Many Southeast Asian countries are slowly but surely accepting LGBT rights in the last few years and are continuing to do so. Vietnam, The Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia are just some of the places that have not only begun to recognize same sex couples rights but have elected gay politicians. However Malaysia is being very stubborn in this respect. They reject anything that has to do with the LGBT program and the people involved in it. Authorities have even encouraged discrimination and hostility towards these groups. In the beginning of October, 4 trans women were rejected completely when they brought forth the first constitutional challenge in Malaysia because they were being treated unfairly by not only individuals, but their own government. They were being criminalized for choosing to dress like and act like women even though they were men. They were being treated like criminals and wanted protection under the law against the hostility being brought upon them. Since the Malaysian constitution is supposed to guarantee personal liberty, nondiscrimination, and freedom to express ones identity they believed they could win. The judge that rejected their claim saying that they were not born wanting to dress like women. They were born men and therefore should act like men. This is a very backwards statement considering the growing transgendered community not only in Malaysia but throughout Southeast Asia. Because of these transgendered women's decision to keep their appearance as women, they face jail time and will be forced to attend Islamic religion courses and will be pressured to reform and verbally state they will no longer be trans.
While I find this horrible that these trans women may be facing jail time simply for being who they are, I'm not surprised at the Malaysian's government and their response to these women. The Malaysian government is not known for being especially tolerant of the LGBT community. Because the Malaysian constitution clearly states that their people are not supposed to be discriminated against and that they have personal liberty, these women should have won their case but it is ultimately up to the judge and she believed that it was not natural for trans women to exist because "they were born men so they should act like it." Hopefully Malaysia will begin to follow the examples of the other countries around them and become more tolerant towards the LGBT community. Because while these 4 women are technically men, they want to identify as women and they should have the right to do so without fear of being hurt or tormented by their government.
http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/transgender-womens-constitutional-challenge-to-sharia-law-fails-in-malaysia/news/2012/10/16/51318
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