Gender Relations Discussed at Delhi University
The Times of India - New Delhi, India, 10/31/2012
Maharaja Agrasen College of Delhi University is held a two day international conference on ‘Gender Relations in Developing Societies: A 21st Century Perspective.’ This was the second international conference being held this year by the college`s department of Political Science. During the inaugural session of the conference, Sunil Sondhi, principal, emphasized on the sensitivity of the issue of gender relations as it is related to a very core aspect of human rights.
Viewpoint: Gays are Us: LGBT Rights are Human Rights
The Jakarta Post - Jakarta, Indonesia, 10/31/2012
LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer) people in many countries are targets of discrimination, persecution, violence and even murder. This is despite scientific research showing that homosexuality is a natural variation in human sexuality, occurring in about 10 percent of the population, and not an abnormality or perversion, let alone a disease. LGBTIQ people in Indonesia routinely suffer all kinds of harassment - verbal, physical, sexual - and face challenges in finding work. It’s an uphill battle, with a recent survey revealing that intolerance of sexual minorities is increasing
Two HIV-Positive Couples Forced to Leave Village
The Jakarta Globe - Jakarta, Indonesia, 10/29/2012
Two married couples have been forced from their village in East Kalimantan after information circulated that they had been infected with HIV. HIV and AIDS activists said the incident highlighted the lack of awareness about the disease - which has caused discrimination and even violence in many places across the country - especially among those people living in rural areas.
Facebook Used to Kidnap, Traffic Indonesian Girls
The Jakarta Globe - Jakarta, Indonesia, 10/29/2012
When a 14-year-old girl received a Facebook friend request from an older man she didn’t know, she accepted it out of curiosity. It’s a click she will forever regret, leading to a brutal story that has repeated itself as sexual predators find new ways to exploit Indonesia’s growing obsession with social media. The Depok girl, wearing a mask to hide her face as she was interviewed, said she is still shocked that the man she knew for nearly a month turned on her.
Annual LGBT Pride Parade Attracts 50,000 People
The Taipei Times - Taipei, Taiwan, 10/28/2012
More than 50,000 people took to the streets on October 27, 2012, in Taipei to show their support for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, calling on the government to respect diversity in families and legalize same-sex marriage. ‘Legally recognized marriage is important, not only because it’s about love and commitment between a couple, but also because it would enable a couple to enjoy rights and share responsibilities,’ said Albert, head of the Taiwan LGBT Pride Parade Alliance, the group that organizes the annual LGBT pride parade.
UN Official Says Sexual Education Important
The Jakarta Post - Jakarta, Indonesia, 10/25/2012
A visiting United Nations official has stressed the importance of sexual education for young people. He said that many in this age group are sexually active and as such, are vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and AIDS. ‘Without proper sex education young people, particularly girls, will [undergo] early pregnancy and unsafe abortion. Even more, they are at the high risk of contracting HIV infection,’ UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe told a press conference in Jakarta on October 23, 2012.
Bishop Hits UN Proposal to Legalize Prostitution
Manila Standard Today - Manila, Philippines, 10/25/2012
A Roman Catholic Church leader attacked on October 24, 2012 as ‘morally unacceptable’ a United Nation’s proposal to legalize prostitution in the Philippines to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS and said the government should create decent jobs for Filipino women instead. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said legalizing prostitution would not improve the lot of sex workers and could lead to more abuses against women and minors working as street hookers.
Senator Urges Compulsory Sex Tuition in Curriculum
Bangkok Post - Bangkok, Thailand, 10/25/2012
Speaking on the sidelines of the 10th General Assembly of the Asia Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), Senator Porapan Punyaratabandhu said Thailand had passed through a phase when population growth was out of control. Sex education should be made compulsory in schools as a measure to help curb teen pregnancy which causes other health and social problems, he said.
Pakistan Taliban Threaten Another Child Activist After Malala Shooting
The Guardian - Islamabad, Pakistan, 10/24/2012
A young activist from the same area of Pakistan as Malala Yousafzai, the girl shot in the head by a Taliban gunman this month, has been warned in a threatening phone call that she will be next. Hinna Khan, a 17 - year - old from Swat, was named during a call made to her mother`s mobile phone two days after Malala, who spoke out against the Taliban, was attacked as she sat in a van with her classmates, in the town of Mingora. Hinna`s father, Reyatullah Khan, said: ‘The Taliban have kidnapped me and tortured me in the past for promoting women`s development, but now they are threatening the entire family.’
Southeast Asia Looks to Draw LGBT Travelers
The Hindustan Times, India, 10/22/2012
Asia’s tourism industry is working hard at attracting increasing numbers of gay and lesbian travelers with a variety of special promotions and packages, reported travel news website TTGAsia. More hotels in Asia are also listing themselves as gay-friendly. One of them is Hotel Fort Canning (HFC) in Singapore, which officially markets itself as a gay-friendly property, sending out regular promotional email blasts, and using tie-ups with Worldhotels for additional gay-friendly promotions.
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