Rehana Kausar (34), and Sobia Kamar (29), defied death threats when they tied the knot in a register office civil ceremony on Sunday.

Watched by their solicitors and two friends, the pair wore traditional white bridal dresses as they wed in Leeds, West Yorks.u00a0The pair, from the Lahore and Mirpur regions of Pakistan, immediately applied for political asylum after the ceremony, claiming their lives would be in danger if they returned to their native country.

Both women said they had received death threats from opponents in Pakistan - where homosexual relationships are illegal and considered against Islam.
u00a0Since news of their wedding earlier this month spread, the pair claim they have even received death threats from within the UK.

The danger was so great that even the registrar advised the couple to give serious thought to their decision to marry.u00a0Rehana, who met Sobia in Birmingham when they were both students, described her partner as her “soul mate” and said they were deeply in love.

She added: “This country allows us rights and it’s a very personal decision that we have taken. It’s no one’s business as to what we do with our personal lives.”