Speaker’s Corner at Hong Lim Park will once again turn into a sea of bright pink lights as Pink Dot marks its milestone 5th year.

Since the inaugural event in 2009 which saw 2,500 people coming together to form a giant pink dot, the movement has grown exponentially, seeing its largest-yet turnout of 15,000 people in 2012.

A significant milestone, Pink Dot 2013 aims to recognise the efforts of the LGBT community, its friends and allies in the endeavor against discrimination, ignorance and fear, while championing equality, diversity and inclusivity in this Little Red Dot we call home.

Come join us again this year as we continue to celebrate the Freedom to Love:

What to bring? : Pink Lights!
What to wear? : As always, PINK!

Activities commence at 4pm, and our Dot will be formed at 7:30pm. Concert will start at 530pm.

RSVP on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/events/539904216032873

This educational video campaign is to raise awareness regarding the transgender community in Malaysia in hopes to foster understanding as well as promote tolerance and acceptance and subsequently bridge the gap between the transgender community and the general populace.

Join the effort at:
Website: http://mytransally.weebly.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamyou.campaign
Twitter: @mytransally
Instagram: mytransally

Background:
The effing show is one of three digital tv programs produced by Popfolio Sdn Bhd. Their charter is to engage with young Malaysians to help create a far more democratic media space. Rather than being reduced to mere consumers, we’d like to see young Malaysians create their own media experience. We do this by collaborating with creative producers to develop individual shows. PopTeeVee provides the resources to create and distribute this programming. This separation between platform and creativity will hopefully help create a more engaging media experience.

The episode:
Humorous opinion on the BN MP from Sekijang’s recent disertation claiming that 33% of Malaysian men are gay and wants to start rehabilitation centers for these men. Guess he thinks lesbians are ok, the perv!

In doing the due diligence for starting a family with my partner, I was curious to find out what Islam stance on infertility processes such as IVF or artificial insemination. What I found is rather abysmal.

A 1980 Sunni fatwa came out shortly after the first test tube baby, Louisa Brown, was born in 1978, forbidding any form of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). However since the 1990s, a rash of fatwas made some ART accessible and permissible for married couple with infertility issues. These fatwas still serve as the foundation of Sunni ruling around ART up to today.

A highlight summary of the rulings include:
- Gamete (third party) ART including surrogacy, egg and sperm donation are not allowed. As no third party are allowed to intrude into the marital functions of sex and procreation, since marriage is a contract between the wife and husband during the span of their marriage, no third party donor is allowed, whether the donor is providing sperm, eggs, embryos, or a uterus. The use of a third party is tantamount to zina, or adultery.
- In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Artificial Insemination (AI) with the wife’s egg and husband’s sperm are permissible.
- Women should not expose themselves to male staff for treatment
- Husbands cannot masturbate to get sperm for infertility treatment
- Children born out of third party donor are considered illegitimate or worse, the rightful children of the donating party e.g. the man who donated the sperm or the woman who donated the uterus, egg or embryos.
- A muslim should be cautious of the fertility clinics motivation and procedures to avoid using the wrong sperm or eggs/embryos.

For more fun-filled details of other fatwa-sanctioned ART rights, read Making muslim babies: IVF and gamete donation in Sunni vs. Shi’a Islam: Marcia C. Inhorn 2006.

The end sum of options for people facing infertility issues as far as I can tell are as follows:

For a married man and wife who has to go through IVF to conceive:
1. As long as the sperm belongs to the husband, the egg and uterus belongs to the wife, the wife does not expose her aurat (See Hijab laws) to non-muhrims, husband does not masturbate to get his sperm out, the process is halal i.e. sanctioned.

For a woman with an infertile husband:
1. divorce the husband and find a fertile spouse
2. foster a child
3. be patient as God knows best

For a man with an infertile wife:
1. Marry (up to 3) other fertile wife
2. foster a child
3. be patient as God knows best

For a single person who has no desire to marry
1. get married to a fertile spouse and get divorced after the child is born, otherwise known as a mut’a wedding i.e. fake wedding to fulfill the religious obligations of finding sexual fulfilment or having children through marriage. Note: Mut’a is typically a Shi’a practice. Malaysian muslims are majority Sunnis.
2. foster a child

For a gay couple
1. forget about fostering a child, you and your spouse are going to hell

Granted, the basis for these rulings is well meaning. The aim is to keep the family line unambiguously defined and to protect one’s lineage. The intent is to protect future complications with relationships e.g. avoiding incestuous siblings/parent-child relationships should lineage be unknown.

Hence, a muslim wife retains her family name to “maintain the link between her and her parents and ascendants” and marriage is the only legitimate way to have children and most interestingly, muslims do not adopt children as much as foster them. I will cover adoption in islam in another article.

In breaking down the lineage argument, when a husband has a wife who is infertile, he is allowed to marry up to 3 other wives assuming they are fertile and have children with these other wives because the lineage of the child undoubtedly belongs to the husband.

When a wife has an infertile husband, using a third party sperm donor is tantamount to zina even when there is no sex involved because technically the child’s lineage belongs to the sperm donor and the wife.

For a single man trying to have a baby through a surrogate mother, this course is also considered zina. Furthermore, the ruling on children born out of wedlock is that the man has no parental rights over the child that is if the uterus donor and man are not married, only the biological mother has the rights to the child. (See Sunni Forum: Out of Wedlock Child) The ruling however runs counter to the protection of lineage and I am assuming is designed to punish the adulterers by denying parental attributions to the biological father.

For a single woman trying to have a baby via a sperm donor, unless the woman marries the sperm donor in a mut’a wedding or otherwise, the baby will be considered illegitimate and the act of impregnation is considered zina. According to law with illegitimate children, the sperm donor has no parental rights and the baby will be attributed to the woman, i.e. the baby is given the mother’s name as oppose to the biological father’s name.

Interestingly, Shi’a has a different view on ART where gamete donation is permissible as long as the infertile parents abide by the religious codes regarding parenting according to a late 1990 fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khamanei of Iran. However, the child of the egg or sperm donor has the right to inherit from the donor themselves, as the infertile woman or man are considered to be like adoptive parents as opposed to actual parents. The child is allowed to have the name of the infertile father. Specifically, in regards to sperm donation, the child born of sperm donation get to have the name of the infertile father instead of the sperm donor. However, the child can only inherit from his biological father, the sperm donor, since the infertile father is considered to be like an adoptive father.

Equally fascinating is IVF views in Judaism. 3rd party gamete donation including sperm is allowed as “Jewishness is conferred through the mother particularly through the act of gestating and birthing the baby.” In other words, lineage or Jewishness passed along through the biological mother instead of the father. In addition, conservative rabbis prefer non-Jewish donor as means of preventing future possible genetic incest. The Jewish state is quite pronatalist in that IVF is not only permissible for single career women and lesbian Jewish mothers but the procedure is often subsidized by the state. Another interesting fact is to ensure correct sperm/eggs implantation, maschigots i.e. “orthodox Jewish women” would preside over IVF procedures.

The fact of the matter is fertility clinics and sperm banks have improved leaps and bounds over the years where careful background and health screening is done through each sperm, egg or uterus donor. Many fertility clinics make potential parents go through therapy counseling and some require the couple to have counseling sessions with the potential donors if known. Most conscientious sperm banks have family limits for each sperm donor irrespective of successful pregnancy. Many banks have identity release programs designed to allow the child to find out the identity of the sperm donor after a certain age. Others even set up sibling catalogs to ensure couples get the same sperm source for consequential children.

I had a friend asked me once why I bothered going through the therapy sessions, paying thousands of dollars out of pocket to find a sperm donor and go through artificial insemination when I can easily just get a guy to sleep with me for less money or even free. After mentally punching this friend in the face, my simple answer was because I respect and love my partner that I will not “divorce” her to marry some guy to bear a child with, that I will not commit adultery with another person when I am committed to my spouse, and that I want her to be a part of the process as much as I will be.

Personally, though some percentage of the child’s biological origin may come from another source, we both believe that the child that we hope to conceive will be 100% our child. This child will be result of both our hard work in going through the process of ART, pregnancy and child rearing. The fact the child has some biological origin not from my partner is of minute emotional consequence. I am alarmed and a little sadden that the religion I was born into, place paternal lineage high above over love and fidelity of a relationship. I hope that the religious authority continue to have discussions on ART and come up with better rulings for couples with infertility issues, single parents and (I dare dream) gay couples.

Voice Comment: (920) iPhone-1

:: download file :: listen on iPhone ::

Duration: 42:22 | 25.3MB | Mono |

My listener, turned friend, share her story of being a transgender woman. I have had some other transgender women on Ongline before. But they are usually at the later part of the transition process. I thought it would be nice to let people know in details of what the process is like, and hopefully inspire further understanding and compassion.

Cathy is generous enough to share her time and stories with us.

Seksualiti Merdeka is an annual sexuality rights festival held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia featuring a programme of talks, workshops, theatre and music performances organised by a coalition of Malaysian NGOs, artists and individuals. According to the organisers, the purpose of the festival, which has been organised annually since 2008, is not to change the minds of the public to embrace the values of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender ( LGBT ) community, but to consolidate the LGBT community, and empower Malaysians to recognise their rights.

Lofty ideals aside, the week-long festival is basically a time for the minority group to gather, talk and share with the rest of the public.

Of course, any mention of sexuality – especially in regards to alternative sexuality – gets the belligerent religious zealots in our country extremely riled up. Picket signs and pitchforks get waved about as the scholarly exhibition is erroneously labeled as a hedonistic sex orgy. The surprisingly efficient cops come along and the festival is summarily banned.

Case closed, you would say – except this time, the boys in blue seem to have bitten off more than they can chew since the highly vocal organisers of Seksualiti Merdeka aren’t giving up all that easily.

With the potentially explosive issue being bantered about daily on the media headlines, there is a growing schism amongst the members of the GLBT community on how to deal with the unprecedented limelight. Even as the furore slowly dies down to become yesterday’s news, I think the issue has unearthed an unsettling rift in the community.

Despite our relatively small number, there is a clear separation of ideas amongst people like us: on one side we have the aggressive campaigners who advocate stridently marching for their civil rights while on the other, we have the more complacent gentlefolk who prefer things kept on the down-low without attracting much unwanted attention.

Time for war?
A situation ripe for battle. Akin to the beginnings of a civil war, repeated volleys of taunts and ripostes have already been launched from one group to the other with little chance of a ceasefire in the near future. Especially since it’s already clear that the two sides on either sides of the rift have vastly differing opinions when it comes to their sexuality.

Speaking from the position I am in, it would be easy to just keep mum, hunker down and refrain from rocking the boat so to speak. Things are actually going good. Home life is doing fine, even after my recent coming out. Same for the workplace. Homosexuality isn’t a dire mental disease to be cured anymore and despite their own reservations, even the most conservative would hesitate to speak against it since it would contravene accepted medical practice. So publicly open homophobia amongst my colleagues is rare.

Being in a more fortunate place in life, isn’t it time to help our downtrodden brothers and sisters who are being discriminated against? I think there is a need to have someone literally out there and proud – and yes, shouting our slogans in public as well. Though I don’t see the need for twinkly pink parade floats careering down Bukit Bintang anytime soon, I think homosexuals and transgenders need a credible voice out there to make a gentle push for tolerance and change. Perhaps even an identifiable model to show that things actually do get better so that teens struggling with their sexuality would know for sure that a bright future is eminently possible.

And yes, though it would be a long time coming, I would like someday to repeal the damned antiquated 377A penal code. Having that particular Sword of Damocles perpetually hanging over our heads for the rest of our lives is a chilling prospect.

So yes, I am glad there are folks like the ballsy outspoken organisers of Seksualiti Merdeka who are willing to risk the painful brickbats of the conservatives to speak up for the issues close to our heart. People like these are the ones who made Stonewall happen. Though we might not have chosen these champions to represent us, that doesn’t make their sacrifices any less worthy of our respect.

There is more than enough hate in the world for people like us, we don’t have to add to it.

It is with Great Sadness that we read about the Malaysian Police Ban of the Seksualiti Merdeka Festival planned to be held in Malaysia from the 9th to the 13th of November.

Malaysia claims to be “Truly Asia” but the banning of the festival by the Malaysian authorities proves otherwise. Asia is about diversity, and if one is to truly embrace the essence of Asia, one embraces and respects its diversity of culture, religion, and language, celebrates its people and their own unique ways of expressing emotion, love and sexuality, all this accompanied with the sounds, aromas and color, create what we all consider to be the drama of what Asia is all about, if we take one of these elements out, we loose what is truly Asia.

The banning of the Festival by the Malaysian Police is a fundamental disregard of the rights of the Malaysian Citizens to freedom of speech and expression.

Mr. Khalid Abu Bakar, Deputy inspector General of Police in his statement also shows blatant disregard to the Human Rights of the LGBT community in Malaysia, and clearly does not consider their rights as Human Rights.

We strongly urge the Malaysian authorities to reinstate the festival and celebrate the diversity that is truly Asia.

Poedjiati Tan & Sahran Abeysundara
Asian Representatives to the ILGA WORLD Board

Circumstance (Sharayet), a 2011 Sundance Audience Award winner, gives its audience a remarkable insight to life in Tehran. The sweet sexy lesbian relationship between the two main teenage protagonists (Atafeh played by Nikohl Boosheri and Shireen played by Sarah Kazemy) becomes almost second fiddle to the fascinating world that writer-producer-director Maryam Keshavarz navigates us through. We are able to witness rebellious Tehrans enjoying drugs, alcohol, free-form gender mingling in underground clubs; navigating to storefronts hiding contraband media alongside glimpses of school life and what life would be like harassed by the morality police.

The moral of the story permeates not only in the dialog but also in the explicit scenes of affection between Shireen and Atafeh and the displays of skinship. One must take a stance and be willing to take risks to change one’s circumstance. Given that homosexuality is a crime punishable by death in Iran, the movie bears a lot of risk for the people involved in the production of this film including the actors. Never mind that the film was shot in Beirut, Lebanon, the courage of the film’s crew is commendable for affording us the pleasure of peeking into an entirely plausible tribulations of a lesbian couple’s life in Tehran.

Apart from the occasional vagueness and abruptness in plot shifts of some scenes, this is a great movie to watch.

If you enjoyed the movie as much as I did or even if you haven’t, please show your support at http://www.takepart.com/circumstance

Circumstance Trailer. Link obtained from IMDB

Violence, stigma and discrimination against those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexed or queer (LGBTIQ) has for too long been justified in the name of culture and religion. In Malaysia, the situation is no different. There are LGBTIQ youth who contemplate suicide because of judgment and rejection from society. There are LGBTIQ youth who are kicked out from their homes as early as the age of 15 and sometimes, younger. Yet, these LGBTIQs are our fellow Malaysians, our friends and sometimes our own family members and relatives. With your help, both Knowledge and Rights with Young people through Safer Spaces (KRYSS) and Seksualiti Merdeka want to bring the message home to all Malaysians, that “Violence is not our culture”. We want Malaysia to be known as an equally safe space for all, irrespective of our sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI). With your help, we want to let all LGBTIQs in Malaysia know that there are Malaysians who do accept the way we identify ourselves. We respect each other as we do our indigenous peoples, our poor and our people with disabilities.

So we are inviting you to submit your original artwork and creative pieces to the “Violence is Not Our Culture: The SOGI Project”. We will compile winning submissions and selected voluntary contributions into a bound plain paper notebook that is designed to raise public awareness regarding issues faced by the LGBTIQ community in Malaysia. By participating in this competition and contributing your creative pieces, you will help us say to all Malaysians, that in the face of violence, “silence is not an option” and that “violence is not our culture”.

KRYSS is an organisation that works with young people on the issue of discrimination and rights through creative platforms. KRYSS continues to adopt the vision that it was first founded on: “We are committed to a world where young people feel safe and empowered to be themselves, to define and express their own hopes, dreams and realities, and act upon them without fear of discrimination or violence. Where diversity, creativity and personal capacities are celebrated and nurtured, and each person regardless of gender is empowered in body, mind and spirit.”

Seksualiti Merdeka is an annual sexuality rights festival held in Kuala Lumpur, and represents a coalition of Malaysian NGOs and volunteers. “We believe that everyone in Malaysia deserves to be free from discrimination, harassment and violence for their sexual orientations and their gender identities. We believe it is our right to be responsible for our own bodies. We believe everyone is entitled to the freedom to love and the freedom to be, whether gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersexed, straight, asexual, pansexual, or simply fabulous.”

HOW TO ENTER

Theme: Artwork must send across the message that “Violence is not our culture” and that violence, stigma and discrimination against any member of the LGBTIQ community has no justification. Artistic as well as positive interpretations of the message is encouraged. The artwork may centre on any one or any combination of the Yogyakarta Principles ; or the 29 Ways towards an LGBTIQ-friendly Malaysia. The artwork may also use the six colours of the rainbow flag in any form or manner. Each artwork submission must be accompanied by an explanatory concept of the visual, written in either English or Bahasa Malaysia. Artists must also submit a personal message of their own to accompany each of their artwork submission.

Contest Eligibility. The competition is open to artists 18 years or older. Work must be original, and not photographs of the original. Original photography and original digital art are acceptable. Work will be judged on creativity, technical expertise, content as well as the artistic interpretation and effectiveness of the messaging. Artwork not meeting these four key criteria will not be considered during final judging. A bound plain paper notebook will be made from winning designs, so work will also be considered by ease of reproduction for this format and for the cover. Artists may enter as many works as they choose, but are only eligible to win one cash prize.

Voluntary Contributions. Artists may also enter voluntary contributions. Voluntarily contributed work must be original and can be in the form of photographs, artwork or poetry. Artists must submit a personal message of their own to accompany each voluntarily contributed creative piece. If creative piece is selected for reproduction, artist will be provided with one free plain paper notebook. Artists may only receive one free plain paper notebook irrespective of number of voluntary contributions selected for reproduction.

Media. Any two-dimensional medium reproducible by photographic process is acceptable. Three-dimensional work with a depth no greater than 3/8” is also acceptable.

Size. For those vying for the 1st prize cash award dedicated to designing the cover, artwork must be 21 cm (height) x 1.4 cm (spine) x 15 cm (width) x 1.4 cm (spine) x 5 to 10 cm (variable width for flip cover) with a bleed margin of 0.5 cm. See template (PDF file) attached. The width for the flip cover will depend on the artwork being submitted as cover design and the artist’s own decision. The design may be either vertical or horizontal.

Other artwork submissions (vying for the 2nd, 3rd and consolation prizes) must be 20.5 cm x 14.5 cm, with a bleed margin of 0.5 cm. The design may be either vertical or horizontal. Variations of any artwork submitted for the cover design may also be entered.

Format. All artwork must be sent as high-resolution (minimum 300 dpi) PDFs (recommended). High-resolution JPGs or Illustrator AI/EPS formats are also acceptable.

Cash Awards. Each of the winning artists will be eligible for Awards of Excellence. The first cash prize award of RM1,000/- will be given to the artwork chosen for the cover design based on the specifications provided above. RM500/- will be awarded for the second prize and RM300/- for the third prize. There will also be ten consolation prizes of RM200/- each. Artists may only win one cash prize.

Judging. Judging for the competition will be held a week after the closing date. Judges will comprise of both artists and activists of different backgrounds and experiences. Winners will be notified individually by phone or e-mail. Judges’ decisions are final.

Copyright. Artists may retain ownership over all their original artwork and voluntary contributions submitted. By entering their artwork and participating in this contest and project, artists hereby grant permission to KRYSS and/or Seksualiti Merdeka to reproduce the winning entries and selected voluntary contributions. Artists also hereby agree to KRYSS and/or Seksualiti Merdeka reproducing their artwork under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Winning artworks will be featured alongside other LGBTIQ-centric text and visuals in the plain paper notebook. KRYSS and/or Seksualiti Merdeka reserves the right to feature all submitted artwork and creative pieces in other collaterals/printed matter for any purpose in relation to the documentation of violence, stigma and discrimination of the LGBTIQ community in Malaysia as well as in relation to the protection and promotion of the human rights of the LGBTIQ community in Malaysia.

To enter. Entries must be received by 11th September 2011. Entries should include full name of artist, mobile phone contact number, e-mail address contact, and a short bio (100 words) of the artist.

Entries must be e-mailed to: violenceisnotourculture @ gmail.com.

IMPORTANT: Both KRYSS and Seksualiti Merdeka are not responsible for the return of any artwork or if reproductions do not match the expectations of the artist. KRYSS and Seksualiti Merdeka reserve the right to use a standard cover for the plain paper notebook and to make any other alterations to the specifications of the bound paper notebook.

Source: KL world & Sinchew Daily.

Full Article in Mandarin

On 7/30/2011, “Thomas”, 29 years old, and Apple, 27 had the distinction of being the first Malaysian lesbian couple to have their marriage publicized in two Malaysian newspapers, Sinchew Daily and The Star.

According to Sinchew, they were married in full traditional Chinese wedding ceremony complete with a roast pig offering to their ancestors. The wedding banquet were thrown for approximately 400 relatives and friends.

Thomas and Apple are both in the real estate business had dated for more than two years before deciding to tie the knot.

Johnson, the couple’s spokesperson at the wedding remarked “The couple, as any other couple truly in love, should be able to marry, have a proper wedding & banquet to celebrate their happiness with their friends & family.”

Support the couple by liking their facebook page

TiltedWorld applauds the newspaper and the journalist for covering the event in a positive light.