Bangladesh think tank excludes trans activist from diversity panel amid pressure

The controversy intensified after National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Md. Sarjis Alam publicly opposed Ho Chi Minh Islam’s participation and made statements targeting homosexuality and transgender identity, portraying sexual and gender diversity as a threat to family, religion, society and the state.

His intervention was followed by substantial online hostility and mobilisation against Ho Chi Minh Islam and her participation in the conference. Her subsequent exclusion raises extremely serious concerns that discriminatory pressure directed against her identity and LGBTQI+ rights advocacy succeeded in denying a transgender human rights defender access to an important public platform.

The France-based LGBT advocacy group Justicemakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) was quick to condemn the decision to drop Ho Chi Minh Islam from the programm.

“The exclusion of Ho Chi Minh Islam following anti-LGBTQI+ mobilisation is a deeply disturbing attack on equality, dignity and meaningful participation. No transgender person or LGBTQI+ human rights defender should lose their place at the table because influential individuals or organised groups object to who they are or whose rights they defend,” says Robert J.P. Simon, Chief Adviser of JMBF.

“This is not the first time that anti-LGBT mobilisation has been promoted by the leadership of the National Citizen Party (NCP). Rather, since its inception, the party has stood against the recognition of sexual minority rights and has repeatedly mobilised to spread anti-LGBT rhetoric, sentiment and movements. The international community should take this issue seriously and should withdraw all forms of support from the NCP, as it is guided by extremist principles.”

Per a statement released by the organization, JMBF believes the removal of Ho Chi Minh Islam from the program due to her status as a transgender person “constitutes a clear violation of the fundamental human rights enshrined in the Constitution of Bangladesh and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

The JMBF statement also notes the irony of removing a someone from a panel on diversity simply because of their identity as a transgender person.

“A person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or legitimate advocacy for LGBTQI+ rights must never determine whether that person is permitted to participate in a conference, academic discussion, professional forum or other civic platform. Excluding a transgender voice from a discussion about diversity following mobilisation against her identity fundamentally contradicts the principles of diversity, inclusion and meaningful dialogue that such a platform should uphold,” the JMBF statement says.

“The exclusion of people from meaningful participation in public life because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression is fundamentally incompatible with the principles of human dignity and equality that underpin a democratic society.”

JMBF also stresses that public backlash cannot justify removal of individuals from public forums simply due to their marginalized identities.

“Discrimination cannot be justified by political influence, religious intolerance, social prejudice or mob pressure. Human rights belong equally to every person. Removing the targeted individual following such pressure creates a dangerous precedent in which sufficiently aggressive mobilisation can determine who is permitted to speak, participate and remain visible in Bangladesh’s public life,” the statement says.

“The implications extend far beyond Ho Chi Minh Islam. Such a precedent threatens LGBTQI+ persons, women, religious and ethnic minorities, human rights defenders and others whose identities or views may provoke hostility from powerful groups.”

JMBF called up on the Centre for Governance Studies to reinstate Ho Chi Minh Islam in the event programme, and for lawmakers and politicians in Bangladesh to reject anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric. It also called on the government of Bangladesh protect transgender persons and other sexual and gender minorities from discrimination, threats and violence and guarantee their equal and meaningful participation in public, academic, professional, cultural and civic life, and called on the international community to encourage the government to protect LGBTQI+ people.