Film on Homosexuality ‘Un-Freedom’ Banned in India
The Indian Express - New Delhi, India, 3/30/2015
Florida-based director Raj Amit Kumar’s debut film ‘Un-Freedom’, starring Adil Hussain and Victor Banerjee in key roles espousing homosexuality, has been banned in India. The film is a contemporary thriller that chronicles a lesbian love story set in New York and New Delhi, and it is said to be inspired by Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s poem, ‘Ye Dagh Dagh Ujala’. Disappointed, at being unable to get the required clearance, despite an appeal to the Appellate tribunal, the filmmaker said such move by Central Board of Film Certification is like taking away the ‘basic human rights’.
Call To Educate Girls About Changes Within Their Body
The Deccan Herald - Udupi, India, 3/29/2015
Chikkmagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje said that there is a need to educate adolescent girls in rural areas on the changes occurring within the body when they attain puberty. She said that girls undergo sensitive changes during puberty and may not be in a position to understand the changes that are taking place in her body and also the psychological transformation that happens during the phase. Dr. T M A Pai Chair for Social Entrepreneurship, Manipal University chairperson Dr H G Joshi said that as many as 22,500 girls in 180 high schools (90 in Udupi district and 90 in Dakshina Kannada district) in rural areas would be reached out, with education and counseling, following the target. The focus would be on the age group of 10-19 years.
HIV Risk Not About Sexuality – Experts
The Manila Times - Baguio City, Philippines, 3/28/2015
Latest data from the Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry National Epidemiology Center has shown that more than half of reported modes of human immunodeficiency virus or HIV transmission in 2014 were through ‘homosexual contact’. Health authorities, at the same time, stressed that this data is indicative of risky behavior, not sexuality. Dr. Julius Cesar Alcala of DOH-CAR said that ‘fast and furious’ epidemic of HIV and AIDS has nothing to do with who has sex but with risky behaviors, including unprotected sex, sharing of needles, among others. He also related lack of knowledge or proper information to the rise of recorded cases. According to Alcala, the way to address the issue is through multi-sector participation in the age-appropriate information and education drive backed by adequate government funding.
Goa Minister Does Flip Flop on LGBT Cure Centres
Zee News - Panaji, India, 3/27/2015
Goa Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar announced plans to establish centres to ‘cure’ LGBT youth with medication, in January 2015. However, in a written reply tabled on March 27, 2015, during the budget session of the Goa legislative assembly, Tawadkar said that Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) youth were identified as a target group in the newly launched Goa State Youth Policy, but denied any plans to set up centres to 'cure' them.
LGBT Activists Express Disappointment Over India's Anti-Gay Rights Stand at UN
Daily News & Analysis - New Delhi, India, 3/26/2015
India was one of the 43 nations, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, to support a Russian bid to stop the United Nations in providing benefitas to its same sex staff in member countries. The move, angered LGBTQ activists in the country. Lawyer Anand Grover, founder of the Lawyer’s Collective and a part of the Naz Foundation, feels that the move is ‘totally unacceptable’. ‘This is a very disappointing move, which does not seem to have much thought invested in it. It does not show India in good light, and if the government has directed the office of the permanent representative to vote against the right of the people, it is sad,’ said Grover. He pointed out that the resolution, if passed, would have affected the lives of transgender people, too.
India Opposes Rights to Same-Sex Partners of United Nations Staff
The Economic Times, India, 3/25/2015
At a time when there is a raging debate calling for decriminalising gay sex back home, India has supported a Russian-drafted resolution that opposed benefits for same-sex partners of UN staff but it failed to pass in the General Assembly committee. The Fifth Committee of the General Assembly, that deals with administrative and budgetary issues, voted against the Russian proposal here yesterday that aimed at stopping the UN from offering marital benefits to its employees with same-sex spouses. 80 nations voted against denying these benefits.
China Clamps Down on Sexual Content on Wechat
Reuters - Beijing, China, 3/25/2015
China's Internet regulator issued new guidelines prohibiting sexual and vulgar content on Tencent Holdings Ltd's popular messaging app, the latest step in the agency's perennial campaign to clean up China's Internet. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said sexually explicit pictures and text, including nude photos and erotic animation, and stories of ‘one-night stands, wife-swapping, sexual abuse and other harmful information’ will be subject to punishment. WeChat, known as Weixin in China, is by far the country's most popular messaging app with 500 million users.
Sale Of Sex Toys: Court Tells Lawyer to File a Police Complaint
The Indian Express - New Delhi, India, 3/24/2015
More than a month after a Delhi court directed police to conduct a preliminary probe on whether selling sex toys and related products amounted to abetting acts prohibited under Section 377, a city court has now directed the complainant to lodge a formal complaint before the police station concerned. Supreme Court advocate Suhas R Joshi had filed a complaint before the court alleging that under the segments of ‘sexual wellness products’, e-tailers sold products that allegedly amounted to abetting acts prohibited under Section 377 of the IPC. Section 377 deals with unnatural offences involving carnal intercourse against the order of nature.
Dutee Chand: Indian Sprinter Starts Appeal Against Hormone Test Ban
BBC, India, 3/23/2015
Indian sprinter Dutee Chand has started an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) against her indefinite ban from competition. Chand, 19, has not been allowed to compete since last summer after failing a hormone test. The test revealed her body produced natural levels of testosterone above International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) guidelines. Her legal team will argue the ruling is discriminatory and flawed. There is currently no similar assessment for male athletes.
HIV/AIDS Still Largely a Taboo Subject in Hong Kong And Much of East Asia
South China Morning Post, Hong Kong, 3/23/2015
The stigma over Aids is the biggest obstacle in diagnosing and treating patients in Asia, but Hong Kong is among a regional group that's stepping up efforts to combat the disease. HIV and AIDS was presented in positive fashion in Hong Kong last week, thanks to celebrities such as Victoria Beckham, Gwyneth Paltrow and Michelle Yeoh, in town to attend a fundraising gala dinner by amfAR, the Foundation for Aids Research. But on the whole, the disease is still a taboo subject in Hong Kong and the region. Although the numbers of people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus and deaths from Aids-related illnesses have declined worldwide, they continue to rise in many parts of Asia.
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