacefully, without the threat of being deprived of freedom because of my identity.

—Elisa Belotti, New Ways Ministry, July 11, 2026

To learn more about why Catholics can and should support LGBTQ+ non-discrimination, check out one of New Ways Ministry’s latest publications, A Home for All. It explains why the Catholic faith promotes equality for LGBTQ+ people, despite some church leaders’ opposition. It also includes testimonials, discussion questions, and a list of resources. 

New Ways Ministry offers in-person and Zoom presentations on the ideas presented in A Home for All.  For more information or to request a workshop, send email to info@NewWaysMinistry.org, or call 301-277-5674.

You can find more information about A Home for All and order a copy by clicking here.