A special report in ‘The Charlotte Observer’ investigated the extent of anti-LGBT discrimination in North Carolina (USA) in the wake of the state’s discriminatory House Bill 2 (HB 2), finding that LGBT people have “for years been subjected to bullying, harassment, discrimination and sometimes violence” and that HB 2 “heightens fear in North Carolina.” The […]
Do you know that Hong Kong hopes to be hosting the 2022 “gay Olympics”? The international federation behind the global sports event may actually select Hong Kong in a bid to shine a light on its poor same-sex rights record. LGBTI sports organisation Out in HK is leading the bid for Hong Kong 2022. Since […]
Times are a-changing in Japan, especially for LGBT couples. If businesses are opening up and recognizing the Pink yen, the public sector in Japan isn’t far behind. Change is coming, albeit more slowly, in the public sector. The self-governing Shibuya district of Tokyo created quite a stir when in February 2015, it declared that it […]
Long before the term LGBT came into vogue, Japan went its own way regarding gender definitions, before the Meiji restoration in the 19th Century opened Japan to Western ideas and concepts, including a more Victorian attitude towards sex roles. Victorian attitudes are changing rapidly in Japan, led by big business seeking to tap into the […]
Mx K Prithika Yashini has made her spot in Indian history, as the country’s first trans-gendered police officer in 2015. She also cleared the way for others! Tamil Nadu should also stand proud as the first Indian state to appoint a transwoman as police officer after a court cleared hurdles that faced Yashini. The Madras […]
Since marital rape is not a crime in India, can a husband be punished for having “unnatural sex” with his wife under IPC’s Section 377, is the question which is baffling a judge in Rewari, Haryana. The absurd legal situation in India, where marital rape is not a crime, but “unnatural sex” between homosexuals is […]
Khyber Pakhtunwala (PAKISTAN): In June, three men broke into the home of a transgender woman named Kashi, in Mansehra and attempted to rape her. They ended up shooting her several times. Kashi is only one of many transgender women in Pakistan to have been attacked in recent months. In May, Alehsa, a transgender woman and […]
Israel: More than 2,000 persons demonstrated on Thursday evening outside the Be’er Sheva (Beersheba) City Hall building instead of marching in the city’s now-cancelled first ever Pride parade. Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the “Capital of the Negev”, it is the centre of the […]
Bihar inches towards reservations for TG in various sectors Do you know that certain prominent movers and shakers in the Government of Bihar are seriously considering a .04 representation for transgender people along the lines of reservation for women? Don’t confuse TG with Hijras. Transgender people are trans-men and trans-women, people who may or may […]
USA President Barack Obama said that his understanding of the Bible and his Christian beliefs led him to issue the directive at public schools calling on students to be allowed to use the bathroom of their choosing regardless of their biological sex. “My reading of scripture tells me that that [the] Golden Rule is pretty […]
Weeks after suspected Islamist militants hacked Bangladesh’s most prominent gay rights activist to death in his apartment along with an associate, another friend received a chilling message that he was next in line. “Say your prayers, confess to God for your sins. Eat or drink whatever you wish to, nobody can save you,” read the […]
Well, well, well, dearies! The international day against homophobia has passed us by without a whimper, except for some overweight desi aunties posting some sentimental stuff on social media. Some in the print media did a couple of stories. The usual stuff, bleeding heart Obama, the Canadian Prime Minister, and all that jazz. First we […]
