50 Cases of Witch-Hunting in Rajasthan in Over a Year, Not One Conviction
The Indian Express - Jaipur, India, 8/31/2017
Two cases of witch hunting within a week - the torture and subsequent death of 40-year-old Kanya Devi in Ajmer, and the confinement of an 80-year-old woman for 18 days after being branded a witch - have brought into focus the medieval practice of witch hunting that continues in Rajasthan despite a dedicated Act prohibiting it. Rajasthan enacted the Rajasthan Prevention of Witch Hunting Act in 2015, becoming the fifth state after Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha to legislate on the matter. Between April 2015, when the Act came into effect, and September 2016, 50 cases have been reported to the police from 12 districts, but there has not been a single conviction yet.
Chandigarh Gets Its First Transgender Welfare Board with 14 Members
The Indian Express - Chandigarh, India, 8/30/2017
The UT Administration has formed a 14-member Transgender Welfare Board. The board will ensure legal recognition of transgenders and safeguard their rights. The board will address the problems being faced by transgenders and take steps to ensure equal treatment for them. Dhananjay Chauhan, director of Saksham Trust, is a non-official member of the board. ‘I am so happy that finally we have our own welfare board. I thank the UT Administration, director (social welfare), state legal services authority for giving equal rights to LGBTQ community. It is a big achievement for transgender community in Chandigarh.’ Chauhan, said the board would also ensure that no one from their community faced any kind of harassment if they wished to take admission to the varsity.
Eunuchs to Move SC Against Census Results
The Nation - Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan, 8/30/2017
The transgender community will file petition with the Supreme Court against the results of the 6th Population and Housing Census released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistic (PBS). This was disclosed by Shahana Abbas, the coordinator of Ittehad Bara-e-Haqooq-e-Khawaja Sira Pakistan. She said that the community has rejected the bogus, inaccurate and misleading count of transgender population across the country. Abbas said that the census staff did not visit their places where they live, or refused to count them because mostly they did not have CNICs and individual houses yet now. She added that several transgender persons, who were mentioned as male or female in their CNICs, were not counted as transgender.
Criminalising Marital Rape ‘May Destabilise Institution of Marriage’: Centre Tells Delhi HC
Hindustan Times - New Delhi, India, 8/29/2017
The Centre on August 29 told the Delhi High Court that criminalising marital rape ‘may destabilise the institution of marriage’ and would become an easy tool for harassing husbands, a position slammed as retrograde by rights activists. Responding to a bunch of petitions seeking criminalisation of marital rape, the government said in an affidavit that the Supreme Court and high courts had already pointed to the misuse of Section 498A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) that prescribes punishment for husband for subjecting his wife to cruelty. ‘As to what constitutes marital rape and what would constitute marital non-rape needs to be defined precisely before a view on its criminalisation is taken,’ it said.
Constitutional Row on LGBT Heats Up
The Korea Times, South Korea, 8/29/2017
Far-right Christian groups are increasing efforts to block attempts to amend part of the Constitution that governs marriage, claiming the liberal-minded in the country are seeking to legitimize homosexuality. A special committee comprised of lawmakers began a nationwide tour on August 29 to hear public opinions on the possible revision of the Constitution to better guarantee equal rights. Christian groups oppose the committee's move to change or revise a part of the clause that defines marriage. The current clause states, ‘Marriage and family life should be established and maintained by equality of both sexes…’ But the committee has sought to either remove the ‘both sexes’ part or replace it with gender-neutral language.
Chile's Bachelet Sends Gay Marriage Bill to Congress
Al Jazeera, Chile, 8/29/2017
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has sent legislation to congress seeking to legalise gay marriage, a move that follows a string of social reforms in one of Latin America's most conservative nations. The bill submitted on August 28 would allow gay couples to adopt children and would denote marriage as a ‘union between two people’ rather than between a man and a woman, according to reports. In March 2017, Bachelet, a centre-left politician, pledged to send a full marriage bill to legislators before the end of the year. But it was not immediately clear if Bachelet would be able to push the gay marriage bill through congress before she leaves office in March 2018.
Nepal Police Plans to Set Up Anti-Trafficking Bureau
The Himalayan Times - Kathmandu, Nepal, 8/28/2017
Nepal Police is planning to set up a separate Human Trafficking and Transportation Control Bureau. Central Police Spokesperson DIG Pushkar Karki said the bureau would be formed as part of the security body’s efforts to fight human trafficking, which had become a growing problem in the country. The plan also ensures trafficking victims greater access to services through capacity building of the law enforcement agency. An 84-point Home Administration Reform Roadmap made public by Minister for Home Affairs Janardan Sharma has also attached high priority to anti-human trafficking measures. As per the roadmap, the Ministry of Home Affairs is planning to depute police attachés to Nepali embassies in labour destinations with high number of Nepali migrant workers.
DOH Seeks Immediate Tests, Treatment for HIV
The Philippine Star - Manila, Philippines, 8/27/2017
As the country’s HIV and AIDS cases soar at an alarming pace, the Department of Health (DOH) is implementing the ‘test and treat’ strategy to make sure that all infected individuals get immediate treatment. According to DOH Secretary Paulyn Ubial, they are advocating for the ‘risk groups’ to get themselves tested for HIV so the DOH can provide them with free anti-retroviral therapy (ART). The department has decided to shorten the testing procedure to make sure that those who test positive for HIV will immediately receive ART. Based on the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) Data 2017 report, the Philippines had the highest rate of new infections in Asia and the Pacific from 2010 to 2016 at 140 percent.
Ram Rahim Singh: Fatal Clashes Follow Indian Guru's Rape Conviction
The Guardian, India, 8/25/2017
At least 30 people have died in riots and arson attacks that have broken out across two states in northern India after a flamboyant spiritual leader was convicted of raping two of his female followers. The Indian army was deployed in the city of Panchkula on August 25 shortly after the court found Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of sexual assault. The self-styled ‘godman’ and leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect has been taken into custody and will reportedly be flown by helicopter to a jail in Haryana state before sentencing on August 28. Authorities told the Hindustan Times that at least 30 people had been killed across the region, with a further 250 injured.
Right to Privacy Judgment: SC Says Sexual Orientation Essential Attribute of Privacy and Must Be Protected
The Indian Express - New Delhi, India, 8/24/2017
The landmark Supreme Court’s verdict declaring the right to privacy to be a fundamental right has ushered in hope for the LGBT community that was dealt a blow by the same court when it criminalised sex between two consenting adults of same sex and brought it out of the ambit of Section 377. In a judgment on August 24, the apex court concluded that privacy includes at its core the preservation of personal intimacies and that sexual orientation is an essential attribute of privacy. The court held that privacy and protection of sexual orientation lie at the core of the fundamental rights under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution.
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