Indonesia’s Education Minister Faces Censure Over LGBT Comments
Asian Correspondent, Indonesia, 1/26/2016
An Indonesian minister has faced a slew of criticism after he said LGBT students should not be admitted into universities. Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister M. Nasir said, ‘The LGBT culture is not in accordance with the values and morals of Indonesia. I will not allow it.’ Nasir later attempted to clarify his remarks via Twitter, tweeting that as Indonesian citizens, members of the LGBT community should be treated equally in the eyes of the law. However, he added that ‘it does not mean that the state legitimizes the LGBT culture.’ In response to Nasir’s comments, an online petition was launched, asking the minister to recant his statement.
It's Time to Protect Transgenders' Rights
Deccan Herald - Bengaluru, India, 1/25/2016
India has taken several steps in recent years to recognise the rights of transgender people. In April 2014, the Supreme Court in a landmark ruling, recognised transgender people as a legal third gender. Not only are they granted all fundamental rights but they also enjoy special benefits in education and employment. However, much of these rights remain on paper. On the ground, life for transgender people remains difficult. The ridicule and isolation that is heaped on them forces many transgender people to take their lives. Hence, the government and civil society must work together to ensure the full social and economic inclusion of transgender people. A strong legislation that protects transgender rights is a necessary first step.
Once Hailed, Now Failed?
Kathmandu Post, Nepal, 1/24/2016
The government has failed to finalise a bill to legalise same-sex marriage even nine years after the Supreme Court order to amend laws that discriminate against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) community. After the apex court decriminalised homosexuality in 2007 and ordered government agencies to abolish laws that discriminate people based on their sexual orientation, Nepal was hailed as a very progressive society. But the government’s failure to amend laws in line with the strides it made has left LGBTI people frustrated. Nepal’s law still does not allow for same-sex marriage and offers no protection for gay people, who have long been complaining of discrimination and bureaucratic hurdles in obtaining legal recognition of their identity and consummating a married life.
South Asian women vulnerable to violence since birth: WB
The Times of India - Dehradun, India, 1/23/2016
Right from birth to old age, South Asian women are vulnerable to violence as per the latest report published by the World Bank titled 'Violence against Women and Girls, Lesson from South Asia.' The report has divided female life-cycle into seven stages - infancy, childhood (1-5yr), unmarried and adolescent girls, married girls and women, unmarried women, divorced and widowed women and elderly women - and identified 12 kinds of violence against them. As per the study, unmarried and adolescent girls are vulnerable to the maximum eight kinds of violence. Even elderly women, the report says, are vulnerable to five types of violence of which two are sexual in nature.
State and Markets Push Sex Workers Out of Kamathipura: Study
The Hindu - Mumbai, India, 1/22/2016
Government regulations, an influx of builders and the mushrooming of small and medium manufacturing units is pushing brothel-based sex work out of Kamathipura, a research report presented at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) said. Speaking at a conference on ‘Rethinking Cities in the Global South: Urban Violence, Social Inequality and Spatial Justice’, Shivani Satija, research officer at TISS, shared that formal and informal markets have made inroads into this space, including more profitable manufacturing units for bags, mats, jeans dyeing and cloth. Various association including ones for tenants, shops, residents and landlords also want sex workers to be moved out of the area.
Maharashtra First State to Grant 180 Days Maternity Leave in Surrogacy Cases
The Indian Express - Maharashtra, India, 1/21/2016
Maharashtra will be the first state in the country where women employees in government jobs can avail up to 180 days’ maternity leave while having a baby through surrogacy. While several courts across the country have in recent months ordered that such leave be granted in specific cases, the state government is the first to issue a government resolution to the effect.
India’s First LGBT Radio Taxi Service Announced
The Hindu - Mumbai, India, 1/20/2016
India’s first radio taxi service for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community, Wings Rainbow, was flagged off on 20 January 2016. The initiative by Wings Travels and Humsafar Trust will have taxis chauffeured by LGBT community members, and is expected to start functioning in 2017. Five volunteers from The Humsafar Trust, an LGBT rights organisation, signed up to drive radio cabs. Under the pilot programme, five members of the gay and transgender community will apply for a learner’s licence, and complete their training in getting the All India Driver’s Licence. During the nine to 12 months it takes to get the permanent driving licences, they will also undergo customer etiquette training.
‘Progressive, Tolerant and Diverse’: How Taiwan is Moving Ever Farther From China
The Washington Post, China, 1/19/2016
Taiwan’s elections have cemented this island’s standing as one of Asia’s most progressive and tolerant places. Not only did Tsai Ing-wen become Taiwan’s first female president, and the most powerful woman in the Chinese-speaking world, she is also the first woman to run an Asian country who is not the child of a political dynasty. Tsai is a single woman who worked her own way up, through academia and into government and politics. In the process she has symbolically shattered a glass ceiling for women in Taiwan and for women in Asia.
Sex Abuse Makes Up Half of Female Health Workers’ Complaints
The Korea Herald, South Korea, 1/19/2016
In the latest research findings released by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea on 19 January, 2016, found that more than 50 percent of female health care workers who have filed complaints with the agency from 2001-2015 were about being sexually harassed at workplace. 35.6 percent of the complaints were about being discriminated at work for being pregnant. Also, 5.1 percent experienced physical or emotional bullying at work.
Thaawarchand Gehlot Discusses Transgender Persons Bill With Stakeholders
Daily News and Analysis - New Delhi, India, 1/18/2016
Union Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot on 18 January, 2016 held a meeting with concerned ministries, legal experts and representatives of transgender community, while promising a ‘conducive environment’ for the community in the country. Presiding over a pre-legislative consultation meeting on the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill 2015 here, the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment assured that the suggestions given by the stakeholders for the welfare of transgender persons will be duly considered and implemented through the respective state governments.
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