23 Apr 2010:
In UK, two teenage girls and a teenage boy brutally assaulted and killed a 62-year-old gay man. Ruby Thomas (left) and Rachel Burke (right), both 18, stamped on Ian Baynham’s chest and kicked him in the head after their friend Joel Alexander, 19, had punched him to the ground, knocking him unconscious. As Mr Baynham lay bleeding the teenagers continued to assault him, it was said to have cause him to suffer a fit from brain damage after his skull had been fractured. (Read More...)Too far from home? Maybe we should move things back to Asia...
05 May 2010:
After being asked to leave by several popular nightspots at the entertainment district along Singapore River due to an unwritten "no transgender" policy, and being discriminated at work places, a group of transgender women in Singapore launched the Sisters in Solidarity campaign to create awareness and end discrimination against transgender women. The group will be launching its own social enterprise soon, where supportive employers are able view a listing of professional services offered by transgender women, such as make-up, pole-dancing performances and many more, and engage their services or even recruit transgender women who may otherwise find it difficult to find employment by virtue of their gender identity. (Read More...) While the transgender community in Singapore is trying to make a difference for those who are different, a so-called a religious group of "peaceful" religion stormed a human rights workshop in Indonesia.
01 May 2010:
Dozens of members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) stormed a human rights training program intended for transgender individuals at a hotel in Depok, West Java on April 30. The training, which was meant to empower the transgender individuals, had an opposite effect when the three-day program was interrupted by dozens of FPI activists who forced their way into the room past several police officers, banging on the door, repeatedly shouting the name of God, as well as destroying some of the hotel’s property. The extremists were also reportedly assaulted one participant from the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation who was due to speak at the event. Despite the FPI's long and mostly unpunished criminal record of often violent raids, police seem reluctant to pursue the case further, with no arrests made to date. (Read More...)
Oh wait, there's more...
March 2010:
A 38-year-old Hindu-Malay transgender woman was granted refugee status in Australia, after being apprehended by the Australian authorities, for overstaying her travel visa and working illegally as a fruit-picker. The post-operative transgender, a Malaysian, told tribunal member Rosa Gagliardi when her case was heard in February, that "in Malaysia, I do not count as a person." Her statement managed to convince Gagliardi and she was granted a refugee status.
Lawyer Simran Gill was quoted saying that it was alarming that a Malaysian citizen had won refugee status, "For a Malaysian citizen to be granted refugee status implies that the international community perceives Malaysia's human rights violations to be as gross as countries such as Myanmar and Afghanistan." Between 1994 and 2008, only 12 transsexuals were given asylum in Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. (Read More...)
While an Australian judge made the right decision, a judge in China enraged Netizens on Monday:
11 May 2010:
What happens when "Happy Boy" contestant wants to be a girl? When a 19-year-old boy, Liu-Zhu went to audition at a China's talent show crossdressed, he was stopped by one of the judges before he could even sing a single note. The female judge, Annie Rose, first commented on Liu-Zhu's hair, asking if they were real and even asked to see his ID to prove his identity. When the other two judges said that it wasn't necessary and to let the producers check the eligibility of Liu-Zhu's entry, Annie Rose stopped Liu-Zhu again the minute he started singing. Saying that she would want someone to examine his privates to proof that he is in fact not a she! Liu-Zhu was calm and polite throughout the whole humiliation process, while the other two judges kept their professionalism and tried to persuade Annie Rose to focus on Liu-Zhu's singing.
When Liu-Zhu was finally given a chance to sing, instead of commenting on Liu-Zhu's performance, Annie Rose instead asked for the name of the school Liu-Zhu studies in and which class he is currently in, urging "Netizens to go and psychically check" and verify Liu-Zhu's gender! When interviewed backstage on why he didn't try to be more masculine for the audition, Liu-Zhu said that, "it's more natural this way. If I dress like a boy on purpose just for this contest, it wouldn't be the real me."
A standing ovation for Liu-Zhu for being brave enough to stand up and be proud of who he is on screen, and keeping calm while Annie Rose tries to throw him off! *Applause!*
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Now take a moment, just a short moment to think about this: What happens if the victim of those incidents is someone you know? A relative of yours? Or even your family member? How would you feel if you get thrown out of a club or get fired from a job just because of the way you are?
In conjunction with the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), I would like to urge everyone out there to think before you act. No one likes to be discriminated and ill-treated. Despite our skin color, eye color, religious believe, or sexual preference, we are all the same. To steal a quote from Shakespeare, "There is nothing either good or bad, thinking makes it so."
