They face international sanctions, demonisation, [the results of] a long-running war fuelled by American assistance whose results are reflected in the demographic makeup of the nation, etc. Yes?
>> The decision in India is great news of course, though not quite as
>> far-reaching as Iran's state-sponsored sex change ;-)
>
> The darker spin on that is that it's a way of subverting same-sex
> desire, a nod to heteronormativity, even if its surgically assisted.
True. I was kidding; hence the smiley. It's a bizarre thing though, even with the above stab at an explanation (get rid of gayness surgically!).
--ravi