'This is historic': Malaysian man ws appeal agast Islamic gay sex charge | LGBTQ+ rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• MALAYSIA’S HIGHT COURT STRIK DOWN STATE GAY SEX BAN
• MALAYSIA: COURT RULES LAW BANNING GAY SEX UNCONSTITUTIONAL
• MALAYSIAN MAN WS LANDMARK CHALLENGE AGAST MLIM GAY SEX BAN
• MALAYSIAN WS LANDMARK RIGHT TO CHALLENGE MLIM GAY SEX BAN
• 'THIS IS HISTORIC': MALAYSIAN MAN WS APPEAL AGAST ISLAMIC GAY SEX CHARGE

MALAYSIA’S HIGHT COURT STRIK DOWN STATE GAY SEX BAN

The se aris om a 2018 raid on a private rince Selangor, which state relig enforcement officials arrted 11 men on charg of “attemptg” gay sex, unr sectn 28 of Selangor’s Syariah (Sharia, or Islamic law) crimal enactment. All members of the gay muny should be able to travel where they want and enjoy the treasur Malaysia has to offer, but is important to be aware of the legal and social suatn before travelg.

2013 rearch rried out by the Pew Rearch Center showed ltle acceptance om the Malaysian populatn towards homosexualy: 86% believed should not be accepted by society. Recently, a ernment mister orred the removal of photographs of gay people om an exhibn Penang, claimg they promoted LGBT rights, which is agast the state ernment policy. As a smopolan and multicultural cy, Kuala Lumpur has veloped a thrivg gay scene – jt exists behd closed doors for the most part.

You won’t fd any crazy parti like Bangkok or the openns of islands Thailand, but outright persecutn is rare, and ’s not pletely unheard of to see gay upl out and about; there jt won’t be any public displays of affectn.

MALAYSIA: COURT RULES LAW BANNING GAY SEX UNCONSTITUTIONAL

The suatn is siar idyllic Langkawi, which is popular wh gay travelers bee of s more liberal attus and chilled nightlife – as well as s stunng beach! Bookg at ternatnal, upsle hotels is always a safe bet; is highly unlikely gay travelers will n to any problems here, and there are plenty to choose om, whether Kuala Lumpur or beachsi Penang. Certaly, if LGBT travelers are lookg for an out-and-proud gay party holiday, Malaysia as a whole is not gog to be their ial statn.

While there might be some great nightlife optns, there are none that are publilly for the gay muny, and is val to be sensible and discrete, somethg which is repeated throughout this gui for a good reason.

In a untry where homosexualy is to all tents and purpos illegal, n be difficult to learn more about the gay muny and to get to know like-md lols. In gay-iendly bars hubs like KL and Penang ’s easy enough to get talkg to people, but bee members of the LGBT muny are rarely out and have to disguise themselv, uld often be difficult to know who to approach. Gay men e hook-up apps like Grdr, Scff, and Tdr but onle censorship is creasgly a problem, so a secure VPN before gog is strongly remend orr to protect privacy and rema anonymo.

MALAYSIAN MAN WS LANDMARK CHALLENGE AGAST MLIM GAY SEX BAN

Certaly, if wild parti and an open and active gay scene are what people want om a holiday, Malaysia is not gog to tick those box. (Kuala Lumpur) – Persistent Malaysian ernment-sponsored discrimatn threatens the rights of lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people Malaysia, Human Rights Watch and Jtice for Sisters said a report released today. ” He said, “Spegoatg transgenr persons has bee a tactic applied by ultra nservative and natnalist policians, ” and that “The exploatn of societal homo/transphobia has proven a nvenient way to divert public attentn away om ernment failure to addrs prsg social issu and risg equali.

(Bangkok) – The Malaysian ernment should renounce a bet mister’s proposal to crease crimal penalti agast lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people, Human Rights Watch said today. Homosexualy⚢✖ Illegal (imprisonment as punishment)Censorship✖ State-enforcedNon-bary genr regnn✖ Not legally regnizedDiscrimatn✖ No protectnsEmployment Discrimatn✖ No protectnsHog Discrimatn✖ No protectnsDonatg Blood✖ Banned (fe ferral)Conversn Therapy✖ Not banned.

Suggt Public Opn DataPublic OpnViews on same-sex marriage or other legal regnnViews on same-sex upl' right to adoptAcceptance of homosexuals as neighbors? Unr the feral law Male Homosexualy is Illegal Malaysia, punishable by 2-20 years prison, however the stat of female homosexualy is unclear unr the feral law.

MALAYSIAN WS LANDMARK RIGHT TO CHALLENGE MLIM GAY SEX BAN

LGBT discrimatn Malaysia is no protectns As homosexualy is illegal Malaysia, there are no protectns for LGBTQ+ munyIllegal some ntextsUnr sex discrimatn and genr discrimatn employment employment discrimatn Malaysia? The amendments to sharia crimal laws were proposed rponse to social media posts celebratg the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr muny as part of Pri Month June, said Ahmad Marz Shaary, puty mister charge of relig affairs, a statement.

June was chosen to be LGBT (Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgenr) Pri Month to memorate the Stonewall rts New York Cy, 1969.

The Stonewall rts were a ccial event the fight for LGBT regnn the Uned Stat and largely nsired to have led to gay liberatn movement and morn fight for LGBT rights. Globally, laws on LGBT rights and homosexualy have bee more liberal after 28 untri regnized same-sex marriage 2019 alone. They ntue to state that any laws crimalizg homosexualy pos a ser threat to the fundamental human rights of lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr dividuals.

'THIS IS HISTORIC': MALAYSIAN MAN WS APPEAL AGAST ISLAMIC GAY SEX CHARGE

ALEX DASHWOOD WRITES — Malaysia’s top urt on Febary 25th led that a Syariah (Sharia) state law banng gay sex “agast the orr of nature” was unnstutnal. The se “aris om a 2018 raid on a private rince Selangor, which state relig enforcement officials arrted 11 men on charg of ‘attemptg’ gay sex.

A Malaysian man on Thursday won a landmark urt challenge agast an Islamic ban on sex “agast the orr of nature, ” raisg hop for greater acceptance of gay rights the mostly Mlim untry. The Mlim man his 30s – whose name has been whheld by his lawyer to protect his privacy – filed the lawsu after he was arrted the central Selangor state 2018 for attemptg gay sex, which he ni. LGBT+ advot say Islamic laws have been creasgly ed to target the Southeast Asian untry’s gay muny, wh a rise arrts and punishments rangg om ng to jailg.

Dpe the lg, gay Malaysian men still face up to 20 years jail unr a Brish lonial-era law that bans gay sex, known as Sectn 377. The man who lnched the legal challenge argued that Selangor had no power to enforce an Islamic ban on “terurse agast the orr of nature” when gay sex was already a crime unr civil laws. As of 2022, six untri' legal s specifilly prcribe the ath penalty for the "crime" of homosexualy and another five untri allow for the possibily of the ath penalty.

LGBT and LGBTQ+ have several addnal variatns, cludg LGBTQ, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, and 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-spir, lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer, qutng, tersex, and asexual, wh the + reprentg pansexual, agenr, genr queer, bigenr, genr variant, and pangenr).

Two of the most notable advancements LGBTQI+ rights the US recent s are the legalizatn of gay marriage and the legalizatn of adoptn of children by same-sex upl. Gay marriage legalizatn expand om one state 2004 to all fifty stat 2015 through feral urt lgs, state urt lgs, state legislatn, and direct popular vot. Acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn's annual report State-Sponsored Homophobia, same-sex nduct was crimalized 67 of the Uned Natns' 193 member stat 2020 and was facto illegal two more.

In other untri, homosexualy is technilly legal, but promotn of "nontradnal sexual relatns", whether by anizatns or dividuals, is illegal. Moreover, another five untri have laws which are ls specific the outlawg and sentencg of homosexualy, but which leave the ath penalty available.

2022's iendlit natn for LGBTQ+ travelers is Canada, the first untry outsi of Europe (and the fourth untry the world) to legalize gay marriage, which did on July 20, 2005. Another of the world's most gay-iendly untri, Swen has legalized both marriage and adoptn for same-sex upl, stalled anti-discrimatn protectns for both genr inty and sexual orientatn, end nstutnal protectns agast discrimatn, and crimalized vlence agast LGBTQ+ people. Individuals arrted for homosexual nduct are often subjected to addnal mistreatment, om torture and forced anal exams by shady law enforcement officials to oversized sentenc or extend pre-trial rceratn that n last for years.

KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - Malaysia’s top urt has given the go-ahead for a man to challenge an Islamic ban on sex “agast the orr of nature”, his lawyer said on Wednday, a tt se for gay rights the mostly Mlim rights groups say Islamic laws have been creasgly ed to target the untry’s gay muny, wh a rise arrts and punishments rangg om ng to Mlim man his 30s, whose name has been whheld by his lawyer to protect his privacy, filed the lawsu after he was arrted 2018 for attemptg gay sex, which he acts are illegal Mlim-majory Malaysia, although nvictns are rare.

The untry, which has 13 stat, has a dual-track legal system, wh Islamic crimal and fay laws applible to Mlims nng alongsi civil man argued that central Selangor state, se of his arrt, has no power to enforce an Islamic ban on “terurse agast the orr of nature” when gay sex was already a crime unr civil laws.

“(If we w), the state law will be stck down and the crimal charg the (Islamic) shariah urt should be dropped, ” said Mohd Dd, the legal advisor for the Selangor state which was named as the rponnt, uld not be reached by phone and did not reply to an email seekg, CANED, FINEDThe man was among 11 men arrted on spicn of attemptg gay sex durg a raid a private rince of the group plead guilty, and were sentenced to jail, ng and f last year, sparkg outrage a socially nservative untry whose mor are largely shaped by Network, a Malaysian aln of 12 LGBT+ rights groups, ld the urt’s cisn to hear the se, sayg would help put a stop to an “ongog natnal trend” of g the ‘unnatural sex’ laws to target LGBT+ people. Many gay Malaysians are not open about their sexualy as a rult of women were ned for “attemptg lbian sex” unr Islamic laws the east ast state of Terengganu 2018, the same year that saw a transgenr woman attacked. Dpe promis of Mahathir Mohamad’s Pakatan Harapan, nobody knowsAn outburst by a Malaysian mister who cricised a femist rally attend by gay rights mpaigners is the latt sign the ernment is renegg on pre-electn vows to improve the untry’s dismal human rights rerd, crics say.

Islamic Affairs Mister Mujahid Rawa sparked uproar among activists when he said the prence of members of the gay muny at the Women’s March Malaysia on Saturday was “shockg”, an “abe” of mocracy and an attempt to “fend practic that are agast Islamic teachgs” rally, which was supposed to mark Internatnal Women’s Day and was attend by ordary cizens addn to activists and non-ernmental anisatns, had ma a seri of mands to improve women’s rights, cludg an end to child marriage, a dignified mimum wage for all and an end to genr-based Mahathir’s Malaysia, no gay rights and no ee speechBut s mand to end discrimatn based on sexual orientatn drew opposn om the mister, who said the ernment was unable to regnise somethg that was agast the the mister is technilly rrect on a pot of law – Malaysia, Islamic laws prohib homosexualy while a secular law bans sodomy – his rhetoric has angered activists who pot out that the untry’s lg aln, the Pakatan Harapan, had ma pre-electn pledg to boost universal rights.

“People who attend the march, regardls of their sexual orientatn or genr inty, are beg asked by fay, iends or lleagu why they were at this ‘ LGBT’ event, ” said Thilaga, g the acronym for lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr. Sgapore and Malaysia: so near to each other, so far to go on gay rightsThilaga said Pakatan Harapan’s stance on the issue appeared siar to that of s precsor.

But activists pot out that Mujahid is not the only Pakatan Harapan mister to have ma apparently anti-gay statements recently.