A joint sitting of both houses of the Bhutanese parliament on Thursday approved a bill to legalize gay sex, making the Himalayan kingdom the latest Asian nation to take steps toward easing restrictions on same-sex relationships.
Sections 213 and 214 of the Bhutanese penal code had criminalized “unnatural sex,” widely interpreted as homosexuality.
Bhutanese lawmaker Ugyen Wangdi, vice chairperson of a joint panel considering the changes, said that 63 out of 69 members of both houses of parliament voted in favor of amending the code to scrap the provision.
Six members were absent.
“Homosexuality will not be considered as unnatural sex now,” Wangdi said by telephone from the Bhutanese capital of Thimphu, without giving details.
The changes still need to be approved by the King of Bhutan to become a law.
Rights advocate Tashi Tsheten said that he was “thrilled and really happy” over the parliamentary move, calling it a “victory” for the LGBTQ community.
“I haven’t stopped smiling since yesterday. I am eagerly awaiting his majesty’s assent,” said Tsheten, director of the LGBTQ group Rainbow Bhutan.
“I think the bill being passed on [International] Human Rights Day itself is a momentous day for everyone in Bhutan,” he said.
“I believe everyone who has stood up for the LGBTQ community in Bhutan is going to celebrate today, as this is our victory,” he added.
The move by the mostly Buddhist nation of 800,000 people comes after other Asian countries have relaxed restrictions on the rights of LGBTQ people.
Jessica Stern, executive director of the advocacy group OutRight Action International, said in a statement that the vote in Bhutan was a “huge achievement.”
“For too long, the human rights of LGBTQ people have not been recognized. Today, Bhutan chose to tell a different story and create a different future for itself,” Stern said.
“It is both a testament to the perseverance of the LGBTQ movement in Bhutan, and a source of inspiration for LGBTQ movements across the continent and the world where such laws are still in effect,” she said.
India removed a centuries-old colonial prohibition on gay sex in 2018, triggering celebration across the country.
In Nepal, authorities are to count LGBTQ people for the first time in a national census next year to help sexual minorities gain better access to education and healthcare.
Bhutan is famous for its “gross national happiness” index as an alternative to GDP to indicate real economic progress.
Additional reporting by AP
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared martial law in an unannounced late night address broadcast live on YTN television. Yoon said he had no choice but to resort to such a measure in order to safeguard free and constitutional order, saying opposition parties have taken hostage of the parliamentary process to throw the country into a crisis. "I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free
CHAGOS ISLANDS: Recently elected Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam told lawmakers that the contents of negotiations are ‘unknown’ to the government Mauritius’ new prime minister ordered an independent review of a deal with the UK involving a strategically important US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, placing the agreement under fresh scrutiny. Under a pact signed last month, the UK ceded sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, while retaining control of Diego Garcia — the island where the base is situated. The deal was signed by then-Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Oct. 3 — a month before elections in Mauritius in which Navin Ramgoolam became premier. “I have asked for an independent review of the
France on Friday showed off to the world the gleaming restored interior of Notre-Dame cathedral, a week before the 850-year-old medieval edifice reopens following painstaking restoration after the devastating 2019 fire. French President Emmanuel Macron conducted an inspection of the restoration, broadcast live on television, saying workers had done the “impossible” by healing a “national wound” after the fire on April 19, 2019. While every effort has been made to remain faithful to the original look of the cathedral, an international team of designers and architects have created a luminous space that has an immediate impact on the visitor. The floor shimmers and
‘VIOLATIONS OF DISCIPLINE’: Miao Hua has come up through the political department in the military and he was already fairly senior before Xi Jinping came to power in 2012 A member of China’s powerful Central Military Commission has been suspended and put under investigation, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday. Miao Hua (苗華) was director of the political work department on the commission, which oversees the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the world’s largest standing military. He was one of five members of the commission in addition to its leader, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Ministry spokesman Colonel Wu Qian (吳謙) said Miao is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline,” which usually alludes to corruption. It is the third recent major shakeup for China’s defense establishment. China in June
RSS