Human Rights Watch last week called attention to an encouraging development in Pakistan — the national human rights commission spoke up for the right of transgender people to be protected from anti-trans violence: Continue reading
Category Archives: Asia
Study urges multi-nationals to boost LGBT rights
Multi-national corporations could and should, but often don’t, help improve the lives of LGBT people in countries with anti-LGBT laws, according to a study by the Center for Talent Innovation. In a press release, the organization stated: Study Maps Challenges and Opportunities for Pro-LGBT Companies Operating in Anti-LGBT Markets Study shows multi-national corporations how to … Continue reading
Bangladesh, repeal our repressive anti-LGBTI law
London-based Bangladeshi gay rights activist Riaz Osmani today issued this statement seeking the repeal of Bangladesh’s anti-LGBTI law, Section 377 of the Penal Code. That law provides for life imprisonment for anyone who engages in “carnal intercourse against the order of nature,” which the law defines as involving penetration other than heterosexual intercourse. Osmani has … Continue reading
Progress and persecution from Jamaica to Myanmar
Many signs of progress, but also many instances of ongoing persecution of LGBTI people, are contained in the following round-up of the world’s recent LGBTI-related news, most of which was excerpted with slight modifications from the UNAIDS publication Equal Eyes: Human rights Activists in Odessa, Ukraine, convinced authorities to reconsider a last-minute ban that would … Continue reading
Good news from Malaysia, Namibia, Ukraine
Recent weeks have seen advances for trans people in Ukraine and Malaysia and perhaps for all LGBT people in Namibia. The news items in this recap were excerpted with slight modifications from ILGA’s LGBulleTIn round-up of the world’s LGBTI-related news and UNAIDS’s Equal Eyes: In Malaysia, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered the National Registration … Continue reading
After anti-trans attacks in Pakistan, abuse by doctors, police
Human Rights Watch reported: Pakistan: Attacks on Transgender Women Surge Promptly Investigate, Prosecute Those Responsible (New York, August 23, 2016) – Pakistani authorities should urgently investigate the surge in violent attacks on transgender women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Human Rights Watch said today. They should also investigate allegations that medical staff and police failed to … Continue reading
Indonesians push to prohibit gay sex, unmarried sex
BuzzFeed world correspondent J. Lester Feder and contributor Rin Hindryati in Jakarta, Indonesia, report: Homosexuality Must Be Criminalized To Protect Indonesian Values, Court Told “Our country has legalized fornication, male rape and homosexual acts. We’ve allowed our constitution to become too liberal — is that what we want?” JAKARTA — A group of academics and activists … Continue reading
Let’s celebrate: List of anti-LGBT nations shrinks again
76 countries with anti-homosexuality laws (or 72 or 78) This week’s decision by the Belize Supreme Court to overturn that nation’s anti-sodomy law has shrunk the list of nations with anti-LGBT laws once again. By this blog’s tally, the total is now 76 countries with criminal laws against sexual activity. Or the total is 72 … Continue reading
Bangladesh police say they know activists’ 5 killers
Police in Bangladesh have identified five people involved in the April 25 murder of LGBT rights activists Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy, but have not yet arrested them, according to news accounts in Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi online newspaper bdnews24.com reported: Detectives are trying to arrest these suspects, an official of the Detective Branch, speaking … Continue reading
Tiny steps forward by Islamic leaders in Pakistan, Iraq
Islamic leaders in Iraq and Pakistan have issued statements calling for toleration of some LGBTI people. Each announcement fell far short of what LGBTI activists know is necessary to achieve fair and equal treatment for LGBTI people, but each represented a shift toward acceptance of at least some members of the LGBTI community. However, the … Continue reading
