Apparently, the meme sweeping Facebook in the wake of the decision by the US court to legalize same-sex marriages has not gone down well in Pakistan. Supporters of marriage equality were publicly accused of abandoning Islam, along with claims that bestiality will be next to be legalized.

The industry experts confirm that social intolerance has grown in the religiously conservative Pakistan, where radical groups have been working hard to spread a more militant version of the creed in recent years. According to the surveys, the huge population of young people in Pakistan tends to be conservative: for example, it turned out that almost 40% wanted Pakistan to be run according to Sharia law.

However, social activists point out that some people are becoming more liberal, especially on the subject of gay rights. Although the recent ruling of the US supreme court has attracted little coverage in the mainstream media, it has seen considerable scrutiny on the Internet.

Only 32 million of estimated 200 million people in the country are believed to have access to the worldwide web, but it should be noted that this figure is growing fast as smartphones gain popularity. The researchers said a growing number of poorer people are using the social networking website for the first time, because telecom companies offer free access to Facebook. Many of them have no idea what rainbow stands for.

In the meantime, homosexuality may be illegal in the country, but can be highly visible at times, with a large transgender community making their living on the streets by begging and prostitution. 6 years ago, the supreme court ruled that transgender people could identify themselves as a 3rd gender on their national identification cards. Besides, the government was ordered to help find them work.