Tag: bangladesh gay rights

Bangladesh charges extremists over gay activist murders

Dhaka (AFP) – Eight Islamist extremists from a banned group were charged by Bangladesh police on Sunday (May 12) for the 2016 murders of two prominent gay rights activists. Dhaka police’s counter-terrorism unit filed the charge-sheet against the eight men, saying they were members of Ansar al Islam, deputy commissioner of police Mohibul Islam Khan… Read more »

The ruins of Bangladesh’s LGBT community

What was once a fledgling lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka is now destroyed. In 2014 and 2015 the Bangladeshi gay scene was cautiously becoming more open. ‘Rainbow Rally’ pride parades were held and a gay magazine called Roopbaan was in print. But the LGBT community has since… Read more »

Bangladesh students arrested on suspicion of ‘being gay’

Police in Bangladesh have arrested 27 men “for homosexuality.” Same-sex relations are a crime in the conservative Muslim-majority country. An elite police unit detained the men early Friday in a raid on a community center at Keraniganj, south of the nation’s capital, Dhaka. “We’ve arrested 27 people for homosexuality. They are homosexuals. They held a… Read more »

Following Attacks, Gay Bangladeshis Are Retreating Into The Closet

“We have never imagined the situation would be like this.” Bangkok (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Seven months after al Qaeda-linked militants hacked Bangladesh’s most prominent gay activist to death, the South Asian country’s LGBT community remains in hiding, while more than a dozen LGBT people have fled abroad. “The whole community has been sent back… Read more »

Bangladesh Says It Now Knows Who’s Killing the Bloggers

Dhaka, Bangladesh — The young man, inching past a crowded checkpoint near a truck stand in Bangladesh’s capital, caught the attention of an alert police officer. His backpack, together with his appearance, from the unshaven beard to the long Punjabi tunic over baggy pants, set off the suspicion that he was an Islamist militant. The… Read more »

UK government ‘raises LGBT rights concerns’ with Bangladesh

The UK government has raised concerns with Bangladesh after a gay journalist was murdered by terror-affiliated groups. Xulhaz Mannan, the editor of Bangladesh’s only LGBT magazine Roopban, was hacked to death alongside friend Mahbub Tonoy last month, in the latest of a string of killings. An affiliate of terrorist group Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for… 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 »

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 »

ICAAP meet touted as a game changer for HIV/AIDS patients in Bangladesh

The upcoming international conference on AIDS in Dhaka has raised hopes that people living with HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh will finally be freed from social stigma. “This year is critical for us for raising public awareness, building political commitment and strengthening our network and knowledge,” Habiba Akhter, Executive Director of the Ashar Alo Society that works… Read more »

Bangladesh: Third gender hijra groups hold country’s first ever Pride march

At least 1,000 transgender hijras led Bangladesh’s first ever Pride march on Monday, marking one year since the government recognised them as a third gender. Last November, in a landmark decision, the government in Bangladesh approved a proposal of the social welfare ministry to identify “Hijra” as a third possible gender identity. Hijra, often subsumed… Read more »

Changes in social outlook must

There have to be changes in social outlook and public attitude to protect the rights of sexual minorities in Bangladesh, said discussants yesterday. The media should come forward to break the social stigma, and raise public awareness to end negative stereotypical attitude towards sexual minorities, including transgender, lesbian, gay and bisexual people, they said at… Read more »

Striking Black-And-White Portraits Shed Light On Bangladesh’s Third Gender

“I feel like a mermaid. My body tells me that I am a man but my soul tells me that I am a woman. I am like a flower, a flower that is made of paper. I shall always be loved from a distance, never to be touched and no smell to fall in love… Read more »

Bangladesh set to veto UN rights for lesbian and gay people

Bangladesh: Bangladesh says it will veto the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) proposal to provide rights for lesbian and gay people. “It goes against our values. Like many other countries including those Muslims and Christian, we opposed it,” Bangladesh Permanent Representative to the UN Abdul Momen told the Dhaka Tribune. Bangladesh, a Muslim… Read more »