LGBTIQ+ Rights in Southeast Asia

Bangkok Naruemit Pride Parade 2022: Celebrating & Defending Equality for All

Seen as the first official parade in many years also with strong support from the newly elected Bangkok Governor, thousands of people including women, men, LGBTIQ+ and non-binary community members joined the event on Silom Road on Sunday, 5 June 2022.

By Chumaporn Taengkliang, Somsak Natthong and Notcease

One Queer Fight for Southeast Asia amid a Pandemic of Fear and Oppression

As the COVID-19 pandemic draws to a close, it will leave the vulnerable, especially countless LGBTQIA+ persons, desperate for deliverance and justice. In this regard, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) has become more significant than ever. It calls us to seek those who are scared and traumatized, and lift them from the rubbles.

By Joel Mark Baysa-Barredo

Phobia, Whose Phobia? Unpacking Present-Day Homophobia and Transphobia in Asia

On the occasion of International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), the scholar-activist Dédé Oetomo from Indonesia explores the contrast between contemporary homophobia and transphobia and the more tolerant or accepting past and how this can give support to the LGBTIQ+ community.

By Dédé Oetomo

Valerie Hammond

The Human Face and the Social Costs: Still Waiting for LGTBQIA+ Recognition in Vietnam

Valerie Hammond came out as a gay man when she was 17 before realizing that she is a trans woman. In sharing her personal experiences of becoming transgender two years ago, she reflects on the continual social discrimination and lack of legal rights the LGBTQIA+ community in Vietnam still face.

By Valerie Hammond

Better Mental Health for LGBTIQ+: Harnessing Awareness for Vulnerabilities in the Pandemic

More than a year after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, the virus continues to ravage the Asia-Pacific with catastrophic human, social, economic, and developmental costs. Many LGBTIQ+ persons experienced increased vulnerability on top of systemic human rights violations and social inequity many currently shoulder as the pandemic places more stress on health systems and social safety nets.

By Jennifer Ho and Edmund Settle

Queering Malay Identity Politics in the Malaysian Digital Space

The internet we have today has become as real as any social spaces we occupy in-person. So much of our lives are integrated digitally now and opting out of the digital space is no longer a choice for us. Today, to be online is to exist and to be seen.

Marriage Equality and LGBT Rights in Thailand and Southeast Asia with Chumaporn Taengkliang - Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Southeast Asia

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We need the better world, we hope we have the world fits for all gender.

'Waaddao' Chumaporn Taengkliang

Building Space for Lasting Change – LGBTI in Southeast Asia

Visibility and acceptance of lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender and intersex people (LGBTI) in Southeast Asia have grown in recent years even though some countries continue to criminalise same-sex relations or individuals with different gender expressions. From Myanmar to Indonesia to Timor Leste, even the most difficult environments have given birth to stories of love, hope and humanity. In this report, APCOM sums up the conditions and recent progress for LGBTI in each country and highlights the strategies that have helped to advocate for change.

By APCOM Foundation

Malaysia’s Hysterical Obsession over One Transwoman and the Struggle for True Political Reform

Only Sajat, a successful entrepreneur and social media influencer in Malaysia, has been targeted by the government and the public for years - mostly because of her gender identity.

Behind Political Homophobia: Global LGBT Rights and the Rise of Anti-LGBT in Indonesia

The Indonesian case of homophobia (or even some other ASEAN countries) reveals that homosexuality issues are more complex and are more than just moral or immoral debates; they are about national reactions to the rapid transmission of global discourse, the dynamic of movements and counter-movements in democracy, and also the state’s multifaceted representation which place sexuality as a political issue of our contemporary time.

By Hendri Yulius

Dédé Oetomo talking to the audience

LGBT Rights Under Siege in Indonesia

Dédé Oetomo stressed that the focus on the LGBT situation in Indonesia is because of the increased level of intolerance and homo- and transphobia in recent months. In spite of these worrisome trends, Dédé Oetomo see it as an opportunity that, because of the current crisis, the LGBT issue is now “on the table” and can be openly discussed in the public and policy spheres. He remains optimistic as he believes that Indonesian society is not per se homophobic and LGBT people have come a long way in terms of organizing.

By Catharina Maria and Rosalia Sciortino

Volleyball: A Safe Space for the LGBT Community to Play

Where the Philippines sits on the gender equality and LGBT rights spectrum can be very confusing for many who are not familiar with the country’s culture. It can feel like being in a time machine that takes you from the 18th century to the 21st in a matter of hours. Sports like volleyball are an equalizing factor, serving as a safe space for the LGBT community.

By Ana P. Santos

It is not a pie in the sky that will just fall into your lap, you got to fight for it.

Dr. Dédé Oetomo

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and LGBTI Rights in ASEAN - Dr. Dédé Oetomo - Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Southeast Asia

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Rethinking the Mobility (and Immobility) of Queer Rights in Southeast Asia: A Provocation

Seventy years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations General Assembly, what we have witnessed is that its claim of universality has been consistently challenged. While all human beings are deemed born automatically free with equal rights, the very definition of human itself in practice is not always neutral.

By Hendri Yulius

Perspectives Asia #4: The Gender Issue

“The civil union bill misses the target” says Thailand’s first transgender MP

Thai Cabinet Approves Civil Partnership Bill

LGBTI people in Myanmar: second-class citizens

Rainbow sign on a coffeeshop

The LGBT community: Youngest stepchild?

Life as LBGT in the Southern Border Provinces and the Pain of Being Different

The LGBT pride flag stands as a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride and LGBT social movements

Changing Political Tides

Contributors

Dédé Oetomo

Founder and Trustee of GAYa NUSANTARA Foundation, Board of APCOM Foundation, and adjunct lecturer at Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya

Chumaporn Taengkliang

LGBTIQ+ Rights Activist and member of TEA Group

Edmund Settle

Executive Coach and Social Entrepreneur

Jennifer Ho

a feminist, human rights activist, and deputy director of APCASO

Hendri Yulius

Researcher of Gender and Sexuality Studies

Srijula Yongstar

Program Coordinator Democracy & Participation

APCOM Foundation

Prachatai English

Prachatai English

Valerie Hammond

Performer and LGBTQIA+ Rights advocate

Joel Baysa-Barredo

Joel Mark Baysa-Barredo

Executive Director of SHAPE-SEA

Serene Lim

Researcher, feminist activist and Partner-Director at KRYSS Network, Malaysia

Ana P. Santos

Independent Journalist

Rosalia Sciortino

Founder/Executive Director of SEA Junction and Associate Professor at Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR) Mahidol University

Ohnmar Nyunt (Alison)

Program Coordinator of Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Myanmar

Alice Muthoni Murage

Former Intern at Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung in Myanmar

The Isaan Record

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