GLOBAL SETBACK

While people in some parts of the world are getting married and watching drag queens sashaying on their screens, other areas unfortunately remain deep in chaos when it comes to LGBTI rights.

MALAYSIA: Sinar Harian, a Malaysian daily newspaper, recently published an article on how to spot gay and lesbian people. Apparently, gay men love beards and going to the gym to ogle at other men, while lesbians love hugging one another and sneering at men. Elsewhere, this stereotypical and ridiculous article would be treated as a joke. But in Muslim-majority Malaysia where homosexuality is illegal, local gender activists fear it could bring threats to the lives of local LGBTI people as there have been cases of violence against homosexual and transgender people in the past.

INDONESIA: The Indonesian parliament is moving towards criminalising gay and extramarital sex. In most of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Islamic nation, it is not illegal to be LGBTI. However, provincial governments are allowed to establish certain Islamic-based laws, such as in Aceh province where homosexuality is punishable. Furthermore, the city of Depok announced last week that it was launching a task force to monitor LGBTI people within the area to handle what they perceive to be a spread of homosexuality among youths.

BERMUDA: This British overseas territory became the world’s first to repeal same-sex marriage. Homosexual couples were allowed to marry one another back in May 2017, but that triumph quickly died this month. LGBTI people can now seek a domestic partnership instead, which many perceive to be second-class status compared to a legal marriage. The reason behind this legal reversal is “restating that marriage must be between a male and a female while at the same time recognising and protecting the rights of same-sex couples”, according to Bermuda’s minister of home affairs Walton Brown.