'We're not hidg': Gay and lbian Rsians say a cultural shift is unrway

Contents:

• 377A: SGAPORE TO END BAN ON GAY SEX
• 'WE'RE NOT HIDG': GAY AND LBIAN RSIANS SAY A CULTURAL SHIFT IS UNRWAY
• GAY RIGHTS, SECTN 377: A TIMELE OF LGBT LAW INDIA – WILL BE LEGALISED?

377A: SGAPORE TO END BAN ON GAY SEX

Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Before India legalised homosexual sex 2018, at least one billn people Asia lived wh some form of anti-LGBTQ legislatnFor much of the past two centuri, was illegal to be gay a vast swathe of the world - thanks to lonial today, lonial-era laws that ban homosexualy ntue to exist former Brish terrori cludg parts of Ai and is Asia where they have had a signifintly wispread impact. This is the regn where, before India legalised homosexual sex 2018, at least one billn people lived wh anti-LGBTQ n be traced back to one particular law first nceptualised India, and one man's missn to "mornise" the lony. 'Exotic, mystil Orient'Currently, is illegal to be gay around 69 untri, nearly two-thirds of which were unr some form of Brish ntrol at one pot of is no cince, acrdg to Enze Han and Joseph O'Mahoney, who wrote the book Brish Colonialism and the Crimalizatn of Han told the BBC that Brish lers troduced such laws bee of a "Victorian, Christian puranil ncept of sex".

Whether you ternalise or not, affects you and everyone who lov you, " she told the ptn, The SG Boys is the first LGBTQ podst Sgapore, where gay sex is still illegalThe Covid panmic has exacerbated the problems, she recent example her group found was Sri Lanka, where the police were tasked to distribute emergency ratns while the untry was unr curfew - but some the LGBTQ muny were too aaid to e forward due to the untry's anti-sodomy law. The lack of rights is one reason they fd difficult to return, as well as the refal among some Sgaporeans cludg ernment misters to acknowledge that there is source, Olivia and Irene ChngImage ptn, Olivia (send om left) and Irene (far right) live Seattle wh their two dghters"I thk for me the biggt tratn om the fact that Sgaporeans thk everythg's okay - that as long as gay people keep quiet... In Sgapore and Kenya, activists have ed the repeal legal arguments agast their own lonial anti-homosexualy centuri after was ed by the Brish as a legal blueprt, India once aga is seen as an example to follow - this time to strike down that very law that was exported across Asia.

The Philippe cy of Mandaluyong has approved an ordance to protect the rights of lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people om discrimatn, the latt a slew of lol laws passed across the untry. Media ptn, Watch: The moment Sgaporeans learn gay sex ban will endSgapore will repeal a law that bans gay sex, effectively makg legal to be homosexual the cisn, announced by Prime Mister Lee Hsien Loong on natnal TV, after years of fierce activists Sgapore have hailed the move as "a w for humany" cy-state is known for s nservative valu, but recent years an creasg number of people have lled for the lonial-era 377A law to be abolished.

'WE'RE NOT HIDG': GAY AND LBIAN RSIANS SAY A CULTURAL SHIFT IS UNRWAY

Sgapore is the latt place Asia to move on LGBT rights, after India, Taiwan and ernment's prev stance was to keep 377A - which bans sex between men - but also promised not to enforce the law an effort to appease both on Sunday night, Mr Lee said they would abolish the law as he believed "this is the right thg to do, and somethg that most Sgaporeans will accept" noted that "gay people are now better accepted" and scrappg 377A would brg the untry's laws le wh "current social mor, and I hope, provi some relief to gay Sgaporeans". This would effectively make harr for gay marriage to be said Sgapore remas a tradnal society wh many keen on matag fay and social activists lled this "disappotg" and warned that would only further entrench discrimatn society.

Though the law technilly crimalis sex between men, is effectively seen as a ban on has not been actively enforced recent years, a thrivg and creasgly visible LGBT scene has veloped Sgapore, cludg gay LGBT activists have long lled for 377A to be scrapped, sayg the law perpetuat social stigma agast gay people, go agast Sgapore's nstutn which forbids discrimatn, and has trickled down to fluence other aspects of life. For stance, any ntent emed as "promotg homosexualy" n be banned om broadst Sgapore, and TV shows and movi have the past been law is also at odds wh Sgapore's image as an open, diverse global fancial hub and multatnal pani based the state have said would hr their efforts to attract many Sgapore still support retag 377A, recent years the ll for s aboln has grown stronger, wh surveys showg growg support for LGBT the same time both LGBT activists and nservativ - many of whom e om relig groups - have mobilised on both sis of the issue.

Meanwhile, nservativ have anised social media mpaigns and events llg for the prervatn of tradnal valu, and some church have promoted ntroversial gay nversn Sunday, Mr Lee appealed to both mps for unrstandg.

GAY RIGHTS, SECTN 377: A TIMELE OF LGBT LAW INDIA – WILL BE LEGALISED?

Several former Brish loni such as Kenya, Malaysia and Myanmar still have some versn of 2018, India's Supreme Court abolished 377 a historic verdict, promptg hop among activists that other former loni would eventually follow recent years, other parts of Asia have also moved to legalise gay marriage. In May 1997, Senator Blas Ople reportedly revealed that the Philipp have a law prohibg gays om registerg as a party, anisatn or aln the party-list system ed electns [R1. On 08 April 2010, the Philippe Supreme Court votg 13–2 overturned a cisn by the Electns Commissn barrg the gay rights group Ang Ladlad (Out of the Closet) om nttg natnal electns May and regnized as a legimate polil party for the first time [R4.

Jt 30 years before this, the same India that now allows people to take lovers of the same sex, was an India that persecuted openly gay people and an India where if you me out as gay or queer, you uld lose your job.So, how did the untry make this transn?

But today, on the anniversary of India's own LGBT rights day, we walk you through a brief history of LGBT laws India.In Ancient & Medieval IndiaBefore the imposn of lonial-era laws unr Brish le, India had s own texts, which tailed the practice of homosexualy and same-sex terurse.