Nepal Army has court martialled a female soldier on grounds of Lesbianism after withdrawing the jail term imposed upon her following protests by gay rights group, according to New Delhi TV.

Bhakti Shah, a junior staff has been expelled by the army for having sexual relationship with another female in the Bhaktapur Army Training Centre, sources at the Army Headquarters said.

Action was initiated against her last year after she was discovered to be a lesbian. Condemning the act as immoral, the Army Court decided to slap 60 days imprisonment and expulsion from the job but had to withdraw the jail term after protests by gay rights group. However, she has already spent 60 days in Army custody during investigation.

Sunil Babu Panta, a gay activist and the president of Blue Diamond Society, which is an organisation dedicated to the rights of sexual minorities, has termed the punishment as undemocratic and ridiculous.

The military court’s verdict is a breach of the Supreme Court verdict that recognizes the existence of the third sex, Panta said. The Supreme Court, in a landmark verdict six months ago, had decided to provide equal rights to the third sex. As per the new act the gays can have citizenship certificate and are entitled to equal treatment by the state.

Next Sunday, June 29th, New Delhi will witness its first ever queer pride parade, according to Thaindian. Similar marches will be held simultaneously in Kolkata and Bangalore as well.

“It will be the first time in Bangalore too. This June 29, the pride march would be in 20 cities across the world,” writer and activist Gautam Bhan told IANS.

“Whole programme was planned only two weeks ago, when friends from Kolkata contacted and discussed about the pride march. Since then we started getting in touch with people in Delhi and response from gays as well as straights has been quite encouraging,” Bhan said.

” ‘Queer Pride’ is a celebration. It is about loving who we are, whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, ‘hijra’ or straight, and affirming everyone’s right to be respected for his or her own sexual choices,” Bhan added. “It is a celebration of how far we have come and how long we still have to go,” Bhan pointed out.

The parade would begin at 5.30 p.m. Sunday from Regal Building at Connaught Place.

“We will gather at the Regal cinema at the Connaught Place Outer Circle, then parade our pride along the Inner Circle, through Central Park, down Janpath and right to Jantar Mantar, where we will have celebration, singing, speeches and a candlelight vigil,” Bhan said.

The activists are inviting everyone to be a part of the parade and are busy appealing people through blogs and e-mails to join in. The activists are also fundraising for the event.

“If anyone wants to be out on the street and yet under cover, they would be provided masks to cover faces or they can bring something along themselves,” Lesley A. Esteves, a journalist, told IANS.

Talking about their right not to be discriminated against, Bhan said: “It is all about human rights. We call India greatest democracy in the world and keep our head high in Southeast Asia. But we are far less progressive than our neighbours such as Nepal and Sri Lanka.”

“We should learn from Nepal, which in its new constitution has cleared that no one would be discriminated against on basis of sexuality. The march would help in instilling a feeling of protection among those who do not want to come out in the open,” he added.

In a terrible ending to a sad story, two married women, who were secret lesbian lovers for a number of years, committed suicide by setting themselves ablaze. Family members of Christy Jayanthi Malar, aged 38, and Rukmani, aged 40, had known about the relationship, and had made multiple attempts to separate them. The day the women committed suicide, members of both families intensely harassed the two women.

The police recovered the charred bodies of the women, who died hugging each other, from one of their homes in Sathangadu, near Thiruvotriyur, on Saturday. 

“Around midnight, they poured kerosene on their bod(ies) and set themselves on fire. They appear to have hugged each other during the final moments of their life,” an investigation officer who inspected the scene said. 

Based on a complaint by Rukmani’s elder sister Padmavathy, Sathangadu police have registered the case and an investigation is under way. 

Family members have agreed to bury the ashes of the women together. 

Reacting to the incident, lawyer and activist Sudha Ramalingam said it was time Section 377 of IPC (India’s law that bans ‘unnatural’ sexual offense) was abolished. “We have reached a stage where one has to accept relationships which are not termed normal. Everyone has the right, especially two consenting adults, to choose their way of life,” she said. All India Democratic Women’s Association leader Vasuki said suicides are not a solution to any problem. “Same sex relationships are coming to the fore these days, and we do not have a coping mechanism in place,” she told The Times of India. 

Source: Times of India

Aligarh, India

Suman Singh, 25, and Anita Singh, 24, met in college 6 years ago, and fell in love. They went to nursing school together, and found jobs at two private clinics and began living together. Two years ago, they “married” at a temple in Moradabad. Since then, Suman has considered herself Anita’s “husband”.

In April, 2008, Anita’s parents forced her to marry a man, Rajendra Singh, 30, in the city of Aligarh, and the women’s lives were plagued by loneliness and emptiness.

Unable to cope with the separation, Suman hired three killers to kill Anita’s husband, with Anita’s knowledge. The hired ‘help’ came by Rajendra’s house on Thursday, May 8, and a day later, the man’s body was found dead. 

Police say that Suman Singh, a postgraduate in political science, confessed after her partner Anita spilled the beans to police.

“Suman was picked up after circumstantial evidence suggested she had a role in Friday’s murder. She kept denying her involvement but broke down after Anita revealed all,”  Aligarh senior superintendent of police Raghuvar Lal.

The Malaysian Star reports that Jalan Fettes police detained 14 men in a fitness and sauna centre believed to be a front for gay activities. In the 6pm raid on Saturday, police from the state anti-vice department also seized 1,800 condoms from the premises. 

George Town OCPD Assistant Commissioner Azam Abd Hamid said six men, all naked, were caught in three toilets (the math makes 2 per toilet) while the others were found patronising the joint.

“We also found used condoms littered all over the place,” said Hamid. He said the suspects, aged between 20 and 30, had been reprimanded to assist in investigations into immoral activities at the centre. 

This is the third time since last November that the fitness centre has been raided. Hamid is likely to recommend to the local authorities to close down the centre. On Nov 5 last year, police raided the centre and discovered it was used to host a sex party. They rounded up 34 men, aged between 22 and 55. Among those arrested was a Briton.

The raid was part of an on-going operation, code-named ‘Operation Rose,’ aimed at “curbing immoral activities” and “cleaning” up places like Leith Street, Penang Road and the Esplanade frequented by transvestites.

(source)

Whenever people travel to Thailand, they always remark about the men and women, walking through the streets, holding hands. We talk about it as a cultural phenomenon, removed from gay, or lesbian, or queer, and often talk it as the North American constraints of demonstrating non-sexual affection. 

Yet, in Thailand, real queer people - those gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered - and real queer expression still struggle for attention and acceptance. These gay and lesbian people  are still struggling with proving that the sexual side is ok too. 

Anjira Assavanonda recently wrote an article, titled ‘Being gay is okay,’ in The Bangkok Post. The subtitle of the article is, “Parents should realise that having homosexual children is not a shameful thing.” And, in the article, she discusses how parents need to learn that having gay children is acceptable, and sometimes preferable. She discusses Frank, who talks about his mother realizing he is gay.

“I felt really bad that I couldn’t be my parents’ good son,” Frank lamented. “I suffered hiding myself until my mother could not see me control myself any longer. She told me to be whatever I wanted to be, as long as I’m a good person and didn’t get involved with bad things,” said Frank.

She also talks about Muk, a lesbian, and her mother. Muk’s mother says, ”We agree there’s nothing wrong with our daughter being a tomboy. Think carefully, having a girlfriend may be safer than dating a boy. At least we can be sure she won’t flirt with men and get pregnant. Besides, Muk is a good child and never causes us trouble.”

These thoughts represent a world changing. A world where we continue to move beyond gender, color, and sexuality. The editor of the Post says,

“As the world becomes ever more open and is willing to accept the various lifestyles of people, it should come as no surprise to parents and friends when their children or their friends decide to come out of the closet to tell the world who they really are.

“Homosexuality is not a crime despite it being outlawed in many countries where the outdated laws continue to punish people for the “crime”. Thailand has come a long way in accepting homosexuals and it is a society that is one of the most tolerant. But, there are sections of society who are still reluctant it.

“Parents and the society should not look down upon those who wish to adopt a different lifestyle as what matters most is not what their sexual preferences are, but what kind of people they are.

“Homosexuals across the globe have been undertaking an uphill battle to be recognised as legit citizens of society, but their voices are still far from being heard. Despite all the efforts to give this group equal rights, they continue to make headlines as they are constantly being denied basic rights, such as insurance coverage or blood donations. There are good and bad people in every society, be it heterosexual or homosexual, but stereotyping a particular group due to their sexual preference is unacceptable.

“Parents and the society have to remember that being homosexual is not the end of the world - it is a positive step in the right direction. Being homosexual does not mean they will not achieve their goals in life as there are many cases where such people have made it big and have served society in ways that has spurred an era of prosperity.”

(source)

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reports that Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales has called for prohibiting queer people from taking part in the annual Santacruzan Festival that honors the cross. It seems that some parishes permit cross-dressing gay men to play female saints in the religious festival, and according to the Archbishop, this is highly insulting to the Virgin Mary. 

Yet, it seems he’s in no way against misogyny, since he believes that the roles should continue to be given to local beauty queens.

Also known as , the colorful processions are a major tourist draw in this predominantly Catholic country. “The procession is religious. [But] what the [parishes] do is organize a parade,” Rosales said over Church-run Radio Veritas. “That’s an insult to the Blessed Mother. Instead of pious young women, gay men are paraded, which makes [the procession] ridiculous.”
Rosales said he had taken the leaders of one parish to task for having gay cross-dressers participate in these processions. “I told them that’s not right because that’s a procession. You are destroying the purity of the devotion.”

Rosales stressed he was not discriminating against homosexuals but only wanted to preserve the solemnity of the processions.

Reached for comment, Jonas Bagas, secretary general of Lagablab (Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy Network), doubted Rosales’ remarks would stop the participation of homosexual men who count themselves as “Marian devotees.” “

There is nothing new about that position. It is expected and we have known that all along, yet these processions continue because we are also Marian devotees.”

The Times of India reports that that the first gay representative has been nominated to Nepal’s new government’s assembly, a month after an historic election and the dethroning of the king.

Sunil Babu Pant, a 35-year-old crusader for gay rights who founded the first organization to protect the rights of sexual minorities and ushered in a social revolution, now becomes part of Nepal’s political history as well after being chosen by the Maoist communist party to represent it in the 601-member constituent assembly.

“We are honoured to send Pant as our representative to the constituent assembly,” said Ganesh Shah of Communist Party, who’s Communist Party of Nepal-United (CPN-U) has won five seats in the assembly under the proportional representation system. “We hope it will improve the lives of a people who are the most repressed in Nepal, disowned both by society and their own families,” he added.

Pant, a computer engineer from Belarus, founded the Blue Diamond Society in 2002. It is now one of the best known gay rights groups in South Asia, fighting for the release of detained queer people, increasing HIV/AIDS awareness, running a hospice for terminally ill gay patients, and providing training and jobs to members of the community.

A Singapore television station, recently aired an episode of “Find and Design,” the A&E syndicated home and decor show, featuring a gay couple wanting to transform their game room into a nursery for the adopted baby. The station has now been charged with promoting “a gay lifestyle,” the city-state’s media regulator said Thursday. The Media Development Authority fined MediaCorp TV Channel 5 $11,000.

The authority said the episode contained scenes of the gay couple with their baby and the presenter’s congratulations and acknowledgment of them as a family unit “in a way which normalizes their gay lifestyle and unconventional family setup.”

Recently, StarHub Cable Vision was fined $7,200 for airing a commercial that showed two lesbians kissing.

Source: WishtTV

A religious celebration that memorializes a Hindu story includes lots of sex between men of the “third gender,” but leads to a not-so-scenic side effect: lots of litter in the form of used condoms.

Koovagam, a village in the India state Tamil Nadu, hosts the country’s largest religious festival observing a ritual re-enactment of Lord Krishna’s passionate night with Aravan, whom tradition says was a native of the area, according to an Apr. 23 story that appeared in the Hindustan Times.

Krishna is a major deity of the Hindu faith, which is said to be the oldest living religion. In the legend celebrated by the festival, Krishna is said to have transformed into a beautiful young woman named Mohini and then married Aravan, so that the young man–about to become a casualty of war–would have the pleasure of the martial bed in his lifetime.

The festival acts as a way for transgendered people to become the focus of rite and respect, while still dressing as the gender of their choice. The week-long celebration includes feasting, athletic competitions, pageants… and sex. Lots of it, for one night, a night that commemorates Krishna’s brief earthbound manifestation as Aravan’s wife.

The sexual part of the festival is seen as the consummation of a rite in which transgendered people, in the role of Aravan, become married to Krishna. The marital couplings then take place in the open, under the light of a full moon. The rite is also enjoyed by gays, bisexuals, and those who may be “bi-curious.”

But the next day, the field used in the celebration is littered with condoms given out by non-governmental organizations seeking to hinder the spread of HIV. Local parents are none too thrilled with this particular aspect of the festival.

Said a local resident named Ramesh, “Often, our children pick [condoms] up and bring them home,” the Hindustan Times article reported.

Continued Ramesh, “We welcome the festival because it’s been happening for as far as we can remember, but the increase in condom use in recent years has started creating this problem for us.”

One group by itself, the Tamil Nadu Network of Positive People, provided 3,000 condoms to festival participants. Rama Pandian, the founder of the group, was quoted in the Hindustan Times story as saying, “[Festivalgoers] are usually in a hurry to have frequent sex during this time, so the disposal of condoms may not adhere to the best practices.”

A local official, Brajendra Navnit, was quoted as saying, “We’ve noted the problem.” Vowed Navnit, “This year we’ll deploy more support stuff for sanitation at the village the next morning.”

The Tamil Nadu AIDS Initiative also sought to address the problem with a directive to participants in the rite: “No sex around the temple.”

Source: EdgeBoston