Gender and LGBTIQ+

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.

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.

An abundance of plastic is overwhelming our environment and threatening our health. There is a clear absence of gender-considerate approaches, even though women are significantly discriminated against, due to their increased exposure via household labor, work in the plastics industry, and use of menstrual plastic products. Female-led solutions to recycling and unpacking gender norms can contribute greatly to addressing this issue, though it remains a problem for everyone to deal with.

Most regions in the world have been – to some extent – affected by climate change, and Southeast Asian countries are no exception. Within the group of people who are affected,  recognition needs to be accentuated on the disproportionate impact of climate change along gender lines. It is essential for the region to further enhance their collaborative climate actions to respond to the need of a gender transformational change that will increase women’s resiliency toward the risk of climate change.

Indonesia is among the 10 ASEAN countries and China, Japan and South Korea which has officially signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in November 2020. This article explores social and environmental vulnerabilities in the region with a main focus on perspective from Indonesian civil society.

As institutions claimed themselves as concerning with gender equality, we would assume that gender and women’s issues are in the center of its development efforts as shown on the website of ADB, World Bank and AIIB: many women’s and children faces.