Asia
Nepal’s Sunil Pant Keeps His Country at the Forefront of LGBT Rights
There is not one single gay bar in Nepal. Yet this small country, which ranks near the bottom of the Human Development Index, emerges as a world leader in progressive laws supporting LGBT individuals. The man behind all of this is Sunil Pant, Founder and Director of the Blue Diamond Society, Nepal’s LGBT organization. Under… Read more »
Malaysian activist responds to MP’s call for ban on LGBT politicians
Pang Khee Teik says ‘only the morally bankrupt… are threatened by the honesty and transparency of the openly LGBT’ Malaysian sexualities rights activist Pang Khee Teik has responded to MP Zahrain Mohamed Hashim’s attempt to table an emergency motion in parliament last week to bar LGBT people from becoming MPs and senators. Pang said: ‘They… Read more »
Bullying in Armenia
If only for the impact that inspired young people from Armenia & elsewhere to open up this [Born This Way Foundation Armenia] and similar pages and share their stories of bullying, bravery, individuality, coming to terms with who they are… Lady Gaga will be remembered with great respect. CivilNetTV reports: “Bullying is just as common… Read more »
1 in 5 gay people in Taiwan have attempted suicide: Survey
Despite Taiwan’s reputation as one of Asia’s gay-friendliest territories, about 30 per cent of those surveyed have considered taking their own lives, and of these 18 per cent have actually attempted suicide while over half said they had been targets of verbal harassment, physical violence and sexual abuse. A survey of over 2,000 gay men… Read more »
LGBT film released in Indonesia
Sanubari Jakarta features ten tales of LGBT life in Indonesia Sanubari Jakarta (‘Jakarta Deep Down’), a collection of stories about LGBT lives in the capital of Indonesia, was released in cinemas yesterday. The film was made by a collective of ten directors with support from the Kresna Duta Foundation (an independent film funders), LGBT center… Read more »
Mothers of Taiwanese gay couple appear in court to show support
The mothers of Chen Jing-hsueh and Gao Jhih-wei – a gay couple who filed a legal petition to seek legal recognition of their marriage – appeared in court on Wednesday with their sons for the first time, and spoke to the media about accepting and supporting their sons’ sexuality and decision to be married. Last… Read more »
Chinese erotic gay fiction site shut down
Founder of homoerotic fiction site imprisoned and fined, case reveals that most stories were written by young women around 20 years old The Chinese government has shut down a website that published homoerotic fantasy stories and imprisoned and fined its founder. A surprising aspect of the case was that most of the writers of the… Read more »
State-run TV in Malaysia to ‘ban’ programmes featuring gay characters
The Malaysian Information Department has banned television shows which feature gay characters, starting with state-run channels. The country’s Deputy Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Maglin Dennis D’Cruz said the ban would be effective immediately beginning with state-owned TV and radio stations Mr D’Cruz said: “If it means cancelling some of the shows, so be… Read more »
Malaysia announces funding for counsellors to tackle gay ‘phenomenon’
Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced funding yesterday to enable counsellors to tackle “sexual orientation disorders like LGBT”. The politician was speaking at the launch of National Counselling, Education and Career Carnival and Improving Professional Counselling seminar at Universiti Putra Malaysia, The Malaysian Sun Daily records. Muhyiddin said the funding “includes counselling… Read more »
Windows into domestic gay Thailand
A exhibition of tender photographs of gay couples in their homes is showing in Bangkok, Gay Star News interviews the Thai photographer Piryarat Piyapongwiwat Queerness, an exhibition at the Toot Yung gallery in Bangkok presents windows into the domestic lives of gay couples in the city. Piryarat Piyapongwiwat, the photographer behind the exhibition, and featured… Read more »
Afghanistan sees rise in ‘dancing boys’ exploitation
Dehrazi, Afghanistan — The 9-year-old boy with pale skin and big, piercing eyes captivated Mirzahan at first sight. “He is more handsome than anyone in the village,” the 22-year-old farmer said, explaining why he is grooming the boy as a sexual partner and companion. There was another important factor that made Waheed easy to take… Read more »
Indian Psychiatric Association Journal Editorial on Homosexuality
The Indian Journal of Psychiatry, official publication of Indian Psychiatric Society, in its editorial ‘Homosexuality and India’ in its first quarter 2012 issue, Volume 54(1), written by TS Sathyanarayana Rao, the Journal’s Honorary Editor from JSS Medical College, Mysore, and KS Jacob, Christian Medical College, Vellore, state that “the argument that homosexuality is a stable… Read more »
Male nude photography exhibition shut-down in Delhi
Homoerotic exhibition at Alliance Francaise closed down after a complaint An exhibition in Delhi by Indian-born London-based photographer Sunil Gupta was shut-down by police this week after a complaint that it was obscene. The exhibition at the Indian capital’s Alliance Francaise opened last Friday and first the centre took down some of the photographs in… Read more »
Sexual Orientation Change Efforts by Medical Professionals in India
Even though for the past several years homosexuality is not considered a disorder by itself in medical circles around the world, some Indian medical professionals continue to be in the grips of homophobia, religious intolerance and outdated knowledge. In India, a very small percentage of medical malpractice cases come to light chiefly because of mass… Read more »
Gay Taiwanese couple make bid to be registered as same-sex household in landmark hearing
A Taiwanese gay couple who have been together for six years are to apply to the Taipei High Administrative Court in a bid to be registered as such under the country’s Department of Household Legislation. Chen Jing-hsueh and Gao Jhih-wei had their marriage formally recorded in a family pedigree last year – the first among… Read more »
Human Side of LGBT Issues in Armenia
One of the most important issues of human rights protection in Armenia is the issue of LGBT community. Due to mention that the Armenian legislation does not include any direct norm regarding the LGBT people. A discrimination prohibiting norm is the article 14.1 of RA Constitution, which states; “Everyone shall be equal before the law.… Read more »
Gays Had Freedom in pre-British India
After remaining “shy” in revealing its stand on gay sex in the Supreme Court for over two years, the Union government now seems to have gone to the other extreme stating that homosexuals had far greater freedom to satisfy their “fancies” in India than the West where it today has taken the shape of a… Read more »
India’s attorney-general blames Victorian Britain for anti-gay laws
In an apparent change of heart from the position it adopted three years ago, the Indian government has said that homosexuality was tolerated in pre-colonial India, and it was only the British who imposed their Victorian values of morality on what was a largely liberal land. India’s chielf law officer GE Vahanvati told the Supreme… Read more »
Nepal’s first gender-neutral public toilet to be unveiled
Nepal’s first openly gay MP has secured the opening of the country’s first gender-neutral toilet. The public convenience, paid for by a Parliamentary Development Fund, will opened next week in the western city of Nepalgunj under the auspices of Sunil Pant. Mr Pant told PinkNews.co.uk “I decided to use part of my Parliamentary Development Fund… Read more »
India govt in favour of decriminalising gay sex
The India government said it fully accepts the Delhi high court landmark 2009 verdict, which decriminalised consensual gay sex between adults in private. The India government today clarified its stand on gay sex, telling the Supreme Court it is in favour of decriminalisation and does not object to the Delhi High Court verdict. Attorney General… Read more »
Over three-quarters of Chinese gay students bullied at school
New survey says 77% respondents were victims of school bullying based on sexual orientation or gender identity in China A new survey released for IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia) has shown that over three-quarters of gay students in China were victims of bullying at school. The survey with 421 gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight… Read more »
What is it like to be a lesbian in Hong Kong?
Life is never easy when you are alone in a foreign country, let alone if you are a lesbian in Hong Kong, where the lesbian scene is preciously rare. In a city like Hong Kong, where people come and go so quickly and going out for drinks is almost the only option if you want… Read more »
Gay, transgender activists still in contention for Komnas HAM role
Indonesian gay activist Dede Oetomo and transgender Yulianus “Mami Yuli” Rettoblaut are both still in the running for National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) leader position. Both names are among the 120 selected applicants that the selection committee announced in a press conference on Wednesday. “The selection team considers both of them to be… Read more »
Govt. submits data on gay population
New Delhi – India has an estimated 25 lakh gay population and about 7 per cent (1.75 lakh) of them have HIV, the government told the Supreme Court on Tuesday. “The population of Men who have Sex with Men was estimated to be 25 lakh in India,” the government said in its affidavit filed in… Read more »
Sex workers educated through training
Everybody dreams of having a secure and respectable job. Especially for women who need to support their families, but the hardships they face may drive them into prostitution. Being a prostitute, however, does not mean they have no right to proper healthcare and welfare. With this in mind, Kusiyah, a peer educator with Kenanga Indah… Read more »
Chinese “gay wives” face legal limbo, cultural bias
Beijing (Reuters) – In the eight years since Tianlei told his parents he was gay, they’ve put relentless pressure on him to act straight and marry. “My parents push me to deceive a girl into marrying me,” said Tianlei, a 28-year-old company manager in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, using a nickname. “They just… Read more »
Sex work in Cambodia
Having the right to a career path like anyone else seems a small thing to ask. In Phnom Penh, however, transgender sex worker Sam Sela, from Women’s Network for Unity (WNU), the 6,400-member sex workers’ union in Cambodia, has been rejected for jobs even in low-wage restaurants and garment factories. Erotic massage sex worker Keo… Read more »
Pakistan Opposes UN Discussion of Anti-gay Violence
Supported by all 57 nations of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation London – Pakistan and the Islamic bloc of nations at the UN have declared their opposition to the UN Human Rights Council discussing discrimination and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. A panel discussion is scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, 7 March… Read more »
Children of Srikandi: Indonesia’s first lesbian film
Having had its world premiere at the recent Berlin Film Festival, Children of Srikandi – the first film to document the lives of queer women in Indonesia – will likely be screened at a LGBT film festival near you this year. Fridae speaks with co-producers Laura Coppens and Angelika Levi, and co-director Yulia Dwi Andriyanti… Read more »
Malaysia: Court rejects Seksualiti Merdeka’s application to pursue a judicial review against a police ban
Seksualiti Merdeka’s leave of application to pursue a judicial review against a police ban of its programme in 2011 has been rejected by the Kuala Lumpur High Court today. In January, Fridae reported that five applicants – festival co-founder Pang Khee Teik, Angela Marianne Kuga Thas, S Thilaga Socky Pillai, Siti Zabedah Kasim and Michelle… Read more »
Mass Evictions in Baku as Eurovision Nears
With the Eurovision Song Contest just two months away, the pace of construction in host city Baku, Azerbaijan, has reached its red-hot apex. Caspian shore roads are being extended, glorious marble parks are being laid, and the city’s signature downtown concert venue is gasping toward completion. The government has invested millions in a frenzied city… Read more »
Indonesia bans international gay advocacy website
Several Internet service providers and mobile phone operators in Indonesia have banned the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) website for containing “pornography.” Are any LGBT websites banned in your country? Anyone trying to access the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) website in Indonesia is likely to encounter the following… Read more »
36% jump in HIV among Mumbai gays in 2 yrs: Study
Mumbai: A notable increase in the prevalence of HIV among men having sex with men (MSM) in the recently concluded HIV Sentinel Surveillance in the city has alarmed anti-HIV crusaders. The annual surveillance carried out by the National Aids Control Organisation (Naco) has pegged the prevalence at 12.5% in 2010-11 (April-March ) compared to 9.2%… Read more »
‘LGBT issue should surpass the elite’
Beyond boundaries Like most people, Tanvi Talwar believed that ‘hijras’ are scary. She never imagined that she could be friends with anyone from the hijra community. Until, she met Sneha. On the last day of the fourth Bangalore Queer Film Fest at the Alliance Francaise, Tanvi Talwar, director of ‘Between The Two’ spoke to Deccan… Read more »
Homosexuality in India: A Literary History
Dubious (a poem by Vikram Seth): Some men like Jack and some like Jill; I’m glad I like them both; but still… In the strict ranks of Gay and Straight What is my status? Stray? or Great? When Vikram Seth wrote “Dubious” many years ago, he may not have realized how long his poem would… Read more »
Burmese rights group to broadcast LBGT news online
A Chiang Mai-based LGBT rights group that serves the Burmese LGBT community and began Rainbow TV programs in late 2011 says it will continue to broadcast television programs on a monthly basis. The following was first published by the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma on Feb 19, 2012: In 2012, the Colours Rainbow group… Read more »
HC verdict on gay sex has helped LGBT
New Delhi – There has been greater societal acceptance and decrease in police harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community after the Delhi High Court’s landmark verdict of banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, said a study. The research conducted over a period of six months, by Haryana-based Jindal Global Law… Read more »
Thai NGO advocates safe sex in Bangkok red-light districts
Bangkok, Thailand – It was an early Monday evening and the red light district in Thailand’s capital was already heaving — full of locals and foreigners drinking sundowner cocktails and enjoying the flesh parading before their eyes. Street vendors were selling food, clothes, souvenirs and Valentine’s Day gifts. They probably weren’t expecting a group of… Read more »
Hon. Michael Kirby Calls for Decriminalization of Homosexuality in Asia Pacific
Retired Australian High Court judge Michael Kirby has called on Asian and Pacific nations to decriminalise homosexuality. Mr Kirby told Radio Australia’s Asia Pacific program that in 41 of 54 Commonwealth nations, laws against homosexuals are still “steadfastly in force… They [the laws] isolate people, stigmatise them, and make them second-class citizens,” he said. Mr… Read more »
Meet India’s first transgender pastor
Shunned and traumatized as a youngster, 25-year-old Bharathi now preaches to a congregation of 45 respectful parishioners, including 14 families, as India’s first transgender pastor. Bharathi, who completed her bachelor’s degree in theology last April, has been a pastor at the Evangelical Church of India (ECI) branch in Chengalpattu, on the outskirts of Chennai, for… Read more »
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