European lawyers are urging the prime minister of Bangladesh to protect a Bangladeshi attorney whose gay-rights activism has made him the target of death threats.

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The president of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) wrote to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Oct. 19, seeking protection for attorney/activist Shahanur Islam.

In the letter, the CCBE “respectfully urges Your Excellency to do everything in your power to urgently provide adequate protection to lawyer Shahanur Islam and his family, since it is believed that this continuous acts of threats and harassment are based on his legitimate activities as a human rights lawyer.”

The CCBE “represents the bars and law societies of 45 countries, and through them more than 1 million European lawyers. The CCBE places great emphasis on respect for human rights and the rule of law and is particularly concerned with the situation of human rights defenders around the world,” the organization states in its letter to the prime minister.

Shahanur Islam says that there has been no response from her.

The International Observatory of Lawyers denounced the death threats and noted that “On 6 October 2022, Saidul Islam, a transgender person and cousin of the lawyer, was kidnapped by several people in Kolabazar, Naogaon district. During the attack, the lawyer was threatened to withdraw his complaint against, among others, Jahurul Islam, the state representative in the district, who was accused of assaulting the lawyer.”

The threats against Shahanur Islam are not new. Neither is the CCBE’s involvement.

The CCBE previously wrote to the prime minister in November 2021 in connection with Shahanur Islam’s LGBTQ rights advocacy, ongoing death threats, a 2020 attack that left him hospitalized, and a court case between him and a Bangladeshi official,

In that letter, then president of the CCBE Margarete von Galen wrote:

“[On] 26 August 2020 lawyer Shahanur Islam was attacked by approximately 10 individuals at the court premises of Naogaon district in the northern part of Bangladesh. As a result of the attack, we understand that he suffered serious face and body injuries and was subsequently hospitalised.

“It is reported that the attack took place just after he left the hearing, he took part in against Md. Jahurul Islam, Member of District Parishad. The hearing in question concerned a case between lawyer Shahanur Islam and Jahurul Islam. This case began in late 2018 when Jahurul Islam made false allegations against lawyer Shahanur Islam and two other members of his family.

“It is reported that the attack was led by Jobayer Hossain, son of Jahurul Islam and was aimed at intimidating the lawyer to withdraw his case. In this regard, we understand that although a criminal case was filed against Jahurul Islam and his associates, only two of the assailants were arrested and no proper impartial investigation was conducted by the police. It is also reported that the two arrested assailants were then released on bail.

“In addition to this, it is reported that lawyer Shahanur Islam has repeatedly received threats against him and his family over social media and on his cell phone to withdraw the case against Jahurul Islam.

“Furthermore, we understand that it is not the first time that the lawyer is under attack. It is indeed reported that he has been receiving death threats and has been the victim of physical assaults and hate speeches since 2016.

“It is notably reported that in February 2018, the Magistrate Court of Naogaon issued an arrest warrant against him in relation to his work in the defence of LGBTQI+ persons from discrimination. It is also reported that he has received threats to stop raising his voice for ensuring the rights of the LGBTQI+ people.

“Lawyer Shahanum Islam is a well-known human rights lawyer who has defended the rights of ethnic, religious, political and sexual minorities (LGBTQI+), as well as in cases of torture, extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance and organised violence.

“He was awarded the JusticeMakers Fellowship in 2010 by the International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) for his work promoting human rights in Bangladesh. …

“[The] CCBE respectfully urges Your Excellency to do everything in your power to ensure that a full and impartial investigation into this reported attack is being carried out, with a view to bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with international standards, as well as to ensure the safety of lawyer Shahanur Islam and his family members, since it is believed that this continuous harassment against him is based solely on his legitimate activities as a human rights lawyer. In addition, the CCBE wishes to recall that all lawyers should be able to carry out their professional duties without fear of reprisal, hindrance, intimidation or harassment in order to preserve the independence and integrity of the administration of justice and the rule of law. “

Shahanur Islam was one of seven attorneys from seven nations who were highlighted in 2021 in the article “Calls for global solidarity for lawyers at risk” by Counsel magazine.

On Oct. 4, 2022, current CCBE president James MacGuill wrote to the prime minister, again seeking protection for Shahanur Islam because of renewed death threats:

“According to information we have received, lawyer Shahanur Islam received several death threats in late August and early September 2022 due to his … work as a lawyer in defence of human rights. It is reported that on 25 August and 6 September 2022 he received death threats messages along with his wife and kid over his mobile phone. It is reported that the messages threatens him to stop to his human rights work in defence of LGBTQI+ victims or otherwise he will be killed brutally along with his family members.”

MacGuill followed up with the letter of Oct. 19, stating that

“[T]hreats against him have intensified due to his continuous work as a lawyer in defence of human rights. It is indeed reported that on 6 October 2022, 3 to 5 people forcefully stopped his cousin, Saidul Islam at Kolabazar Naogaon.

“It is reported that they threatened him to kill Shahanur Islam, if the latter did not withdraw the cases against Jahurul Islam and the aggressors who physically attacked him at the court premises of Naogaon district in 2020.2 It is reported that one of the individuals involved was the brother-in-law of Jahurul Islam and member of the criminal gang of Jahurul, who took part in the physical attack against Shahanur Islam in 2020. We understand that the case is under investigation by the Police Bureau of Investigation in Naogon.”

Shahanur Islam remains at risk.

“Unfortunately no initiative has been taken by the government to protect / ensure my safety and security,” he said.

A 20-year-old trans woman was strangled in northern Bangladesh last month, allegedly by a man whom she married in secret.

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The Bangladeshi human rights organization JusticeMakers Bangladesh called for a prompt investigation and trial of the murderer. The organization gave this account of the crime and what led up to it:

Nahid, age 20, a trans woman / hajira who was also known as Joyeey Akter Nagini, had worn girls’ clothes from a young ago. A few years ago, she fell in love with a young man named Sajal Chandraw Sankar. Two years ago, they privately exchanged wedding vows but kept their marriage a secret.

Several months ago, the relationship soured and Sajal asked her to forget him. Shocked, Nagini stabbed herself in the stomach.

After that, they stayed together until Oct. 7. Then, as they sat at a bus stand, Sajal again asked her to forget him. An argument ensued. Suddenly, Sajal allegedly strangled Nagini with his belt and left her dead body in a field.

Police arrested Sajal for the murder. Allegedly he initially confessed.

LGBTQ rights activist and lawyer Shahanur Islam stated that the killing was not an isolated incident in Bangladesh, but is only a small part of the ongoing discrimination, murder, assault and human rights violations against people of the LGBT community, including transgender Bangladeshis, throughout the country. For example, see the article about the Sept. 30 murder of 24-year-old Nila in the capital, Dhaka. (“Latest trans murder in Bangladesh is part of a worldwide problem”)

Shahanur Islam stated, as he has previously, that although the Bangladesh government has taken some social rehabilitation initiatives by recognizing transgender status as the third gender, those measure are inadequate.

Moreover, Shahanur Islam says that the LGBT community, including trans people, are continually subjected to human rights violations including discrimination from family, from society and from the state. But most trans Bangladeshis remain invisible to the public due to social unacceptability and intolerance, he said.

An Islamic police raid on an LGBT Halloween party was the latest example of Malaysia’s homophobia.

Agence France-Presse reported via Voice of America:

Malaysian Authorities Raid LGBT Halloween Party

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s Islamic religious officers broke up a large Halloween party attended by the LGBT community and arrested 20 people for cross-dressing and allegedly encouraging vice, activists said [Oct. 30].

Activist Numan Afifi who was among those arrested at the event in Kuala Lumpur late Saturday described the raid as “traumatizing and harrowing.”

“About 40 religious officers backed by the police came into the venue with some 1,000 participants, and they stopped the music and dance,” he told AFP.

Numan said authorities divided partygoers into two groups — Muslims and followers of other faiths.

Subsequently, 20 Muslims were taken to the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department where “our identity details were recorded.”

“Some were alleged to have committed offences under cross-dressing while others, including me, for encouraging vice,” Numan said.

All 20 were released a few hours later but are required to return next week for questioning.

The LGBT community has continuously suffered discrimination, with conservative attitudes chipping away at the Muslim-majority nation’s one-time reputation for moderation and tolerance.

Malaysia has a dual-track legal system, with sharia courts handling some cases for Muslim citizens, who make up around 60 percent of the population.

Homosexuality is forbidden and laws criminalizing sodomy can result in imprisonment, corporal punishment and fines — although enforcement of the law is rare.

Siti Kassim, a human rights lawyer, condemned the raid, saying “moral policing must stop.”

“These people are not criminals. The oppression and discrimination against LGBT people must end immediately,” she told AFP.

Opposition politician Carles Santiago called the raid “harassment against a marginalized community.”

“When will we learn to respect and accept people for who they are?” he tweeted.

Rights groups have on numerous occasions slammed Malaysian authorities for discrimination and coming up with programs to “cure” LGBT people.

“These programs jeopardize the equality, dignity, and rights of those who attend them, but also send a dangerous message to the wider public that LGBT people can and should change their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression,” Human Rights Watch said in August.

Dozens of LGBTQ rights activists and human rights organizations in Asia have protested a police raid on a 1,000-person LGBTQ Halloween party in Malaysia.

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ASEAN SOGIE Caucus and ILGA Asia released a joint statement with 66 organisations and 29 individual signatures expressing concern over the raid of the social gathering in Kuala Lumpur and shrinking civic spaces for LGBTIQ persons in Malaysia.

Among their comments:

“I was anxiously waiting for my friends to be released from Rex KL and JAWI. I felt really powerless and all I can do is to keep them company via texts and ask community organizations to help. We need to do more as a community. We need to ask ourselves, what will happen when the next raid takes place?”
— Raymond Phang, LGBTQ advocate, Co-founder of ShanghaiPRIDE:

“The recent event makes you wonder if the same fundamental liberties enjoyed by others are shared with the LGBTIQ+ persons in Malaysia. The blatant violations, degradation, and humiliation of a person due to their SOGIE is an act of human rights violation. LGBTIQ+ persons must express their anger at the ballot box. Show them we matter, we belong, and our voices will be heard!”
— Andi Suraidah, Co-Founder & Director of Legal Dignity

This is the joint statement:

4 November 2022

Together with 66 organisations, ASEAN Sogie Caucus and ILGA Asia express concern over the recent raid of a social gathering in Kuala Lumpur and the shrinking civic spaces for LGBTIQ person in Malaysia.

In the wake of Halloween celebrations, the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (JAWI), and the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), conducted a joint raid of a social gathering attended by people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions (SOGIE), including LGBTQ persons. The raid which took place on October 29, 2022, resulted in the arrests and interrogation of at least 24 gender-diverse persons. Those arrested were alleged to have committed unclearly defined violations such as “encouraging vice” and “indecent acts”; the use of ‘illegal substances’; and for freely exercising one’s gender expression. All persons have been released on bail, and awaiting further action.

Sharing of experiences by the attendees and monitoring by LGBTQ human rights groups responding to the raid show a number of critical human rights violations. They reinforce the ongoing trend of state actions that suggest discriminatory intent to persecute and shrinking spaces for LGBTQ people to live with dignity.

During the raid, the attendees were segregated based on religion and gender: gender-diverse persons identified as Muslims were targeted, vilified, mistreated, misgendered, and slapped with charges for violating the Syariah Criminal Offences Act. Trans and gender-diverse people reportedly experienced degrading and humiliating treatment while undergoing urine tests by the police.

Meanwhile, during the statement-taking process, the 18 persons who were investigated for “posing as a woman” were subjected to degrading or irrelevant questioning to probe whether they have undertaken hormones, or had undergone surgeries. Such questions contravene the right to live with dignity and privacy, especially on matters related to health and bodily autonomy.

The raid is the tip of the iceberg of the rising and systemic discrimination and persecution faced by LGBTQ persons in the country. The Malaysian government continues to criminalize and persecute LGBTQ persons in both its civil law, specifically the colonial remnant that is Section 377 of the Penal Code (commonly referred to as the anti-sodomy law), and state-Syariah Laws. in addition, the state-led promotion of ‘rehabilitation’ or so-called conversion practices or SOGIE change efforts is equally worrying, and further drive low-self acceptance among LGBTQ persons. This context increases LGBTQ people’s vulnerability to punitive and arbitrary measures.

Freedom of assembly and expression of LGBTQ persons have continued to erode since the police ban on Seksualiti Merdeka in 2011. Many LGBT events have been cancelled due to backlash from state and non-state actors; some have faced threats of state investigation. Businesses that employ LGBT performers and are frequented by LGBT persons operate under the radar due to fear of raids. LGBT events organisers have also reported to LGBT groups that their events are sometimes visited by police officers of various ranks. Events and activities that have visible inclusion of LGBTQ persons have been met with heavy-handed state responses. In 2019, following the visible participation of LGBT persons and allies at the women’s march, the police took stern actions by investigating the organisers under the Sedition Act.

These events together with the existing and rising LGBTphobia have had a chilling effect on freedom of assembly and expression, including online and offline organising, and the ability for LGBTQ-affirming businesses to operate without harassment or fear. Due to fear of police raids and the safety of LGBTQ attendees, LGBTQ events remain closed and small. In this context, human rights defenders, activists, organisers and even businesses find it challenging to organise, support and undertake critical awareness raising and community building, which are much needed to address the isolation and disenfranchisement faced by LGBTQ persons and the hostility against LGBTQ persons.

With the rise of conservatism marked by the confluence of right-wing politics and conservative religious sentiments, there is real-life danger for LGBTQ persons, a cause for worry within the Southeast Asian region. A report by Justice for Sisters revealed the serious negative impact of anti-LGBTQ sentiments on the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ persons, including increased stress, fear over personal safety, and resorting to self-censorship.

Recommendations

1. The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) must review and investigate the recent raid to determine its compliance with international human rights standards.

2. The SUHAKAM must work with police officers towards a human rights-based and gender-affirming and inclusive policing.

3. All relevant human rights mechanisms including the AICHR, and UN Special Procedures must strengthen coordination to monitor and respond to the continuous shrinking of civic and democratic spaces, and its impact on the human rights of persons of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in Southeast Asia.

Voices of Malaysian LGBTQ Human Rights Defenders

Raymond Phang, LGBTQ advocate, Co-founder of ShanghaiPRIDE, an ILGA Asia Member:

“I was anxiously waiting for my friends to be released from Rex KL and JAWI. I felt really powerless and all I can do is to keep them company via texts and ask community organizations to help. We need to do more as a community. We need to ask ourselves, what will happen when the next raid takes place?”

Andi Suraidah, Co-Founder & Director of Legal Dignity:

“The recent event makes you wonder if the same fundamental liberties enjoyed by others are shared with the LGBTIQ+ persons in Malaysia. The blatant violations, degradation, and humiliation of a person due to their SOGIE is an act of human rights violation. LGBTIQ+ persons must express their anger at the ballot box. Show them we matter, we belong, and our voices will be heard!”

Endorsed by:

Regional

• ASEAN SOGIE Caucus

• ILGA Asia

• APCOM

• Asia Pacific Transgender Network

• ASEAN Feminist LBQ Network

• ALTSEAN-Burma

• APCASO

• Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW)

• Asia Pride Games Alliance

• CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

• Equal Asia Foundation

• International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW AP)

• Intersex Asia

• Milk Tea Alliance Friends of Myanmar

• Milk Tea Alliance Calendar

• SHAPE-SEA

Bangladesh

• Noboprobhaat Foundation

Cambodia

• CamASEAN Youth’s Future

• Hear Us

• Peer of Civic Engagement

• SILAKA

Indonesia

• Arus Pelangi

• GAYa NUSANTARA

• Free To Be Me

• New Naratif

• Kerukunan Waria Bissu Sulawesi Selatan

• Cangkang Queer

• Pondok Pesantren Waria Al-Fatah Yogyakarta

• Transmen Indonesia

• Non Binary Peer Support Group Indonesia

Laos

• Queers & Cheers

Malaysia

• Justice for Sisters

• JEJAKA

• Legal Dignity

• PLUHO, People Like Us Hang Out!

• Queer Lapis

• Queer Malaysian Indians

Myanmar

• Colors Rainbow

• Rainbow Six

Nepal

• Campaign for Change

Philippines

• Pioneer Filipino Transgender men Movement (PFTM)

• Intersex Philippines

• Tagoloan Gender Advocacy Group

• GALANG Philippines

• Empress – MSU

• (SHINE SOX Inc.) Social Health of Inter-ethnic (LGBTQI++) Network for Empowerment

• IMGLAD

• Bisdak Pride

• MUJER-LGBT Organization, Inc.

• CVSU SILAYAN

• LADLAD CARAGA

• Ogtonganon Mask Stewards

• PANTAY

• LakanBini Advocates Pilipinas

• SIDE B Philippines

• Mindanao Pride

• University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies Program on Alternative Development

• EnGendeRights

• Transmasculine Philippines

• Care for Queers

Singapore

• Prout

• Think Centre

Thailand

• Sangsan Anakot Yawachon

• Non-binary Thailand

• Queer Riot

Timor Leste

• HATUTAN

Others

3 other undisclosed organisations from Malaysia, Myanmar and Singapore.*

*Names of organisations not disclosed due to security reasons 

Individual Signatories

29 individual signatories from the following countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore.*

*Names of individuals not disclosed due to security reasons

Human rights advocates have come to the defense of a teacher in Bangladesh whose job at a secondary school is at risk because he is gay. The teacher denies students’ accusations that he propositioned and molested them.

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The Bangladeshi human rights organization JusticeMakers Bangladesh expressed concern and anger over the attempt to expel the gay teacher, Aminul Islam, from his position as senior lecturer in the geography department of Bhalum Ataur Rahman Khan Degree College in Dhamrai, Dhaka.

Justice Makers Bangladesh demanded action against his accusers after a “quick and impartial investigation”.

The advocacy organization noted that, according to the online newspaper RisingBD.com on Nov. 2, a complaint from 30 students about Aminul Islam’s homosexuality was sent to Hossain Mohammad Hi Joki, president of the school’s governing body.

Joki named an investigating committee headed by another lecturer of the college, Habibur Rahman Habib. The investigators supported the students.

“What I found in the investigation cannot be expressed in words,” he said. “I have found the truth of the complaints of the victims against that lecturer.”

THe report of the investigating committee was submitted last month, but the college administration has not yet acted on the students’ complains.

Gay rights advocate Shahanur Islam, founder of JusticeMakers Bangladesh, said the students are seeking to expel XX from the school merely because he is gay, which would be a clear violation of his fundamental human rights declared by the United Nations.

This is far from the first incident of discrimination against Bangladeshi teachers on the basis of their sexual orientation. Shahanur Islam recalled:

• In August, Ramzan Ali, a teacher of the Islamic Education Department of Savar Model College, was instructed to stop teaching classes there after students boycotted classes to protest his homosexuality. He was accused of having a homosexual encounter with a student 14 years ago.
• Last May, Mizanur Rahman, a teacher in the pharmacy department of Barisal Institute of Health Technology, was given a temporary suspension after he was accused of propositioning students.

Shahanur Islam says such incidents are part of a pattern of anti-LGBTQ discrimination, murder, injuries and human rights violations throughout Bangladesh.

Payal Khatun, a trans woman, has been elected to the local government council in Kustia in west-central Bangladesh, the first trans person to hold that position.

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The human rights organization JusticeMakers Bangladesh congratulated Payal Khatun on her achievement. Below are edited excerpts of their announcement:

JusticeMakers Bangladesh congrats the sexual minority transgender woman for being elected as a member of union council in Kushtia!

According to the news published by Voice of America’s Bengali section online on Nov. 4, Payal Khatun is the first elected public representative of the third gender in Kushtia district.

Payal was elected as UP Member by getting 1,623 votes. Payall was born a son of Liaquat Ali of Belgharia village in Kanchanpur Union and was given the name Helal.

According to local residents, Payal traveled to Kolkata around 2010-11 and changed her gender.

Payal’s leadership qualities have been around for a long time. She  always stood up for people in danger, which made her incredibly popular in the area.

When asked about her reaction to winning the election, Payal Khatun said, “Besides trying my best to develop the area, I will try my best to improve the quality of life of women who are backward in the society.”

Anichur Rahman, the newly elected chairman of Kanchanpur Union Parishad, said, “Undoubtedly her victory is a positive event. Since she has been elected as a public representative, she will always be supported by me as council chairman.”

Attorney and gay rights activist Shahanur Islam, founder of JusticeMakers Bangladesh, expressed his heartfelt congratulations and best wishes for Payal Khatun. Her election as a member of the union council as a sexual minority is an encouraging, positive development for the backward sections of the society, he said.

It is a victory against the discrimination, neglect, torture and exclusion from family and the mainstream of society that transgender people experience in Bangladesh, he said.

Shahnur Islam also noted other recent achievements by trans people in Bangladesh, including the election last January of Nazrul Islam, a transgender woman, as the chairman of Trilochanpur Union of Kaliganj in Jhenaidah district.

If they are allowed to compete on a level playing field, transgender women can lead and can play an important role in the development of Bangladesh, he said.

Singapore’s Parliament voted to repeal its colonial-era laws criminalizing sex between men while also endorsing a constitutional amendment that prevents court challenges to the heterosexual definition of marriage on Tuesday, November 28. The vote drops the number of countries that criminalize gay sex to 68.

Parliament voted 93-3 to repeal the ban on gay sex, after the government announced it was whipping its 83 MPs to vote in favor of the bill.

The colonial-era law, section 377A of the Penal Code, previously exposed men to imprisonment of up to two years for “gross indecency.”

The repeal comes after several unsuccessful court challenges sought to have the law declared unconstitutional. In February of this year, the Constitutional Court ruled that although the law was constitutional, it could not be enforced unless the government formally reversed its policy that it would not enforce the law.

The decision inspired controversy domestically and abroad, until the government announced in August that it would table a bill to repeal the law.

At the same time, the government announced that it would introduce an amendment to the constitution to ensure that the courts could not force the government to accept same-sex marriage.

The amendment asserts that only Parliament may define what constitutes a marriage, thus blocking any court challenges seeking same-sex marriage rights, but leaving Parliament free to legalize same-sex marriage in the future by a simple majority vote. The amendment passed on an 85-2 vote.

Singaporean LGBT support group Oogachaga posted a celebratory note on its Facebook page.

“And about time too! We are 15 years late, but better late than never. Oogachaga volunteers and staff have been proudly involved at various stages in various capacities, from the Parliamentary petition in 2007, 2 rounds of constitutional legal challenges from 2010-2014 & 2018-2022, & in the latest round of Parliamentary repeal,” the post said.

Law and Home Affairs Minister Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam told Parliament that most men convicted under the law involved acts on non-consenting victims or minors, or acts committed in public. But for those whose convictions would not otherwise have formed crimes, his ministry is working on an expungement or pardoning scheme.

“There is a small number of individuals who were convicted between 1988 and 2007 for consensual, private, homosexual acts, between adults. I have instructed my ministry to consider how the records of these persons can be rendered spent proactively,” Shanmugam said.

Singapore is the third country to decriminalize gay sex in 2022, after the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court ruled in July and August that criminal provisions against gay sex in Antigua & Barbuda and St. Kitts & Nevis were unconstitutional. All three states are former British colonies that inherited their anti-gay laws from their colonial administrations.

Indonesia has a history of believing that homosexuality is linked to criminality. At the same time, the nation’s homophobic society voraciously consumes LGBTQ news and rumors of LGBTQ misdeeds.

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The South China Morning Post reports:

In Indonesia, ‘LGBT’ label is linked to criminal guilt amid ‘societal homophobia’

When Indonesian actor Rizky Billar’s spouse reported him to the police last month for alleged domestic abuse, social media users buzzed with chatter about him being a “wife-beater”.

But as the scandal grew, the online discussion descended into a different front: his sexuality.

“They say men fall into two types: jerks and gays, but Rizky Billar is both,” wrote Senja Heuning on Twitter. Another user named Amal Ramadhan went further: “The ultimate of bad apples: a gay douchebag.”
Rizky’s wife [later] withdrew her report of domestic violence against him.

Indonesia has had a long history of linking criminality to homosexuality, and this case was no different, said anthropologist Benjamin Hegarty.

“The homosexuality in such cases is reported as (corroborating) evidence of criminality, …” said Hegarty, the author of The Made-Up State: Technology, Trans Femininity, and Citizenship in Indonesia. …

The “gay angle” also featured in a murder investigation of police officer Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat that occurred on July 8.

The case took a shocking turn when his commanding officer, Inspector General Ferdy Sambo, and his wife Putri Candrawhati were declared suspects along with three others by investigators.

When the autopsy of Hutabarat’s corpse revealed torture and five gunshot wounds as causes of death, the nation reeled in shock. Members of the public were glued to their television screens, following live reconstructions of the crime.

A persistent theory, amid conflicting theories for the murder, was the claim that Sambo was bisexual.
Twitter user Sarwedi Edi was convinced Sambo was a “sexual deviant” and wrote: “What should be determined is the nature of his relationship with Brigadier J, whether he was enraged because J wanted to marry and then decided to finish him off.”

Speculation about Sambo’s sexuality, however, did not just appear out of thin air.

The claim was first floated by lawyer Deolipa Yumara, who was legal counsel for the case’s suspect-turned-justice collaborator, Bharada Richard Eliezer.

“(Sambo is) LGBT, not the L, G or T but the B,” Yumara said when he was a guest at political talkshow The Karni Ilyas Club on August 18. “Was Yosua (Hutabarat) gay? Not according to my client Bharada (Eliezer) because they both bunked together and nothing ever happened.”

But Yumara did not believe the motive for Hubarat’s murder had to do with love affairs of any kind.

Yumara was not the only figure of authority that added to the LGBTQ rumour in Sambo’s case. Mahfud MD, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for politics, legal and security affairs, has been known to fuel public speculation with innuendos.

Mahfud tweeted on August 9, “Our police force is good at investigating crime. Even in a (serial murder) case where mutilated bodies of the victims were scattered across different cities, they succeeded. Remember the case involving Ryan?”

Very Idam Henyansyah, 44, better known as “Ryan Jombang”, was arrested in 2008 and convicted of 11 counts of murder. All of his victims, whose bodies were dismembered and mutilated, were men and most had been his lovers.

Mahfud also characterised Sambo’s motive for murder as “revolting in nature” and “only suitable for adult consumption”.

Jakarta psychologist Benny Prawira has noticed the frenzy with which the gay rumours both in Billar’s and Sambo’s case were greeted by Indonesian netizens.

“It comes down to societal homophobia,” he said. “It just so happens that there was hearsay about somebody’s sexuality. So people start to complete the whole story based on their homophobic assumptions.”

Dede Oetomo, veteran LGBTQ activist, likened public obsession in Indonesia with LGBTQ-related scandals to watching horror movies. “For many, LGBTQ people are otherworldly creatures, both titillating and yet repulsively deviant.”

A 2018 public poll by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) found that 87.6 per cent of Indonesians saw LGBTQ people as a threat to society. A follow-up survey by SMRC in May this year suggested homophobia remained very much alive in Indonesia. Some 49.3 per cent of poll participants disagreed that LGBTQ people deserved respect as human beings while 44.5 per cent agreed.

Oetomo said stigma against LGBTQ people remains the chief obstacle to acceptance. “It’s Catch-22. We need greater visibility so that people can see that LGBT people are mostly ordinary but the stigma in society keeps people in the closet.”

But anthropologist Hegarty cautioned that Indonesians’ attitudes towards LGBTQ people and their rights were too complex for a general verdict of rampant homophobia.

“We can see a politics of homophobia. Opposition to LGBT rights is used as a politically convenient tool for certain groups to claim moral authority, quite aside from anything related to people who can be identified as LGBT.”

Hegarty remains optimistic about the betterment of conditions for LGBTQ Indonesians.

“Indonesia isn’t behind or needs to ‘catch up’ with the West, but (LGBTQ) rights will need to be won through hard work and different strategies rooted in Indonesia’s own culture and history.”

LGBT activists are furious after the Indonesian Parliament passed a new Criminal Code that makes extramarital sex and cohabitation an offence. Activists say that because same-sex marriage is impossible in Indonesia, all gay sex will become illegal in the southeast Asian nation.

Same-sex sexual activity had never been penalized under Indonesia’s previous national Criminal Code, which was inherited from the Dutch colonial administration. However, the semi-autonomous province Aceh has its own Criminal Code based on Islamic shariah law, which does punish sodomy with up to 100 lashes with a cane or up to 100 months in prison.

Under the new Criminal Code, extramarital sex and cohabitation will be illegal, although the only people entitled to bring charges forward will be the accused’s parents, spouse, or children.

There are conflicting reports on whether the law will apply to same-sex sexual relations. Lawmakers rejected adding a specific offence of sodomy or same-sex intimacy.

However, because the laws on extramarital sex and cohabitation do not specify gender, LGBT activists point out that they will necessarily criminalize all acts of same-sex intimacy, because same-sex marriage is not allowed in Indonesia.

“Indonesia does not recognise same-sex marriage, meaning that adultery and cohabitation articles might be used against LGBTQ couples,” said Andreas Harsono, senior Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Let’s say a parent or a spouse report an individual to the police, it will be a legal case.”

The Code reportedly includes sections which would reinforce customary and shariah-inspired local bylaws which can be used to persecute LGBT people.

“These provisions will make LGBTI Indonesians, even more of second-class citizens, even more invisible,” said Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid.

It also includes many new provisions that have been criticized for cracking down on political expression, association and religious freedom. The law criminalizes insulting the president, associating with or spreading Marxism, blasphemy, and apostasy.

The new Criminal Code must still be signed by President Joko Widodo before it becomes law. It will go into effect three years from the signing date.

The Indonesian government had previously attempted to revise its Criminal Code in 2019, including the addition of specific provisions against sodomy, but the government halted its ratification following widespread protests.

Activists plan to continue to protest the new Criminal Code in the coming days and weeks.

Transgender Pakistanis face the complex challenges of life in a homeland with both a strong conservative Muslim society and a groundbreaking transgender rights law.

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The magazine Global Village Space examines the conflicts that LGBTQ Pakistans are experiencing:

Pakistan’s Transgender Act & its opponents

Pakistan, a conservative Muslim society, is trying hard to overcome its inertia and adjust to new norms arising from the needs of global integration – with mixed results.

By Imama Khan

Eunuchs, or “Khawaja Sira” as they were known, were the most dependable royal aides during the Mughal Empire. They commanded a great deal of respect and had even amassed considerable money in certain cases. They were mostly employed as harem stewards, while some became army generals, royal professors, and court consultants. Their power diminished with the fall of the Mughal Empire and the rise of the British. The colonial authorities adopted the “Criminal Tribes Act (CTC)” in 1871, under which Eunuchs had to be registered.

Victorian-era English brought into Hindustan their deep-seated suspicions of sodomy, castration, and abduction. Under the CTC, wearing female clothing was a punishable act for men. Moreover, the CTC outlawed “all persons of the male sex who admitted themselves to be “impotent” or were found so on medical examination. The principal source of eunuchs’ income and all of their privileges were thus taken away by colonial rule. They became more socially isolated and impoverished. Man and woman were just two sexes in the Christian world of English colonizers.

Historians claim that the British intended to eliminate the [‘third gender”] hijras as a distinct sociocultural group and gender identity. Most Hindustanis accepted the colonial power’s philosophy that became the societal norm. Religious leaders and mullahs of today are opposed to changes that protect the rights of the Hijra or “transgenders” without realizing that they are merely defending a colonial heritage.

Pakistan passes Transgender Act in 2018

To give transgender individuals legal equality and to protect their rights, Pakistan’s parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act in 2018. The Act gives transgender persons in the country legal recognition and access to the same rights as cisgender people. According to the Act, transgender people can change their gender in [National Database and Registration Authority, or NADRA] records and apply for a driver’s license and passport.

The Act also made it illegal to harass transgender people and discriminate against them in social or educational settings. Additionally, it permits the development of safe houses, medical and educational facilities for transgender individuals, centers for their counseling, and transgender-specific cells in jails. Therefore, with the Transgender Act of 2018, transgender rights are at least legally guaranteed by the Pakistani state.

Amnesty International called the Act “commendable for its nuance, range and clarity” as “it allows the citizens of Pakistan to self-identify their gender, bans discrimination in public places like schools, work, public transportation and doctor’s offices.”

Opposition by religious organizations

Some religious organizations, however, believe that this Act is an effort to legalize homosexuality in the country. Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan has even contested the Act before the Federal Shariat Court. Transgender persons claim that the 2018 Act does not address any form of sex change or permit “unnatural” sex, despite criticism of the Act from religious groups who see it as an effort to defend or promote homosexuality. However, the religious community is up in arms over the Act’s language, in particular where it says “a transgender person shall have a right to be recognized as per his or her self-perceived gender identity.”

The ruling [Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), or NML-N] generally represents conservative, right-of-the-center Punjabi politics, but the transgender rights Act has been supported by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, who stated that transgender persons should be accorded their legal, due process rights. According to Tarar, transgender individuals are also humans, and the state is responsible for ensuring that they have access to their fundamental rights. However, PML-N’s position is divorced from its conservative voter base and makes opponents suspicious that the whole initiative represents the appeasement of powerful western NGOs. However, Tarar has said he is ready to accommodate the modifications to the Act as suggested by its opponents to achieve broad-based support.

The widespread opposition to the bill and the distribution of unscientific information only serve to highlight that the issue cannot be resolved only by laws and regulations. The first and most important step in Pakistan should be to educate the general public about the issues so that they cannot be easily influenced by bringing in religious arguments that may not have much to do with the problem. Second, the absence of a penalty for violating the Act renders it impotent and provides no real motivation for people to abide by it. Additionally, there is no specific infrastructure in place to enforce the Act, especially when it comes to the education sector. While under the legislation, a trans person will find it easy to enter a school, Act does not provide any protection against the offensive treatment they may face inside the educational institution due to societal stigmas. The Act also does not address many urgent issues facing the trans community, such as hate crimes and inadequate healthcare.

Did the trans community get their rights?

Since 2015, 68 transgender people have died in Pakistan, and 1,500 have experienced numerous acts of sexual abuse. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded 479 violent attacks against transgender people in 2018. The Trans Protection Act is not the first time that the state of Pakistan has made measures to protect the rights of transgender persons; in fact, in 2012, the Supreme Court of Pakistan made a significant decision on the rights of transgender people.

Apex court was moved by the fact that transgender people were being denied National Identity Cards (NIC), which made it impossible for them to exercise any of their fundamental rights as citizens of Pakistan. However, NADRA maintained that since many transgender people had unknown origins, they could not be awarded national identity cards, despite the fact that the fundamental reason for this discriminatory treatment was the inherent prejudices widespread in society. The Supreme Court specifically said that transgender people belonged to the third gender category and were “equal” citizens of Pakistan.

Therefore, the Court gave NADRA instructions to ensure that NICs were supplied to the transgender community so that others were aware of their situation. Following this ruling, three further distinct categories—male transgender, female transgender, and unisex gender—were added to NADRA papers. However, soon this constitutional development led to protests on the streets blocking its meaningful implementation.

Now since the 2018 Trans Protection Act lacks a criminal component, it has merely fulfilled the same purpose as the 2012 Supreme Court declaration. It has only provided nominal rather than substantive equality for trans individuals.

The real challenge is that most of Pakistani society is steeped in its conservative inertia, but governments are under pressure to adopt global norms. The 19th-century English colonizers could only understand a world consisting of men and women. But today, issues of acceptance, diversity, freedom of identity, etc., are becoming increasingly important. Diversity in the workplace, whether it be in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, or religion, is becoming more important. Muslims worldwide are trying harder to adapt to new sociocultural norms without surrendering their fundamental social and religious principles, and Pakistan is no exception to the trend.

Imama Khan is Research Associate with Global Village Space and pursuing Defense & Strategic Studies at Quaid-e-Azam University. Her articles have appeared in The News and The Pakistan Observer.