Blog 6 Transpeople fight for rights in Malaysia

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/06/world/asia/seeking-the-right-to-be-female-in-malaysia.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

-->

I am so glad I ran across this article. It couldn’t have come at a more perfect time, since we just recently covered gender and sexuality in class. We learned that gender is not dichotomous. A man can be very feminine while a woman can be very masculine. Or a woman can have a mixture of feminine and masculine qualities such as a womanly face and small chest. The possibilities are endless. This also includes men feeling that they were born in the wrong body and the same with women, commonly known as transgender. While in America we have developed some tolerance towards transgender people, in other parts of the world, they have not yet done so. Not only do they not have tolerance, it is deemed illegal in some predominantly Muslim areas such as Malaysia that have Fitnas, or religious rulings, stating it is not allowed for practicing Muslims to be transgendered.  A born male, Adam Shazrul Bin Mohammad Yusoff started wearing female clothing at age thirteen. Adam and a few others have come together and, with the help of an attorney, challenged the law. The verdict will be announced on Thursday. This law restricts transgendered people by essentially discouraging them from being who they feel they are meant to be, so the repeal of this law would mean a great deal to the transgender community of Malaysia who are now in constant fear of being arrested and jailed or fined. They do not only have legal restrictions to worry about but social discrimination is at the forefront of their minds as well. Because many will not hire them, they are forced to do sex work in order afford to keep up their appearance such as clothes, makeup, hormones, etc.  If the law (stating one cannot dress as the opposite gender than they have been officially declared as) is repealed, this could completely change the role of transpeople in society. No longer having to resort to sex work, they could hold down real jobs and have the same opportunity for success as everyone else. This could also greatly affect the number of HIV cases- out of 9.5 million transgender people across the Asia Pacific region, “alarming numbers” of men who identify as women — are HIV positive. Again, with the opportunity to get good jobs, transgendered people can move up in the social ladder and no longer participate in sex work, therefore lessening the spread of HIV. I have tried not to simply view this issue ethnocentrically, but provide evidence within the context of the culture to support the repeal of this law. Although this would not give transgendered people the complete rights they seek (they will still not be legally allowed to have gender reassignment surgery) would be a tremendous step in the right direction.