Asia
Azerbaijan worst place to be gay in Europe, finds LGBTI index
Frequent homophobic hate crimes see country join Russia and Armenia at the bottom of leading human rights survey Azerbaijan has been ranked the worst place in Europe to live as an LGBTI citizen, after meeting only 5% of a leading rights organisation’s criteria for legal equality. The ILGA-Europe Rainbow Index, released today, ranks 49 European… Read more »
Philippines Elects First Transgender Member Of Congress
Unofficial results show that the Philippines is electing its first-ever transgender member of Congress — Geraldine Roman, who’s winning nearly 62 percent of the vote in her district, according to polls. Like many Filipino politicians, Roman is part of a political dynasty: She will be taking over her House seat from her mother, currently a… Read more »
Human Rights Watch Calls Bullying Of LGBT Students In Japan ‘Epidemic’
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday released an 84-page report on the bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in Japanese schools. In the report, titled The Nail That Sticks Out Gets Hammered Down: LGBT Bullying and Exclusion in Japanese Schools, HRW mostly blames the Japanese government for the nation’s “bullying epidemic.” “Based on… Read more »
“The Nail That Sticks Out Gets Hammered Down”
LGBT Bullying and Exclusion in Japanese Schools These comics tell the stories of specific individuals Human Rights Watch interviewed, using their own words to describe their experiences. In a few instances the artist added language to provide necessary context. Summary Japan: Bullied LGBT Students Unprotected May 5, 2016 Japan: Bullied LGBT Students Unprotected Policies, National… Read more »
US government: Bangladesh must act over murder of gay journalist
US Secretary of State John Kerry has told Bangladesh to take action after the brutal murder of a gay activist. Xulhaz Mannan, the editor of Bangladesh’s only LGBT magazine Roopban, was hacked to death alongside friend Mahbub Tonoy last week. US Secretary of State John Kerry has now contacted PM Hasina and urged her to… Read more »
Islamist Extremists Weren’t the Only Killers Of My Friend Xulhaz Mannan
I had been trying to avoid it for hours last night but couldn’t escape it any longer, as it was all over social media. “Xulhaz Mannan, 35, the editor at Bangladesh’s first LGBT magazine Roopbaan, along with Tonoy Mahbub, a fellow activist, was hacked to death.” Many news reports read like this and I was… Read more »
Criminalizing Men Who Have Sex With Men Boosts AIDS: A Lesson From Sri Lanka
Over the past three months, 70 new cases of HIV have been reported in Sri Lanka, representing an increase from this time last year. The National STD /AIDS Control Programme says this is an upward trend for the country; and the programme’s Director, Dr. Sisira Liyanage, has called for the government to take the crucial… Read more »
Gay couple win high-profile surrogacy battle in Thailand
A court in Thailand has awarded custody of a baby to a same-sex couple after a high-profile custody battle with a Thai surrogate mother. The Thai surrogate handed over the baby girl to Gordon Lake and Manuel Santos after her birth last year – but ten days later, she refused to sign the documentation needed… Read more »
Founder of Bangladesh’s first and only LGBT magazine killed
Xulhaz Mannan hacked to death in country where several academics and bloggers have been brutally murdered The founder of Bangladesh’s only lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) magazine has been killed in the latest of a series of horrific murders of bloggers and activists. Xulhaz Mannan was one of two people hacked to death in… Read more »
Bangladesh LGBT editor hacked to death
Bangladesh police say a top gay rights activist and editor at the country’s only LGBT magazine is one of two people who have been hacked to death. The US ambassador to Bangladesh condemned the killing of Xulhaz Mannan, who also worked at the US embassy. Another person was also injured when the attackers entered a… Read more »
Bangladesh: Authorities fail to curb brutal killing spree as LGBTI editor hacked to death
“The brutal killing today of an editor of an LGBTI publication and his friend, days after a university professor was hacked to death, underscores the appalling lack of protection being afforded to a range of peaceful activists in the country,” said Champa Patel, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director. “There have been four deplorable killings so… Read more »
See how India’s transgender community celebrated Hinduism’s biggest festival
The transgender Indian community — called hijras — have been a part of Indian society and culture since ancient times, but they remain largely on its margins, as beggars, street performers or sex workers. Although India’s Supreme Court officially recognized transgender people as a third gender in 2014, they are continuing to fight for acceptance,… Read more »
China rights: Gay people pledge not to enter into sham marriages
A social media campaign has taken off among China’s lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) community which sees members pledging not to enter into sham marriages with straight people. Since last week, a number of users on popular microblogging network Sina Weibo have been posting selfies of themselves with the hashtag #I’m gay and won’t… Read more »
Judge in China Rules Gay Couple Cannot Marry
Beijing — A judge ruled on Wednesday against a gay couple who had sought the right to marry, in China’s first court case addressing the issue of same-sex unions. The couple, Sun Wenlin and Hu Mingliang, filed a lawsuit against a civil affairs bureau in Changsha, Hunan Province, in southern China, after the office refused… Read more »
Gay Malaysian student given refugee status in Canada after threats
An out gay Malaysian student has been given refugee status in Canada after receiving threats. Hazim Ismail, who says he is an atheist, was granted leave to stay in Canada by the country’s Immigration and Refugee Board. He had been attacked due to his sexual orientation back in Malaysia The University of Winnipeg student will… Read more »
Review: First Queer Voices from Thailand by Peter A. Jackson
Our Hong Kong correspondent Nigel Collett shares his thoughts on the recently published First Queer Voices from Thailand: Uncle Go’s Advice Columns for Gays, Lesbians and Kathoeys In 2008, the publication by Hong Kong University Press of Helen Hok-Sze Leung’s Undercurrents: Queer Culture and Postcolonial Hong Kong marked the start of what was to become… Read more »
Al-Qaeda offshoot claims responsibility for murder of LGBT journalist for ‘promoting homosexuality’
An affiliate of terrorist group Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the murder of a journalist in Bangladesh. Xulhaz Mannan, the editor of Bangladesh’s only LGBT magazine Roopban, was hacked to death yesterday, when thugs raided his apartment. His friend Mahbub Tonoy, also an LGBT activist, was also killed in the attack. Reuters now reports that… Read more »
Watch The Trailer for China’s ‘First Gay-Themed Film’
The country’s censors have historically taken a dim view of homosexuality It is not a secret that the Chinese government remains uncomfortable on the subject of homosexuality. True, the world’s most populous nation decriminalized gay sex in 1997 and homosexuality was removed from the official list of mental disorders four years later. But the treatment… Read more »
Things to Know About LGBT Issues in Indonesia
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population of Muslim-majority Indonesia has long faced homophobia, but attacks and harassment have reached a fever pitch in recent months, with antigay rallies by religious hard-liners and declarations by some officials that it represents a threat to the country’s values. Here are five things to know about being LGBT… Read more »
Virulent anti-gay remarks test Indonesia’s moderate image
Jakarta, Indonesia (AP) — Gays are a contagion, declares the banner in bold red and black lettering that hangs on the sidewalk of a bustling neighborhood in the Indonesian capital close to embassies, luxury hotels and the homes of some of the country’s leaders. Erected by an ultra-conservative Islamic group, it’s the latest manifestation of… Read more »
Tangerine Walk-In Counselling
Email to Richard Ammon: I assume you have seen the news artilces on Google from last year? Also I assume you are asking about the Tangerine Clinic here in Bangkok. Here’s their English language website: Tangerine Walk-in As well, here’s a bio of their clinic director, Frits van Griensven: World Heath Organization If you have… Read more »
India finally has a gay marriage bureau!
An NRI has established India’s first avenue where gays can find their soulmate. The Supreme Court’s decision to criminalize homosexuality has not deferred India to have its first marriage bureau for homosexuals. An NRI has established India’s first avenue where gays can find their soulmate. The bureau will help them find the right match, both… Read more »
Dreaming of Gay Rights in Delhi
New Delhi — Danish Sheikh’s life has mirrored India’s tortuous relationship with gay rights. In 2011, when he was a young lawyer, he held a placard at the Bangalore Pride March that read: “Elizabeth Taylor had eight husbands. I just want one.” That lightheartedness was part of the spirit of a happier time. In 2009,… Read more »
The brutal reality transgender women face under Myanmar’s ‘darkness law’
Editors’ Note: This story describes situations that could be upsetting for some readers. Yangon, Myanmar — A transgender sex worker in Myanmar’s main city of Yangon was waiting for customers on a dark street one night last year when two police officers approached her and demanded she have sex with them for free. When she… Read more »
In Uzbekistan, transgender man breaks barriers with transparent transition
Yan has a harrowing reminder of how haters in Uzbekistan treat transgender people. “There’s a scar left by a screwdriver next to my liver,” the craggy-bearded and long-haired transgender man says, describing how his college classmates attacked him in 1997 in Tashkent, the capital of this former Soviet republic, a mostly Muslim nation of 31… Read more »
India rejects bill to decriminalise gay sex… again
Politicians in India have voted down a bill that would decriminalise gay sex for the second time in three months. Activists have been battling to remove Section 377, the country’s colonial-era anti-gay law, which was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 2013. However, the cause has failed to pick up steam in Parliament, and activists… Read more »
Islamists Shutter First Trans Mosque
Indonesia is more progressive when it comes to gender fluidity than the West, but that tolerance has come under attack by Islamists. On Sundays, Shinta Ratri would sit in the back of the mosque, in her hijab and a full-body prayer garment, preparing to pray among her transgender sisters. Most of them would line up… Read more »
China bans depictions of gay people on television
Content that ‘exaggerates dark side of society’ is banned from TV – from homosexuality to adultery, showing cleavage and even reincarnation The Chinese government has banned all depictions of gay people on television, as part of a cultural crackdown on “vulgar, immoral and unhealthy content”. Chinese censors have released new regulations for content that “exaggerates… Read more »
CoE Report Calls Out Georgia for Discrimination against Religious Minorities and LGBT
Discrimination against religious minorities and the LGBT community is on the rise, as is a law enforcement deficient in Georgia, says the Council of Europe’s Anti-racism Commission. On 1st of March, 2016, The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published its fourth report on Georgia, analysing recent developments and outstanding issues, and providing recommendations… Read more »
To Be, or Not to Be, in Bhutan
On My First Visit to Bhutan in 2007, one of the participants on our trip asked our guide Dorji about gay people in Bhutan. Dorji’s straight-faced reply was “I don’t think we have gay people in Bhutan.” Our driver, Karma, smirked at this comment, saying that he thought otherwise. But it was common to hear… Read more »
Indonesia psychiatrists label homosexuality, bisexuality and transgender as mental disorders
Indonesia’s leading psychiatric body says that LGBT can be cured through proper treatment. The Indonesian Psychiatrists Association (PDSKJI) has said that such ‘sexual tendencies’ are triggered by external factors and can be healed through psychiatric treatment. PDSKJI member Suzy Yusna Dewi talked to the Jakarta Post to address the country’s rising concerns on the growing… Read more »
China removes gay high school drama from streaming sites
China’s first gay web series has been removed from streaming sites. Addicted – a 15-episode series about a gay high school couple – vanished from the internet without warning on Monday (February 22), leaving angry fans in the country unable to watch the last three episodes. According to local media reports, censors took issue with… Read more »
Thailand Opens Clinic For Transgender People
Thailand opened its first clinic for transgender people in December. The Tangerine Community Health Center is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other development groups. It offers psychosocial counseling, hormone administration and pap smears. U.S. Ambassador Glyn T. Davis attended the clinic’s opening in Bangkok. “The Tangerine Center will provide… Read more »
North Korea’s only openly gay defector: ‘it’s a weird life’
It wasn’t until he escaped that Jang Yeong-jin even knew the word to describe his sexuality. He talks to Jumin Kim about his new-found identity By North Korean standards Jang Yeong-jin had a normal start in life: he joined the military at 19, completed 10 years of national service and married soon after. But trapped… Read more »
Japanese tech giant Panasonic to ‘recognise’ same-sex marriages despite lack of legal status
Japanese tech giant Panasonic has made a bold statement by extending employment rights to its gay and lesbian employees – despite a lack of government recognition. Though homosexuality has long been legal in Japan, the country does not formally recognise same-sex partnerships – and households headed by same-sex couples are ineligible for the legal protections… Read more »
Meet the man who escaped North Korea, learned what homosexuality is, and came out as gay
A gay defector from North Korea has revealed he had no idea what homosexuality was until he left the country. The reclusive Asian country is renowned for its secrecy, warmongering, and the oppressive rule of the Kim dynasty, currently headed by 33-year-old Kim Jong-un, who claims to have cured AIDS and hangovers. Given the country’s… Read more »
Dispatches: No ‘Honor’ in Murder in Pakistan
They planned to shoot 19-year-old Saba Qaiser in the head, put her body in a bag, and dump it in the river. It’s pure luck that they didn’t succeed. Saba was wounded but not dead, and managed to drag herself out of the river. Her attackers? Her father and her uncle, who sought revenge on… Read more »
Social workers in Singapore not trained to deal with LGBT issues
Reports reveal that three quarters of social workers in Singapore said they have not had any training on LGBT issues. But one group is doing something to change that. Social workers in Singapore feel ill-equipped to attend to clients with LGBT-related issues according to Straits Times. In November 2015, a study published in the International… Read more »
MUI: UNDP’s $8 million program to protect LGBT rights will destroy Indonesian culture
The “LGBT panic” in Indonesia continues. After pushing to get rid of “gay emoticons”, religious leaders and Indonesian politicians are now going after a much more serious target – an initiative by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) aimed at protecting LGBT rights. On Sunday, Tengku Zulkarnain, the secretary general of the Indonesian Ulema Council… Read more »
Georgia ranked 23rdin Europe for LGBT rights legislation
Tbilisi, DFWatch–Rainbow Europe’s LGBTI rights ranking praises positive developments in Georgia despite major setbacks. Georgia was placed in the middle of a ranking of European countries which assessed each country’s legislation regarding rights of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex) people. According to Rainbow Europe’s ranking, Georgia came 23rd from among 49 European countries,… Read more »
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