Article: Muslim and Asian groups get greater Mardi Gras exposure | Star Online

Muslim and Asian groups get greater Mardi Gras exposure | Star Online
http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/australia-news/new-south-wales-news/2012/02/16/muslim-and-asian-groups-get-greater-mardi-gras-exposure/71924

Muslim and Asian groups get greater Mardi Gras exposure

Posted on 16 February 2012

Share|

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 Votes

This year's Sydney Mardi Gras will see the biggest involvement from the Australian Muslim community to date, while there is much on offer from the Asian Australian community as well.

Marching group Muslims Against Homophobia is participating in the parade for the second time. Spokeswoman Alice Aslan said the group was about visibility and acceptance.

"We are proudly representing queer Muslims and by being very visible we are trying to inspire everyone from a Muslim background and Muslims in Australia to get involved in this campaign," she said.

Aslan said she found it was becoming easier in Muslim communities to talk about issues of same-sex attraction.

"There is now a movement by gay and lesbian Muslims in both Eastern countries and Western countries and I think that makes it easier for Muslims in general, not only in Australia, to talk about these issues."

This year's Queer Thinking program features sessions titled 'Do you see me? Behind the mask of the Asian gay man' and 'I am a Queer Muslim' featuring Melbourne-based lawyer and social justice activist Alyena Mohummadally.

'I am a Queer Muslim' is presented by Muslims Against Homophobia. To the group's knowledge, this is the first time a Muslim group has presented an official Mardi Gras event.

The sessions will be held on February 25 at the Seymour Centre.

Also on February 25, members of Sydney's LGBTI Filipino community will battle it out at Petersham RSL to become Mardi Gras King and Queen of the Night in the Masque variety show. Magician Jonas Jost and the Trikone and Mindana dancers will perform.

Masque is a fundraiser for ACON's Gay Asian Men's Project.

Then the Unmask exhibition on February 28 explores the diversity of NSW's Asian gay community and aims to capture the essence of what it means to be Asian, male and gay.

A-Men, a new photo essay book produced by the Gay Asian Men's Project which captures the crossroads of art, sexuality and cultural identity, will be launched at the exhibition. There will also be a fashion runway show as well as music and cultural dance performances.

INFO: www.mardigras.org.au

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Article: Special Report: Despite issues, transgenders celebrate voting rights

Special Report: Despite issues, transgenders celebrate voting rights
http://tribune.com.pk/story/327396/special-report-despite-issues-transgenders-celebrate-voting-rights/

RAWALPIN­DI/KARACHI/PESHAWAR/LAHORE: 

Trans­gen­ders took a giant leap towards becom­ing fully fledged cit­i­zens of the land as voter reg­is­tra­tion for the com­mu­ni­ty began in Pun­jab. They were also issued with Com­put­erised Nation­al Iden­ti­ty Cards (CNIC) by the Nation­al Data­base and Reg­is­tra­tion Author­i­ty (NADRA).

Spe­cial coun­ters have been estab­lished across the province to ensure the reg­is­tra­tion of all eunuchs, thought to num­ber about 13,500 in Pun­jab. At least 45 votes were reg­is­tered to trans­gen­ders in Lahore alone on Wednes­day.

The social wel­fare depart­ment said that spe­cial coun­ters have been set up in all 36 dis­tricts in the province at their dis­trict offices, as well as at offices of the Elec­tion Com­mis­sion of Pak­istan (ECP).

The day was not all joy, as protests erupt­ed after it emerged NADRA would charge Rs1,000 for each ID card. But the protests achieved their objec­tive. After the fees were can­celled, trans­gen­ders cel­e­brat­ed and chant­ed slo­gans laud­ing Pun­jab Chief Min­is­ter Shah­baz Sharif and Chief Jus­tice Iftikhar Muham­mad Chaudhry.

Anoth­er issue that has cropped up involves the gen­der and pater­ni­ty to be stat­ed on the CNICs, which is yet to be resolved. Accord­ing to NADRA, the cards will bear the father's name of the trans­gen­ders, who would pre­fer their 'guru' to be named instead. The issue is set to be set­tled by the Supreme Court next month.

The gen­der col­umn is also a mat­ter of con­fu­sion. It seems that, in some parts of Pun­jab, NADRA will term the gen­der 'female'. Orig­i­nal­ly, through, a NADRAspokesman said in a state­ment that as per the Supreme Court's instruc­tions, third gen­ders could have male trans­gen­der, female trans­gen­der or Khunsa-e-mushkil writ­ten on their ID card, accord­ing to their own pref­er­ence.

In Rawalpin­di, at least 21 vot­ers were reg­is­tered and 25 NICs were issued to mem­bers of the trans­gen­der com­mu­ni­ty. Many eunuchs refused to obtain a CNICcard, though, as Nadra offi­cials ofNADRA pressed them to enter the name of their actu­al father instead of their guru.

Almas Bobi, rep­re­sent­ing a eunuchs' asso­ci­a­tion in Rawalpin­di, said they would inform the Supreme Court next month about the non-registration of names of gurus by Nadra offi­cials.

"Many of us had old iden­ti­ty cards where our sex is men­tioned male and the name of gurus is men­tioned in the col­umn of father," Almas said. "There are many of our friends who do not want to have the name of their father after they were aban­doned in child­hood by their fam­i­lies and they were brought up by their gurus."

But at the end of the day, opti­mism reigned supreme as oth­ers were look­ing for­ward to play­ing a fuller part in polit­i­cal life. "The CNIC and right to vote will increase our self-confidence and self-respect. We will fur­ther ask for employ­ment quo­tas for eunuchs in dif­fer­ent fields," said Miss Sana.

Rawalpin­di Com­mis­sion­er Zahid Saeed said if there were any issues, they would be decid­ed by the Supreme Court, and the reg­is­tra­tion process would be com­plet­ed in accor­dance with new direc­tions from the court.

In Sindh, NADRA's provin­cial gen­er­al man­ag­er, Brig (r) Zahid Hus­sain, toldThe Express Tri­bune that the process of voter reg­is­tra­tion of trans­gen­ders would begin on Jan­u­ary 28.

Brig Hus­sain said that Sindh was the first province to issue the new cards to the eunuchs. "About a month ago, we issued the mod­i­fied NICs to the eunuchs. In the new cards, the trans­gen­der in the gen­der cat­e­go­ry have been men­tioned as khawa­ja sirah.

Up north, how­ev­er, cul­tur­al con­straints and a lack of under­stand­ing about the trans­gen­der com­mu­ni­ty in Khy­ber Pakhtunkhwa have delayed the reg­is­tra­tion process for a nation­al iden­ti­ty card.

Nesho, 25, was born as Zee­shan but prefers to be referred to in the fem­i­nine pro­noun. She has not vis­it­ed her house in the last 17 years.

"In Pak­thun soci­ety we are con­sid­ered a stig­ma, we can­not go back to our family," she says, adding that she lives with her guru as she has nowhere else to go.

Since the gov­ern­ment decid­ed to reg­is­ter the trans­gen­der com­mu­ni­ty, Nee­sha and oth­ers of her com­mu­ni­ty belong­ing to Pakhtun fam­i­lies have not been able to get the IDs of their par­ents to com­plete the process for their own reg­is­tra­tion. "I have broth­ers and they find me humil­i­at­ing to their honor," she says with a brave smile.

Farzana, the pres­i­dent of the She­male Asso­ci­a­tion in Peshawar, says that, with the gov­ern­ment reluc­tant to issue NICswith the name of the guru, there is lit­tle hope that the peo­ple of her com­mu­ni­ty will be reg­is­tered. "Whether in legal or social mat­ters, it's the guru that's responsible," she says.

Anoth­er prob­lem is the num­ber of Afghans in the trans­gen­der com­mu­ni­ty. "The sit­u­a­tion in Afghanistan is not com­fort­ing to our kind at all; our peo­ple are sex­u­al­ly harassed and some­times even tor­tured, leav­ing no other option but to migrate to Pakistan," says Farzana of Afghan eunuchs.

"We have lost our conscience," says Farzana, adding a som­bre note to an oth­er­wise cel­e­bra­to­ry day. "However," she says, "it's our iden­ti­ty that we can be proud of."

(Read: Transgender rights)

Pub­lished in The Express Tri­bune, Jan­u­ary 26^th, 2012.

(Sent from Flipboard)

BBC E-mail: Gay Ugandans flee fearing for their lives

** Gay Ugandans flee fearing for their lives **
With the latest incarnation of Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality now before parliament, the BBC's East Africa correspondent Will Ross talks to people who fled the country to escape harassment.
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17058692 >

BBC News - India Supreme Court debates gay sex ruling

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-asia-india-17054187

India Supreme Court debates gay sex ruling

15 February 12 23:23 ET

India's Supreme Court has asked groups challenging a 2009 landmark judgement decriminalising gay sex in the country how "unnatural sex" should be defined.

The ruling overturned a 148-year-old colonial law which described a same-sex relationship as an "unnatural offence".

Under it homosexual acts were punishable by a 10-year prison term.

Many people in India still regard same-sex relationships as illegitimate, but rights groups have long argued that the law contravened human rights.

Section 377 of the colonial Indian Penal Code defined homosexual acts as "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" and made them illegal.

The 2009 Delhi High Court ruling is being challenged by political, social and religious groups who want to have colonial-era law reinstated.

On Wednesday, the court begun a debate on the legality of decriminalising gay sex in private between consenting adults.

"So who is the expert to say what is 'unnatural sex'? The meaning of the word has never been constant," Justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhyaya asked a petitioner who challenged the judgement.

"We have travelled a distance of 60 years. Now it is test-tube babies, surrogate mothers. They are called discoveries. Is it in the order of nature? Is there carnal intercourse?" the judges said.

In July 2009 the Delhi High Court described the colonial-era law as discriminatory and said gay sex between consenting adults should not be treated as a crime.

Later the Supreme Court refused to put the judgement on hold after it was challenged by an astrologer and a yoga guru.

The ruling was widely and visibly welcomed by India's gay community, which said the judgement would help protect them from harassment and persecution.

Article: 'Mom, Dad, I'm not a Muslim and I'm gay: Iranian American recalls the heart stopping moment she came out to her parents

'Mom, Dad, I'm not a Muslim and I'm gay: Iranian American recalls the heart stopping moment she came out to her parents
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2100590/Gay-Iranian-American-Najva-Sol-recalls-moment-came-parents.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Article: Sexual repression and release in Qatar

Sexual repression and release in Qatar
http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/sexual-repression-and-release-qatar

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Article: Religious Group Demands MSNBC Stop Hosting Hate Leader Tony Perkins

Religious Group Demands MSNBC Stop Hosting Hate Leader Tony Perkins
http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/religious-group-demands-msnbc-stop-hosting-hate-leader-tony-perkins/politics/2012/02/15/34777

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Article: It's Early Days In Egypt - But There Is Hope (for LGBT People)

It's Early Days In Egypt - But There Is Hope (for LGBT People| newmatilda.com
http://newmatilda.com/2012/01/25/its-early-days-egypt-there-hope

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Article: Pakistan’s transexuals celebrate right to vote | Asian Correspondent

Pakistan's transexuals celebrate right to vote | Asian Correspondent
http://asiancorrespondent.com/74591/transgender-people-in-pakistan-excited-over-right-to-vote/

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Article: Transgender Pakistanis Celebrate Newfound Voting Rights

Transgender Pakistanis Celebrate Newfound Voting Rights
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2012/01/26/Transgender_Pakistanis_Celebrate_Newfound_Voting_Rights/

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Article: Attitudes changing in Tunisia toward LGBT community

Attitudes changing in Tunisia toward LGBT community
http://bikyamasr.com/55137/attitudes-changing-in-tunisia-toward-lgbt-community/

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

LGBT activists from the UAE attack gay "cure" video

GME - Gay Middle East - LGBT activists from the UAE attack gay "cure" video
http://gaymiddleeast.com/news/news%20351.htm

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Article: GME - Gay Middle East - My life as a gay man under Libya's Gaddafi

GME - Gay Middle East - My life as a gay man under Libya's Gaddafi
http://gaymiddleeast.com/news/news%20354.htm

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

Article: Libyan UN Envoy: Gays Threaten the Human Race

Libyan UN Envoy: Gays Threaten the Human Race
http://www.towleroad.com/2012/02/libyan-un-envoy-gays-threaten-the-human-race.html#gay%2Bnews)

(Sent from Flipboard)

Sent from my iPhone

First film about queer women in Indonesia premieres at Berlin Film Festival

From Gay Star News

Children of Srikandi, made by an all female cast and crew, tells the stories of eight queer women in Indonesia

09 FEBRUARY 2012 | BY ANNA LEACH

Children of Srikandi, a film about lesbian, bisexual and transexual women will premier at the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday. The film, made by eight Indonesian directors and a German producer and editor, has an all female cast and crew, a soundtrack from Indonesia's only female rapper and beautiful shadow puppet animation weaving between the segments.

The eight segments include Imelda Taurinamandala's story of a little girl who wants to be a boy, the personal tale of Eggie Dian who was rejected by her family for being a lesbian and became homeless and Edith's journey coming to terms with her Muslim faith and her sexuality.

Article Continued.