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Homosexuals in Asia stand up for their rights

AFP, MANILA
Tuesday, Nov 25, 2003, Page 16

Two unidentified Filipino homosexuals wave to the crowd on a float last week. The parade coincided with the 22nd World Conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association, held in the Philippine capital - the first ever international lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersexed meeting in the Asia region. PHOTO: AFP

After suffering in silence in largely conservative societies, homosexuals in Asia are beginning to speak up. But not for them the luxuries of American homosexuals who are empowered enough to lobby for same-sex marriages: Asian gays are still fighting for the right to exist as ordinary human beings.

Gays and lesbians in much of the region are reeling under an atmosphere of extreme homophobia where they are constantly harassed, humiliated,

shunned or even beaten up in societies that cannot accept them for what they are, rights activists say.

"What we are asking for is non-discrimination. That's all we can afford to ask for now," Anna Leah Sarabia, a senior Asian official of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) said.

Brussels-based ILGA held a landmark meeting in Manila last week where 400 delegates from 30 countries tackled discrimination against homosexuals, particularly in Asia.

The meeting was ILGA's first in Asia, where the majority of gays and lesbians are afraid to live openly because homosexuality is culturally and religiously shunned. Hong Kong is the only place in Asia to have legalized homosexual acts -- in private -- between consenting adults.

Sarabia, the executive director of the ILGA's women's secretariat, said the Manila meeting gave top priority to counseling for homosexuals facing

psychological pressure and stress arising from society's discrimination.

Burdened with guilt and shame and having fallen prey to hate crimes, some are forced to go underground where they often turn to alcohol, drugs and anonymous sex, making them vulnerable to AIDS, she said.

"It is depressing to note that it is right here in Asia, the cradle of all major

religions which preach love and kindness to each other, that lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals are being condemned as evil, abnormal and unhealthy," Sarabia said.

Asian societies in ancient times were "very open" to diverse sexuality until possibly Western colonial powers institutionalized homophobia in the region, she charged.

For example, same-sex eroticism was prevalent throughout early Chinese history before Beijing considered homosexuality a mental sickness, delegates said. Only recently did China begin considering it a natural phenomenon.

In India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore, homosexuality is outlawed by laws inherited from British rule, delegates say, suggesting that homophobia is a by-product of Western cultural expansion.

The notion that gay and lesbian rights were imported into Asia from Europe is also wrong, said Claudia Roth, Germany's human rights commissioner and keynote speaker at the ILGA meeting.

Roth, who has campaigned for many of Europe's sweeping anti-discrimination laws, said the ongoing debate in Asia on homosexual rights would also set the pace for non-discrimination legislation in the region.

"It is extremely important that this meeting took place in Asia for the first time. This shows that human rights are indivisible and must be guaranteed, irrespective of cultures and regions," she said.

"That there is already discussion on the necessity of an anti-discrimination law is a first step. Same-sex marriage and same-sex partnership will be the future," Roth assured Asian homosexuals.

She vowed to lobby harder for a resolution on the rights of homosexuals at the UN Human Rights Commission next year, despite stiff opposition from the Vatican and Muslim countries.

In an indication that Asian governments may begin to change their perception on the homosexual issue, Singapore recently allowed gays to work in the civil service although it still disallows homosexual acts.

Yves de Matteis, representing a coalition of gay and lesbian groups in Geneva, said it was a paradox that some countries championed human rights and freedom of religion when they do not accept homosexuality and refused to acknowledge transgender issues.

The Manila meeting also hailed Taiwan's proposed controversial bill to legalize gay marriages and recognize the right of homosexual couples to adopt children.

The final draft of the bill is expected to be ready for parliamentary review in December and if approved by parliament, Taiwan would be the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriages.

"This is going to be a remarkable development and hopefully, it will set the ball rolling in Asia," Sarabia said.
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