Gay Activists Fight For Rights - 26 May 2007
Posted by admin on July 2nd, 2007
| Fight for GBLT Rights in Thailand
Bangkok - Thailand’s new constitution must recognise the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and the transgendered, gay rights activistsurged yesterday. The equality clause in the draft constitution onlyendorses equal rights between men and women. ”There should be an additional clause to recognise diverse sexuality,which will help ease the problems of discrimination we are facing,” said Anjana Suvarnanonda, founder of Anjaree, a lesbian advocacy group. The National Human Rights Commission also supports the move to amend the draft charter so the gay community is accorded the same rights as heterosexuals, said human rights commissioner Khunying Ambhorn Meesook. Kittinan Tharamatat from Fahsiroong, a gay rights advocacy group, said that if the new charter recognises diverse sexuality and mandates equalrights for the gay community, various other, discriminatory laws willalso have to be amended. Rape laws, which currently protect only female victims, for example, will have to be amended to protect men, homosexuals and thetransgendered too. At present, raping boys or men is legally considered to be only sexual molestation, which carries lighter punishment than that of rape. ”Rapists, regardless of the gender of their victims, are all similaranimals from hell, so they deserve the same punishment,” he said. The law, he added, must also be subsequently amended to legalise same-sex marriage, thus allowing homosexual partners to have inheritance rights. At present, when one of the partners dies, his or her money and other assets go to the family of the deceased. Job discrimination against homosexuals and the transgendered will also become illegal if the new constitution addresses the issue, he added. ”Right now we, the transgendered, have a very limited work choice. The Meanwhile, Chantalak Raksayoo of the Sapan Group stressed how important it was for the constitution to clearly state a specific timeframe for legal amendments to recognise diverse sexuality and gay rights. ”Otherwise such rights will exist only on paper,” she said. According to Ms Anjana, half of young people who attempted suicide in Thailand were homosexuals and transgendered people who could not put up with severe pressure and condemnation from their own families and society. In addition to legal changes, Prof Suporn Koetwang, a noted public health expert, called for better public education to rein in homophobia among the general public. Sawing Tan-oot, a member of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and the Constitution Drafting Assembly, will propose the clause on gay rights be included in the draft charter. But many NLA members still do not understand the concepts of gender and diverse sexuality, he said. |