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CSBR Call for Submissions! Sexual Pleasure, Sexual Rights

We’re accepting submissions on a rolling basis.

#SexPleasureRights - CSBR

What is #SexPleasureRights?

The #SexPleasureRights blog/arts series seeks to create a space for conversation, dialogue and curiosity on what it means to conceptualize sexual pleasure as an inherent and integral part of our personal and political advocacy across our diverse feminist movements for social, economic, gender, racial and ecological justice.

We invite submissions that reflect on and expand our own personal experiences with advocacy around sexuality, while trying to push the boundaries of our feminist discourses, practices and approaches to the issue of sexual pleasure.

We want to create a space to celebrate, with frank and candid openness, the rights to speak about our sexualities, and our experiences & desires for pleasure.

We are particularly interested in voices and ideas of young people (anywhere from age 13 – 35), with submissions from feminists/activists/organizers across the Global South welcome. No previous experience blogging, writing, filming necessary. Share your views!

What Questions will the Series Explore?

For this opening series we want to create the space for a diversity of conversations. Below are initial questions to get us started, and we encourage people to expand on them.

With an eye to personal lived realities: We want to bring out personal stories, about how we were raised, what role models we had, where we learned what we did, when we began to rebel, what moved us to strive towards sexual pleasure as an integral part of who we are and the change we want to see.

With an eye to cultural pasts and presents: What words do we have for all the different aspects of sexuality, eroticism and pleasure? How does language impact our conceptions of what pleasure is, and who has the right to pleasure? What historical and contemporary literature, films, architecture, and other art forms in our countries, cultures and languages have positively expressed our rights to sexual pleasure? What creative works celebrating women’s sexuality & pleasure; lesbian, bisexual and queer sexuality & pleasure; and third gender, intersex and trans* sexuality & pleasure have moved you? What’s the story behind that?

With an eye to advocacy and community organizing: How can we not simply pay lip service to sexual pleasure in our sexual rights discourses (i.e. tacking it on under health), but really work to embody the core principles of consent, respect, autonomy, self-expression, voice and choice in our advocacy and actions? What do these principles mean in practice?

How do we encourage deep engagement with consent, as central to our movement building? How does the right to sexual pleasure intersect with other rights? How can we deepen a sexual rights approach to our movements for economic, environmental, migrant, disability and racial justice? What other lessons can we learn from the right to sexual pleasure that will strengthen our collective struggles for solidarity and self-determination?

What does it mean for us to be responsible for our own sexual pleasure? What support do we need to ensure children, adolescents and young adults grow up with empowering conceptions and practices around sexuality and sexual pleasure?

How can we move our conceptions of sexual pleasure as a right forward in a way that ensures individual autonomy, dignity and integrity? What roles does the state play in upholding sexual pleasure as a right? Should the state play any role at all?

With an eye to feminist futures: What radically transformative imaginings and understandings of sexuality, eroticism and pleasure do you have to share? (Creative fictions pieces are also welcome!) What visions, conceptions and understandings of sexual pleasure are still missing in our homes, our circles of friends, our communities and across our movements? How can we work to promote new understandings, to stop marginalizing peoples, voices and experiences, when it comes to celebrating sexuality and the right to pleasure? How can we increase this solidarity?

What do I submit?

Submissions should be in English (or with English subtitles/voiceovers/written description); can be written, visual, or audio; in any creative form (such as comic strip, visual art, poetry etc.), and adhere to the general guidelines below:

Written submissions:

Poetry / Blogs Post, Op-Eds, Short Essays (400–1200 words) / Short Fiction (max. 2200 words)

Format: .doc
Accessibly written

Audio Submissions:

Interviews / Soundscapes / Recorded Spoken Word / Short Stories (up to 3 minutes) / Original Musical Compositions (up to 8 minutes) / Etc.

Format: .mp3
Quality: 192 or 256 kpbs
Short description of the piece
Statement of usage rights
For file sizes above 3MB, submit via a Wetransfer link: https://www.wetransfer.com/

Visual Submissions:

Images: Photos / Graphic Essays / Posters / Collage / Comics / etc.

Format: high resolution .jpg, .jpeg
A short narrative description of the piece
Statement of usage rights
For file sizes above 3MB, submit via a Wetransfer link: https://www.wetransfer.com/

Videos:

Format: .mp4
Resolution: 720p/1080p
A short narrative description of the piece
Statement of usage rights
Submit via a Wetransfer link: https://www.wetransfer.com/

Accompanying Biographies: All submissions should contain a short biography (150 words) about the author. Confidentiality and privacy is an important concern of ours – we encourage people to submit taking all privacy measures necessary. Pseudonyms welcome. We will not publish any personal details without full and written consent of the authors.

*** * * Submissions accepted on an ongoing basis * * ***

Send your submissions by email to csbrblogs@gmail.com, with the title “Call for Blogs: Sexual Pleasure, Sexual Rights” in the subject line.

___________________________

CSBR welcomes all submissions that meet the above guidelines, but may not be able to publish all submissions that we receive. In selecting pieces for the series, our focus will be on publishing submissions that reflect views, experiences and topics that are less discussed, publicized and circulated in mainstream and social media. We also maintain the right to edit written and audio submissions for purposes of clarity, and will liaise with contributors when this is needed.

Questions?

Write to us at csbrblogs@gmail.com with any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!

CSBR CSBR Activities, Featured, News from Member Organizations, ODOS

Bishkek Feminist Initiative Kyrgyzstan joins CSBR!

We are excited to welcome Bishkek Feminist Initiative – Kyrgyzstan, as a new member of the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR)!

Read more about BFI’s work below, and check out their terrific One Day One Struggle 2015 video, “Bishkek Girls Unite for their Sexual and Bodily Rights!”, challenging gender stereotypes in Kyrgyzstan:

From BFI’s Website:

Bishkek Feminist Initiatives (BFI) is a feminist group of activists in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, based on the principles of collective emancipation, solidarity, mutual support and equal decision-making, and non-violence.

BFI’s mission is to promote feminist values of ending all forms of oppression (sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, ableism, nationalism, xenophobia, islamophobia, class and socio-economic oppression, etc.) in Bishkek. Some of our goals are: to create a feminist network of residents, communities, organizations and initiatives in Bishkek for a meaningful engagement; to contribute to building solidarity with existing civil society movements, which share our values of justice and human rights; to provide feminist space and practices, especially educational resources and activities on resisting oppression and violence, and building informed alliances and partnerships.

BFI recognizes the complexities and intersectionality of oppression, and are therefore committed to prioritizing activism needs, voices and issues of the most underrepresented communities in our city of Bishkek. We promote a culture of peaceful civil disobedience, alternative activism, feminist philanthropy and issued-based solidarity activism. Our priorities are (1) feminist movement-building in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia, including security and wellbeing of activists; (2) feminist multi/media/arts and writing; (3) sexual and bodily rights, integrity and autonomy education and mobilization.

For more information, see: https://bishkekfeminists.org/ and @bishkekfeminists

CSBR Featured, News from Member Organizations, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights

Three years of willful disregard: Egyptian government refuses to implement ruling of African Commission ordering renewed investigation of Black Wednesday case. Survivors of mass sexual assaults have no recourse to remedies

Wednesday 25 May 2016

The anniversary of Black Wednesday, when in May 2005 several female demonstrators and journalists were sexually assaulted by demonstrators in support of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, comes this year as freedom of opinion, expression, and peaceful assembly have been seriously eroded. Only a few weeks ago, a similar scene was enacted when police forces stormed the Journalists Syndicate, in a wholly unprecedented move, and when during a general assembly meeting of the syndicate on May 4, 2016, individuals in civilian clothing standing with security forces attacked demonstrators and journalists.

In this context, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights again reminds the Egyptian government of the ruling obtained by the EIPR and the International Center for the Legal Protection of Human Rights (Interights) on March 14, 2013 from the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The decision requires Egypt to reopen the investigation into the incident and ensure accountability for the persons responsible for the sexual and physical assault of female journalists and demonstrators who were on the steps of the syndicate protesting constitutional amendments instituted by President Mubarak. The ruling also requires the Egyptian government to pay compensation of LE57,000 to each of the four complainants, all journalists, on whose behalf the EIPR filed the suit: Shaimaa Abu al-Khair, Abir al-Askari, Nawal Ali (d. 2009), and Iman Taha.

The African Commission gave the Egyptian government six months (180 days) from the time of its notification of the ruling to submit a report to the commission detailing the steps it would take towards implementation. Although the EIPR alerted the Foreign Ministry of the importance of implementing the ruling, the Egyptian government continues to ignore it, offering no clear reasons for this disregard.

After the ruling was issued, the EIPR initiated contact with the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of International Cooperation to discuss the mechanisms and deadline for implementation, but all correspondence, and the six-month deadline, were ignored. The EIPR then contacted to African Commission regarding non-implementation, after which the Egyptian government submitted a response in October 2013. Pursuant to this response, the EIPR sent a letter clarifying its points of disagreement with the government response. In its response, the Egyptian government said that its failure to implement the ruling was largely due to the issue of compensation. Citing lack of new evidence, it also refused to officially reopen the investigation, which had been closed. The African Commission considered both responses in December 2013.

The EIPR reiterates the importance of the government offering compensation for the victims of the assaults. This would establish an important rule for reparations for victims of sexual assaults, which increased markedly after January 2011, with repeated cases of mass sexual assault both by ordinary citizens and security forces. With the exception of a very few convictions in the rare cases in which the perpetrators were identified, women victims of mass sexual assaults have no clear recourse to justice or measures to guarantee them legal remedy and compensation for the harm they sustained. International law affirms the right of survivors of sexual assault to redress, including the right of restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, and guarantees of non-repetition. International legal literature also affirms that victims’ compensation must be proportional to the gravity of the crime committed against them.

The EIPR condemns the Egyptian government’s failure to implement the ruling, which is a clear breach of Egypt’s international and regional obligations to protect and uphold human rights and constitutes flagrant disregard for the constitution, which in Article 11 affirms the state’s obligation to protect women from all forms of violence.

The EIPR also notes that the government cannot be serious about combating sexual violence against women without an admission and true accounting of the role of security personnel in sponsoring or committing crimes of sexual violence against individuals and without ending the impunity they currently enjoy. We appeal to the National Council for Women to urge the government to take action to implement the ruling in line with the principles underlying the national strategy to combat violence against women.

The read the government’s response, click here.

CSBR Featured, News from Member Organizations, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Resources & Tools, Statements

Rights Spotlight: IDAHOT

Yesterday and today – people around the world continue to be denied their basic and fundamental human rights, targeted on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression. And not only do violence, criminalization, discrimination, and impunity remain widespread, anti-rights actors frequently justify them at the national and international level in the name of culture, religion and tradition.

Over 70 countries continue to criminalize consensual same-sex relationships, and many people who are non-conforming in terms of their gender identity and expression and sexual orientation, including LGBTIQ people, undergo torture and ill-treatment in everyday life, in custody, and in clinics and hospitals. Across contexts, the law is employed to punish individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity and to restrict rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. Still today, region across region, entrenched discriminatory attitudes thrive in legal and policy vacuums and hate-motivated violence blights and ends the lives of many.

Yet states are legally bound by international human rights law to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of all persons, no matter their gender identity and expression and sexual orientation.

Human rights are for each and every one of us. To reserve rights for the powerful in society and to withhold them from the marginalized makes a mockery of our human rights system and of state obligations to their citizens, and to deny any group or individual their essential rights is nothing less than to try to define them as less than human.

Join OURs today in celebrating the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia(IDAHOT) and stand in solidarity with activists and individuals worldwide. Let us call for all states to uphold the universality of rights for everyone, everywhere – equally and without discrimination.

What is OURs?

OURs aims to monitor, analyze, and share information on anti-rights initiatives threatening our human rights systems. Our goal is to strengthen the work of activists facing direct challenges to rights, especially rights related to gender and sexuality.

Resources and further information

This IDAHOT, OURs highlights a selection of resources for activists working on rights related to sexual orientation and gender identity and expression worldwide.

Please share these with your networks, let us know of your key resources, and tweet using the hashtags#RightsAreUniversal and #IDAHOT

Resources:

CSBR Featured, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Resources & Tools, Statements

Rights Spotlight: International Day of Families

This May 15th is the International Day of Families. So what’s this all about – and what do families, human rights and gender justice have to do with one another?

Established principles of international human rights law uphold the rights of all individuals within families to be free of coercion, violence and discrimination; free to found families on an equal basis; and free to become a part of diverse forms of families around the world.

Yet today we stand witness to ongoing violations of these intrinsic rights across regions – including intimate partner violence and child abuse, harmful practices, stigmatization, and unequal family laws – and the failure of states to ensure these rights and to hold perpetrators accountable.

And at the same time, conservative actors are leading the charge at the United Nations and other human rights spaces to undermine and chip away at our rights protections themselves. Ironically, many of these actors use emerging discourses around ‘the family’ to defend violations committed against family members, to bolster and justify impunity, and to restrict equal rights within and to family life.

Today, join the Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs) in calling for our universal human rights: equality within families and respect for the human rights of all family members worldwide, without discrimination. Human rights are indivisible, universal, interdependent, and inalienable to every person in the world.

OURs aims to monitor, analyze, and share information on anti-rights initiatives threatening our human rights systems. We hope to strengthen the work of activists facing direct challenges to rights, especially rights related to gender and sexuality.

This International Day of Families, OURs highlights a selection of relevant resources. Please share these with your networks, let us know of your key resources, and tweet using the hashtags #RightsAreUniversal and #FamilyDay

Families are diverse

Counter to the claims of anti-rights actors, as the human rights framework has recognized time and time again, families are diverse and take many different forms around the world.

Conservative discourses undermining rights

We are increasingly seeing the spread of a conservative discourse in human rights spaces which seeks to employ the term “family” strategically – to reserve human rights for the few instead of for all, to promote inequality and to weaken our existing human rights protections.

Regressive actors are collaborating across borders and religions to attack human rights standards with appeals to a narrow and discriminatory conception of ‘the family’ and ‘family values,’ including the recent “Protection of the Family” resolutions at the United Nations.

Equality in family laws

From country to country, personal status or family laws discriminate against women and are employed to restrict their rights to family life and other fundamental freedoms.

Not only do these laws continue to grant unequal rights to custody; provide cover for coercion, abuse and sexual violence; and delimit women’s access to money – states continue to attempt to back out of their human rights commitments to change these laws and challenge discriminatory gender stereotypes by reference to national sovereignty, tradition, religion and culture.

Resources

Diversity of families

Love is a family value: Supporting all families and family members (UN LGBT Core Group – video/event)

Conservative discourses

Family laws

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Safeguarding Individuals, Civil Society & Our Shared Humanity: An Urgent Plea to the Government of Bangladesh

2 May 2016

SAFEGUARDING INDIVIDUALS, CIVIL SOCIETY AND OUR SHARED HUMANITY:
AN URGENT PLEA TO THE GOVERNMENT OF BANGLADESH

We, the undersigned, join other voices from across Asia and the Pacific – and around the world – in calling upon the Government of Bangladesh to step up efforts to effectively address the horrific violence that has claimed the lives of several journalists, bloggers, academics, activists and other civilians who advocated for a secular, open, just and equitable society for all citizens — regardless of religion, ethnicity, sexuality or any other labels.

The latest victims of the carnage were the prominent LGBTI activists Xulnaz Mannan and Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy, both hacked to death by a group of assailants at Mannan’s home in Dhaka. So-called “Islamist” groups, including or linked to ISIS and Al-Qaeda, have claimed responsibility for these and previous attacks, but the facts surrounding many of these killings over the past year remain unclear.

The Bangladesh government has sworn to track down those responsible for Mannan and Rabbi’s murders. While we welcome that pledge, the international human rights organization Amnesty International has noted that “not a single person has been held to account” in the various killings so far.

In recent years, LGBTI activists in Bangladesh have sought to expand the space for dialogue and inclusivity for their communities even though they are criminalized by the country’s British-era penal code. These efforts in Bangladesh and other countries such as Indonesia have, on one hand, brought about acceptance and openness on some levels, but have also been met by an increasingly severe backlash as well from a range of actors including governments and religious institutions.

The escalating threats to civil liberties, including LGBTI rights, in so many places are all the more ironic – and dangerous – considering we are in the era of the Sustainable Development Goals that underpin the 2030 Agenda whose primary pledge is “to leave no one behind.”

How can we as a region, and indeed as a world, even begin to fulfil such a pledge if we do not collectively come together to address these threats that target our friends, families and fellow human beings? The rhetoric of the SDGs and 2030 Agenda will indeed ring hollow if we do not bring about genuine openness and understanding leading to an end to persecution and terror. Governments must be held accountable, but organizations such as ours, and each of us as individuals, must play our part as well.

Let us seize this opportunity then to bring about dialogue between governments and civil society, with the support of the United Nations, national, regional and global human rights networks and other facilitators, to tackle the mounting crises in Bangladesh and elsewhere. Together we call on the government of Bangladesh to bring justice and ensure that the rule of law is firmly in place and is implemented to provide safety to all citizens.

All individuals across Asia and the Pacific must not see these atrocities as isolated events, but must act in solidarity to uphold the rights of all human beings.

Ultimately, we must collectively work towards a world where enlightenment prevails, even as we vow never to forget the sacrifice that far too many have made to safeguard our shared humanity.
Signed By:

Midnight Poonkasetwattana, Executive Director, APCOM

Sattara Hattirat, Regional Coordinator, ILGA Asia

Ryan Silverio, Regional Coordinator, ASEAN SOGIE Caucus

Natt Kraipet, Network Coordinator, APTN

Niluka Perera, Project Officer, Youth Voices Count

Rima Athar, Coordinator, CSBR

South Asian Human Rights Association of Marginalised Sexualities and Genders

Endorsed By The Following Organizations:

1. Association of Transgender People in the Philippines (ATP), Philippines

2. Blue Diamond Society, Nepal

3. Central Initiative for Transgender, Young Gay, Lesbian Asylum Seekers (CITY GLASS), Kenya

4. Consultation Centre of Aids Aid and Health Service, China

5. EQUAL GROUND, Sri Lanka

6. FORUM-ASIA

7. GAURAV, India

8. GAYa NUSANTARA Foundation, Indonesia

9. Haus of Khameleon, Fiji

10. Health Options for Transgender (HOT GENDER), Tanzania

11. Health Options for Transgender, Tanzania

12. HIV YOUNG VOICES (Hi 5), Kenya

13. Human Rights Working Group, Indonesia

14. Human Rights- Youth Health Support Centre NGO, Mongolia

15. I-Girl group, Việt Nam

16. IDENTITY ETHIOPIA (ID ETHIOPIA), Ethiopia

17. ILGA Oceania

18. India HIV/AIDS Alliance, New Delhi, India

19. Khwaja Sira Society, Pakistan

20. LGBT Kiribati, Kiribati

21. Life Gets Better Together (LGBT FOUNDATION), South Sudan

22. Lighthouse club, Việt Nam

23. NAZ Pakistan, Pakistan

24. NGO Phoenix PLUS, Russia

25. Oogachaga, Singapore

26. Organization Intersex International-Chinese, Taiwan

27. PinoyFTM (Filipino Trans Men), Philippines

28. Project Mama, Rwanda

29. QUEER ESCORT NETWORK (Quest Net), Madagascar

30. Rainbow Pride Foundation Youth Wing, Fiji

31. Safety Urban Network (SUN East Africa), Uganda and Kenya Chapter

32. Samoa Faafafine Association, Samoa

33. Sangama, India

34. Sierra Leone Youth Coalition on HIV & AIDS, Sierra Leone

35. SOMALI SOCIETY CARE (SSC), Somalia

36. South Asian Human Rights Association for Marginalized Genders & Sexualities (SAHRA)

37. SUNCITY AFRICA FOUNDATION, Kenya

38. Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBT) Hotline Association, Taiwan

39. Transgender Resource Center, Hong Kong

40. Transgender Youth Revolving Fund (TRAY REFUND), Uganda

41. Transmen Indonesia, Indonesia

42. Transpiration Power, Thailand

43. We are students club, Việt Nam

44. Yourself Belize Movement, Belize

Endorsed By The Following Individuals:

1. Abhina Aher, India

2. Ahsan Ullah, Bangladesh

3. AR Arcon, Philippines

4. Farid Ahmed, Bangladesh

5. Idrissa A. Conteh, Sierra Leone

6. Jake Oorloff, Sri Lanka

7. Jofiliti Veikoso, Fiji

8. Kemas Achmad Mujoko, Indonesia

9. Masaki Inaba, Japan

10. Nguyễn Đặng Duy Anh, Việt Nam

11. Qasim Iqbal, Pakistan

12. Raksak Kongseng Desaulniers, Thailand

13. Sumit Pawar, India

14. To’oto’oali’I Roger Stanley, Samoa

15. Trung Tâm NT.LGBT, Việt Nam

16. Tuisina Ymania Brown, Samoa

17. Vaialia Iosua, Samoa

Media Contacts:

Midnight Poonkasetwattana, Executive Director, APCOM: midnightp@apcom.org, +66-85-360-5200 (Bangkok)

Sattara Hattirat, Regional Coordinator, ILGA Asia: sattarah@gmail.com, +66-82-339-5252 (Bangkok)

Ryan Silverio, Regional Coordinator, ASEAN SOGIE Caucus: rsilverio@aseansogiecaucus.org, +63-917-879-7710 (Manila)

Natt Kraipet, Network Coordinator, APTN: natt.kraipet@weareaptn.org, +66-82-653-3999 (Bangkok)

Niluka Perera, Project Officer, Youth Voices Count: niluka@youthvoicescount.org, +66-94-835-1762 (Bangkok)

CSBR Featured, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Resources & Tools

Queering Indonesia: Self, Subjectivity and Crisis

IFJ Vol.4 No.1, March 2016

Feminism gives hymn of equality the power and the incentive to emancipate humanity. Originally this fight embraces the cause of women’s liberation in full which still unachieved in recent years. Those experiences defend a specific understanding of philosophy as social critique. It owes its conceptual tools from the long struggle against racism and the history of slavery. In Indonesia, the tradition of phenomenology explores women’s experiences facing state violence as well as society’s unjust treatment against LGBT’s voices. The relationship between language and linguistic meaning as cultural marker has sharpened the way state and society rejected equality. Indonesia fails to think of history of transgendering, of Srikandi’s transgendering in Mahabharata epic. Or the ritual role of Banyuwangi transgendered males.

Full Journal in PDF from: http://www.jurnalperempuan.org/indonesian-feminist-journal.html

Articles:

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Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs) web platform launch

The Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs) is pleased to announce the launch of its web platform: oursplatform.org. The platform will be the goto place for information and resources on safeguarding the universality of rights in international and regional human rights spaces.

A new collaborative project

Human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent, and inalienable for every person in the world.

Yet, increasingly conservative actors are targeting the systems established to protect human rights for all. These actors use arguments based on antirights interpretations of religion, culture, tradition and state sovereignty to roll back our fundamental human rights — particularly women’s rights and gender justice— and to justify state impunity.

The Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs) is a new collaborative project that aims to monitor, analyze, and share information on antirights initiatives threatening international and regional human rights systems.

Grounded in a feminist framework, the OURs initiative works across regions, issues, and human rights spaces towards the advancement of social justice.

The project seeks to understand who is undermining the universality of human rights; why and how they seek to do it; and what can be done to secure equal human rights for all, including and especially rights related to gender and sexuality.

Learn more about the OURs project

A platform for organizations and individuals

Are you or your organization:

● Working for gender justice at the international or regional level?

● Working at the national or local level and encountering religious fundamentalisms?

● Interested in learning more about the dynamics of international and regional human rights spaces and threats to human rights, or starting to engage in this kind of advocacy?

You will find on the OURs web platform:

● A wide range of resourcesfrom quicktouse tools to indepth analysis and reports;

● Latest news related to the impact of religious fundamentalisms on human rights around the world;

● Major events that mark important opportunities to safeguard the universality of rights

PLEASE NOTE: The English language site is now live, with French and Spanish versions set to launch in 2017.

Discover the OURs platform now

Contribute to OURs

OURs welcomes organizations and activists that work to promote human rights, especially rights related to gender and sexuality, to engage and participate.

For more information, to share resources with us, to enquire about institutional membership, or to suggest opportunities for collaboration, please contact: OURs@awid.org

CSBR Featured, News from Member Organizations, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights

Confronting the Backlash – Dede Oetomo, Indonesia

Indonesia moves quickly and slowly at the same time. The anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex backlash currently underway in the country has grown quickly since its start last January. Daily headlines feature the latest bigoted statements by government officials, moves to intimidate local LGBTI communities or proposals by religious political parties to make certain sexual orientations and gender identities illegal. At the same time established democratic institutions slow the legislative process and offer time for pro-LGBTI forces to educate and empower communities in an organized response.

Dédé Oetomo understands this dynamic better than most LGBTI activists in Indonesia. In 1987 he founded the health education and advocacy group, GAYA NUSANTARA in Surabaya, a city of three million in East Java Province. Since that time Dédé has seen dozens of other organizations start and grow under Indonesia’s liberal human rights statutes, and the establishment of a world-class HIV/AIDS health care and education infrastructure. According to Dédé, these successes, along with the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality, are the likely causes for the sudden concern of social conservative and religious forces in Indonesia.

“When the United States sneezes, the world shakes,” Dédé says. “The (U.S.) Supreme Court decision shocked conservative politicians. When marriage equality passed in the Netherlands or Ireland, no one paid attention.” Shortly after this shock, December elections produced losses for religious parties across much of the country. Dédé notes, “The religious parties are very corrupt, with two Ministers for Religious Affairs currently in prison.”

It seems the LGBTI community is a convenient scapegoat to distract from political failure and build fearful public support for future elections. How much longer this tactic can be effective is a real question. In the meantime, groups like GAYA NUSANATARA try to create a space for LGBTI Indonesians. “There is no sex education in public schools, but in GAYA NUSANTARA sexuality discussion groups Muslim students will often talk of ‘queering God’ before and after prayer breaks in the organization’s prayer room.”

Overall though, the targeting of LGBTI people has real daily consequences for individual Indonesians.

“Over the past few weeks, we have seen police crackdowns at the ‘gathering place’, a public park in Surabaya, where gay men and male sex workers have socialized for years. At the same time, muggings and other physical crimes have increased as criminals feel empowered by the harsh public rhetoric. Even our HIV/AIDS testing and education efforts are threatened as healthcare workers become afraid to work in established locations,” he said. Police have also increased their demands to see identification documents of those in the gathering place. Many who meet there lack an official family card, the basis for issuance of IDs, as they have run away from abusive situations in their hometowns.

International civil society organizations and foreign governments have been working through diplomatic channels to encourage President Joko Widodo, who was elected in 2014, to end his long silence on the LGBTI backlash. “I voted for him, but he’s not Barack Obama,” says Dédé. “He used to hang with LGBTI people when he was mayor of Surakarta, but he relies on his self-made man biography rather than individual human rights as the best way to achieve equality.” In early February, the U.S. Ambassador hosted a gathering of activists to brainstorm strategies to combat the possible anti-LGBTI propaganda law that could reach Parliament next year. Also in early February, Randy Berry, the U.S. Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons held a series of low-profile meetings in Jakarta.

While high-level efforts offer hope on the horizon, the situation for LGBTI people in Aceh and West Java provinces becomes more dangerous. Violent Islamist movements inspired by Islamic State are growing in these areas and activists are attempting to set up a safe house network to provide protection for targeted individuals forced to evacuate these areas. Dédé notes “The need is urgent in these areas, but funds for the program are very limited.”

During this time of uncertainty Dédé and GAYA NUSANTARA continue to work locally, nationally and across the Asia-Pacific region to defend the health and human rights of LGBTI people. Whether Indonesia continues to make global headlines as a place of increasing repression of its LGBTI communities depends on their efforts.

Reposted from: Alturi.com, 31 March 2016

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Urgent Call to Action: End the Crackdown against Egyptian Human Rights NGOs

TAKE ACTION:

The Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR) is deeply concerned about the on-going crackdown against independent human rights NGOs in Egypt, including the recent imposition on NGO staff of travel bans, asset freezes, as well as the interrogation by investigative judges without transparency or due process.

Since mid-2011, thirty-seven of Egypt’s leading independent human rights NGOs have been under threat of closure and their workers under threat of prosecution, and/or imprisoned, in relation to Case 173—“the foreign funding” case.

The harassment continues today, and the NGOs under threat—including the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the Arab Network for Human Rights Studies, and most recently Nazra for Feminist Studies—make up some of Egypt’s most respected, independent human rights civil society. They are some the few organizations that continue provide essential social services, including documentation and legal advocacy on human rights violations in Egypt. As recently as 17 February 2016, the Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence was served with a closure order by the Ministry of Health for “breach of licence conditions.”

If the current prosecution of NGO workers goes ahead, including the charges being brought against Hossam Baghat and Gamal Eid, it could lead to the closure of these NGOs and the sentencing of their workers on charges that could carry life sentence in prison.

The laws being used include Penal Code Articles 78, 98(c)(1), 98(d), as well as Article 76(2)(a) of the Associations Law 84/2002. For full details on the ongoing cases, charges, and background please see: goo.gl/PmZ6GN

Asks to the government of Egypt:

Halt the ongoing investigation of independent human rights organisations in relation to their legitimate exercise of their activities, and close the “foreign funding” case once and for all.
Grant NGOs a grace period of one year to register under a new associations law that would comply with Article 75 of the Egyptian Constitution, which allows groups to be recognized and funded by notification and invite NGO participation in consultations on the drafting of this new associations law.
Withdraw the administrative decision to close down the Nadeem Centre for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture and Violence.
Lift travel bans and asset freezes that were arbitrarily ordered against human rights defenders.
Issue a presidential decree pardoning all Egyptian and foreign NGO staff convicted in the 2012 foreign funding case.
Comply with the pledges made when accepting Egypt’s UPR recommendations in March 2015 at the UN Human Rights Council, and cease the harassment and prosecution of civil society organizations, women’s rights defenders and human rights defenders.

TAKE ACTION: We are asking for your support in circulating the news: goo.gl/PmZ6GN, and request that you write immediately to your government officials at home and in Egypt, to relay the demands above. Find contact information for Egyptian embassies here: http://www.embassypages.com/egypt

CSBR Featured, News from Member Organizations, Statements

Oral Statement by WWHR at CSW 60

Oral Statement by Women for Women’s Human Rights – New Ways for the General Discussion segment of the 60^th session of the Commission on the Status of Women

18 March 2016

Your Excellences,

In September 2015, the world has made a promise to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030 under this very same roof. We are proud to say that women’s and feminist organizations have been vital contributors and enablers for the realization of this commitment. Today, we express our continued enthusiasm and ambition to realize 2030 Agenda and reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.

In this regard we welcome the Secretary General’s report to this session, which specifically refers to “the key role of women’s leadership and women’s civil society organizations” in all aspects and levels of 2030 Agenda. We would like to note our suggestions for equal, effective, transparent and well-resourced participation of women and feminist organizations, at all levels, to ensure a gender – responsive and human rights based sustainable development.

We already have existing international and regional instruments on development, human rights and gender equality. The question remains, how we can make the normative power of all instruments, and now the ambitious 2030 agenda, operative and responsive to women’s human rights and gender equality causes. Our suggestion for the optimization of this process is the inclusion of women, throughout their life course, and women’s and feminist organizations at every step and level of the implementation, monitoring, follow up and review of the SDGs and the Beijing PfA.

CSW will, and should play an active role in this regard, and needs to be a strong platform to ensure that gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is undertaken as a crosscutting issue of all the SDGs as well as Goal 5 and other gender-related targets, as these are necessary for the full implementation of the Beijing PfA. And we affirm this session and its Agreed Conclusions as important milestones towards this end. CSW should also provide a space for establishing interlinkages within different international instruments on gender equality and human rights, especially the CEDAW Committee.

The UN’s institutional capacity needs to be supported to ensure an “open UN” that effectively engages with various groups, including women’s and feminist civil society organizations, not only to promote and support their engagement in SDG implementation and monitoring at all levels, but also to ensure their full engagement in the UN system’s own work.

We take this opportunity to strongly condemn the assassination of the Honduran feminist indigenous rights activist Berta Cáceres, in early March, and demand justice and protection for the sole witness. We are very much concerned about the escalating restrictions of space and security for women’s human rights defenders (WHRDs). All relevant instruments, including CEDAW, should also support and take measures to address the issue of security of and space for WHRDs in their capacities. Throughout the 2030 Agenda, an enabling environment to support the work of women human rights defenders, and women and feminist organizations, should be created. WHRDs should be able to work in an environment conducive for their work free from harassment, intimidation and violence by state and non-State actors. Flexible and rapid funding should be available for women’s and feminist organizations in order to ensure their effective response to urgent crises and opportunities.

This statement has been prepared and made by Women for Women’s Human Rights – New Ways, on behalf of the list of organizations and groups below (in alphabetical order):

Afrihealth Optonet Association (AOA), Nigeria
Antalya Women’s Counseling Center and Solidarity Association, Turkey
Association Femmes Africaines, Congo
Associazione Italiana Donne per lo Svilupp – AIDOS, Italy
Association for Support of Women Candidates, Turkey
ATHENA Network
Atria – Institute for Gender Equality and Women’s History, The Netherlands
Balance Promoción para el Desarrollo y Juventud, Mexico
Beyond Beijing Committee (BB), Nepal
Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance (CEWLA)
Christian Aid, United Kingdom
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR)
CSW Organizing Group, Turkey
Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA), United States of America
Equality Watch Women’s Group – EŞİTİZ, Turkey
Executive Committee for NGO Forum on CEDAW, Turkey
Federation for Women and Family Planning, Poland
Fondation pour les femmes Africaines, Nairobi
Fundacion Arcoiris, Mexico
Fundacion para Estudio e Investigacion de la mujer – FEIM, Argentina
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
International Council Of Aids Service Organizations, Canada
International-Curricula Educators Association, United Kingdom
International Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers, United States of America
International HIV/AIDS Alliance, United Kingdom
International Women’s Health Coalition
IPAS
IWRAW Asia Pacific
Izmir CEKEV, Turkey
Der – Ankara, Turkey
Karadeniz Women’s Solidarity Association, Turkey
MenEngage Global Alliance, United States of America
Women’s Coalition, Turkey
Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association, Turkey
Red Pepper Association, Turkey
Liberia Girl Guides Association (LGGA), Liberia
Mor Salkim Women’s Solidarity Association, Turkey
National Alliance of Women’s Organisations, United Kingdom
Nepalese Women Watch (NWW), Nepal
RESURJ
Sansristi, India
SERR, United States of America
SIGLO XXIII, El Salvador
Swedish Federation for LGBTQ Rights (RFSL), Sweden
The Roosevelt Institute, United States of America
The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA)
Federation of Women’s Associations – Turkey, Turkey
Union de L’Action Feminist, Morocco
Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights, United States of America
Vision Spring initiatives, Nigeria
WO=MEN – Dutch Gender Platform, The Netherlands
Women for Peace and Ecology, Germany
Women in Europe for A Common Future
Women NGO Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL), Liberia
Women’s Aid Organisation, Malaysia
Women’s Solidarity Foundation, Turkey
World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations, Ukraine

Video:

CSBR CSBR Activities, Headline, News from Member Organizations, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Resources & Tools, Statements

CSBR: President Widodo & Indonesian Govt. Must Uphold Constitutional Rights of Indonesian Citizens

President Joko Widodo & the Indonesian Government Must Uphold the Constitutional Rights of Indonesian Citizens

The Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR) is gravely concerned about the on-going attacks against the civil, political and human rights of Indonesian citizens of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations.

What began in January 2016 with a spiteful comment from the Minister of Research, Technology and Higher education that LGBTIQ people ‘corrupted the morals of the nation’, has turned into an almost two-month long series of attacks and an increasingly hostile climate spreading across different cities and provinces in Indonesia.^{^[1]}

As a Coalition of over 30 civil society organizations and academic institutions working to uphold sexual and bodily rights in Muslim societies, CSBR urges President Joko Widodo to unequivocally come out in support of Indonesia’s LGBTIQ citizens, to uphold democratic rights and ensure protection from discrimination and harassment, and to call for an end to the hateful and discriminatory rhetoric being propagated by government officials.

To this end, President Joko Widodo and the Indonesian government must take all measures to protect the constitutional rights^{^[2]} of Indonesian citizens, including:

the right to education and the right to participate in and benefit from social, cultural and scientific life (Art. 28C(1));
the right to collective struggle for rights (Art. 28C(2));
the rights to equal recognition, guarantees, protection and fair treatment under the law (Art. 28D(1) and 28I(1));
the rights to freedom of thought, conscience, expression, opinion, assembly and association (Art. 28E);
the right to be free from discriminative treatment based upon any grounds whatsoever and the right to protection from such discriminative treatment (Art. 28I(2)).

As a member of the United Nations, and as a state party to the ICCPR and the ICESCR, the Indonesian government also has a duty to ensure non-discrimination, academic freedom, and access to education, to enable citizens to make informed decisions and autonomous choices on all matters relating to themselves, including their beliefs, opinions, and identities.

CSBR applauds the strong leadership demonstrated by KOMNAS-HAM, Indonesia’s independent National Human Rights Commission, which has consistently applied clear, rational and informed juridical reasoning to highlight the unconstitutionality of attempts to restrict the rights of all those who would seek to engage in public discussions, support services, and advocacy for rights, protection and education on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.^{^[3]}

Background & Further Details:

In January 2016, the Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education called to ban a Support Group and Resource Centre on Sexuality Studies (SGRC) that offered LGBTIQ-friendly counselling services to students on Indonesian university campuses. His statement set off a chain reaction of spiteful attacks by militant groups, the police, and other government officials against civil society and LGBTIQ individuals.

Since January, numerous government officials have made hateful statements against the LGBTI community. This includes:

Legislator and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician Nasir Djamil stating that “The LGBT community should not be allowed to grow or be given room to conduct its activities. Even more serious is those LGBT members who go into universities with scientific studies, or hold discussion groups”;^{^[4]} in contravention of Articles 28D(1) and 28D(2) which upholds the rights to education and participation in technology, arts, and culture, and the collective struggle for rights.
Culture and Primary Education Minister Anies Baswedan telling parents and teachers “that LGBT people were deviant and a danger to adolescents”,^{^[5]} and the National Broadcasting Commission banning content on TV and radio that ‘normalizes’ being LGBTIQ, in the name of ‘protecting children and adolescents’.^{^[6]} Such rhetoric ignores the Constitutional rights of LGBTIQ children to protection from violence and discrimination (Art. 28B(2)).

Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Yuddy Chrisnandi, who stated that “Of course it is inappropriate for civil servants to be [homosexual]”, despite Art. 28D(3) guaranteeing “Every citizen shall have the right to obtain equal opportunities in government”.

Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu labelling the LGBTIQ movement a ‘proxy war’ that is a greater threat to national security than nuclear weapons;^{^{^[7]}}

Indonesia’s Communications and Information Ministry has proposed and begun drafting a bill that will ban websites that ‘promote LGBT propaganda’ that could “damage national security, identity, culture and the faith of Indonesians.”^{^[8]}

The proliferation of fear-mongering and hateful rhetoric has also emboldened vigilante and militant groups to harass civil society and succeed in shutting down LGBTIQ events and spaces:

On 4 February, a militant group harassed participants at an event on access to justice for LGBTIQ people in Jakarta, and had the police shut the event down;^{^{^[9]}}

On 23 February, the police turned against LGBTI advocates at a public demonstration in Yogykarta who were rallying to counter an anti-LGBTIQ demonstration;^{^[10]}^{^{,^[11]}}

On 24 February, the Al Fatah Pesantren Waria, a longstanding community supported religious boarding school for waria (transgender) students, was closed in Yogyakarta.^{^[12]}

These are but a few of the many statements and incidences that have been reported on in mainstream media in recent months, and they highlight a clear lack of political will to uphold the rule of law or ensure access to justice.

As Vera da Costa, an activist from long standing Indonesian LGBT organization GAYa NUSANTARA shared with us,

“The space for LGBTIQ people to exercise their rights to freedom of assembly and association in Indonesia is now very limited. The security of individuals and organizations is in jeopardy; we are being threatened and there is no protection from the government. Meanwhile the media sensationalizes the news in a negative fashion, so that the public is increasingly misinterpreting what is at stake here. We want the President to intervene and take action to protect us as citizens, because it is the government officials of his cabinet that are attacking us in the first place.”

The Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies is deeply concerned for the security and safety of our friends and allies who are organizing and living within such a climate of fear and insecurity, with no protection or recourse from the judicial or legal systems in place.

We join Indonesian civil society’s call and urge President Joko Widodo to take immediate action to end the harassment and to uphold the civil, political and human rights of Indonesia’s LGBTIQ citizens.

12 March 2016

For more information, please contact CSBR: coordinator@csbronline.org, and GAYa NUSANTARA: gayanusantara@gmail.com.

———————————————-

^{^[1]} Further details below.

^{^[2]} http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_protect/—protrav/—ilo_aids/documents/legaldocument/wcms_174556.pdf

^{^[3]} http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/05/komnas-ham-slams-vilification-lgbt-officials.html

^{^[4]} http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/01/25/lgbt-not-welcome-university-minister.html

^{^[5]} http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/13/luhut-defends-lgbt-groups.html

^{^[6]} http://www.kpi.go.id/index.php/lihat-terkini/38-dalam-negeri/33218-kpi-larang-promosi-lgbt-di-tv-dan-radio

^{^[7]} http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2016/02/23/055747534/Minister-LGBT-Movement-More-Dangerous-than-Nuclear-Warfare

^{^[8]} http://www.curvemag.com/News/Indonesia-Sees-Rising-Discrimination-Against-LGBT-Community-1008/

^{^[9]} https://www.hrw.org/tet/node/286749

^{^[10]} https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu66JLcEv8I

^{^[11]} http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/24/police-ban-rally-held-lgbt-supporters.html

^{^[12]} http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/26/yogyakarta-transgender-islamic-boarding-school-shut-down.html

CSBR Featured, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Statements

Justice for Sisters: End Arbitrary Arrests and Repeal Laws that Criminalize Transgender Persons – Malaysia

For immediate release

March 7, 2016

Justice for Sisters is extremely concerned and appalled by the arrests of 12 trans women, including an Indonesian trans woman in a police raid in Penang on 2 March 2016. The 12 are being investigated under various charges, including gang robbery, violation of social pass, and Section 28 of the Penang Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment 1996, which criminalizes male person posing as a woman.

Five women investigated for robbery, have been remanded for 6 days until 8 March 2016. No further information is available at the moment, including their cells, and the exact sections that they are being investigated for.

In a positive move in November 2015, Penang State EXCO for Youth and Sports; Women, Family and Community Development, and Member of Parliament for Bukit Mertajam YB Chong Eng recommended separate cells for transgender persons to protect their safety. Based on her correspondence with the Penang Police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi in August 2015, she noted that there is currently no guideline for detainees who are transgender, however placed in separate cells based on sensitivity and discretion of the police.

We echo YB Chong Eng’s recommendation, and urge the Penang Police Department to ensure that the detainees are being treated humanely. We further call Members of Parliament and State Assemblypersons to support the recommendations, as all detainees and prisoners have the right to humane treatment, including being treated as per self-determined gender identity. There is overwhelming anecdotal evidence of the multiple forms of violence experienced by trans women in detention, including disregard of gender identity (being treated as a cisgender man), physical and sexual violence, and lack of access to trans specific healthcare needs, which increases anxiety and stress due to changes in appearance and body.

Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. Some of the trans women were arrested in their hotel rooms, while they were asleep. Six trans women, who are being investigated under ‘Section 28 Male person posing a woman’, which criminalizes any male person who wears women’s attire or poses as a woman in a public place for immoral purposes, were released on 3 March 2015 by the Penang religious department.

These on-going arbitrary arrests of trans women further affirm Justice for Sisters’ call for the repeal of all laws that criminalize transgender persons based on gender identity. These laws are not only discriminatory and violate fundamental human rights of transgender persons— including right to self determination, freedom of movement and freedom of expression—but these laws are also open to abuse. In this case, although the women were asleep while they were arrested in their hotel rooms, they are still being investigated under Section 28.

We strongly emphasize that gender is not determined by genitals. In fact, it is a widely accepted and evidence-based fact that gender is a spectrum signifying personal sense of belonging and identification (as a girl/woman, boy/man, both, neither, other gender identities). Transgender persons do not pose, pretend or cross dress. Transgender people are merely expressing their identities, like cisgender persons. Parallel with this, gender recognition legislations in many countries now, no longer require medical intervention.

Dehumanizing Media Coverage of the Arrests

We are also extremely appalled by the media coverage of the arrests. The media cannot continue to dehumanize, dismiss and erase identities of trans people by misgendering (using the wrong pronouns) and using derogatory terms, like transvestite and cross dressers to refer to trans women. Further, it is disappointing to note that some media, which had in the past used trans affirming language, has reverted to using discriminatory, dehumanizing and outdated terms in their coverage.

At least one media outlet, The Star Online had published a photo of one of the detainees. Trans women are often subjected to public humiliation and violation of privacy during raids and arrests, including through the presence of media. I am scared to be woman, a report by Human Rights Watch that documented violence against transgender persons in Malaysia included an experience of a woman who lost her job after her photo and news of her arrest was released in the media.

Anecdotal evidence shows that arrests and disclosure of details, including name as per identification card and photo in the media causes increased mental health issues, like trauma, anxiety, stress and isolation; and has the effect swaying support provided by family members. It exacerbates further humiliation and condemnation by friends and family members, and impacts future livelihood through the loss of employment.

In addition, we strongly emphasize that hate crime and violence against transgender persons are real. The lack of positive portrayal of trans people, and the overwhelming negative and sensationalistic articles further increase anxiety and fear over personal security and safety among transgender persons. It further creates an unhealthy and unsafe environment for trans people in this country.

Justice for Sisters firstly calls on all media outlets to treat transgender persons with dignity, and use respectful language to refer to trans people. We also call the media to play a role in public education to reduce intolerance and hatred towards communities already marginalised, misunderstood, and deprived of access.

media guides – panduan media BM | GLAAD media reference guide

+++

For more details, please contact justiceforsisters@gmail.com

CSBR CSBR Activities, Resources & Tools, Videos

CSBR hosts 1st International Screening of CALALAI: In-Betweenness by Ardhanary Institute

The Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR) is honoured to have hosted the first international screening of CALALAI: In-Betweenness, a stunning documentary film made by the Ardhanary Institute that explores the historical & contemporary socio-cultural understandings of gender amongst the Bugis in South Sulawesi, Indonesia.

The film premiered on 10 December 2015, on the occasion of the International Day for Human Rights in Jakarta, Indonesia. Ardhanary Institute generously granted us rights to screen the documentary as part of our 8th Sexuality Institute, where we brought advocates from across 15 countries together for an intensive week-long training in Sri Lanka, on a holistic approach to sexual and bodily rights as human rights. The film sparked rich and lively discussions, and opened up participants eyes to the global historical variations in gender identities and sexual orientations that have existed beyond a western binary worldview. These dynamic experiences of gender and sexuality across the Global South are too often overshadowed and silenced today, especially by conservative and political ideologues that cast cultural mores across the Global South generally, and across Muslim societies particularly, as monolithic and static.

CALALAI: In-Betweenness is a vehicle for re-claiming and discussing our own histories, cultures and identities on our own terms, and broadening our minds to deeper understanding in an ever shifting landscape of cultural experiences and identities. Our great appreciation to the Ardhanary Institute for their support and congratulate them on this exciting and timely documentary.

Watch the preview to the film below (with English subtitles), and get in touch with Ardhanary Institute for more information about the film.

“A story about the existence of women of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, living in Bugis culture in the midst of modern world ruled by binary system. For centuries Bugis people have accepted gender diversity as implicitly written in La Galigo manuscript, where they believe that humans consist of five genders, and one of them is calalai.
Who is calalai?”

CSBR Featured, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights

Victory in Tunisia: Activist group Shams wins in court

23 February 2016

Shams, the Tunisian group pushing for the decriminalization of homosexuality, has won its legal challenge shams-victoire-2-2016 against a government order that it suspend operations.

“Shams can resume normal activities, thanks to the decision of the court,” the organization announced on Facebook today.

The trial dealt with a legal notification Shams received Jan. 4, ordering the suspension of its activities for 30 days, which was understood to be a first step toward full dissolution of the advocacy group.

Shams (which is Arabic for “sun”) received official recognition less than a year ago, on May 18, 2015, with the aim of defending the rights of homosexuals, bisexuals and trans people.

“The association is now legal, after months of dithering on the part of the authorities,” Sofien Trabelsi, executive director, said at the time. The association, created by Tunisians, was intended to open a nationwide debate about homosexuality with the goal of repealing Article 230 of the Tunisian Penal Code, which provides for up to three years in prison for sodomy.

Shams has been active in the defense of seven Tunisian men arrested and imprisoned for alleged homosexual activity.

—

Shams, l’association tunisienne pour la dépénalisation de l’homosexualité, annonce aujourd’hui sur sa page Facebook qu’elle a gagné le procès où elle avait contesté la suspension de ses activités.

Vive la justice. Shams annonce qu’elle a gagné son procès contre le secrétaire général du gouvernement en effet le tribunal de première instance de Tunis a ordonné le 23/02/2016 l’annulation de l’ordonnance sur requête qui avait suspendu les activités de Shams.

Shams peut reprendre ses activités normales grâce a la décision de la justice.

Le procès a traité d’un avis que Shams avait reçu le 4 janvier ordonnant la suspension de ses activités. Ceci était considéré comme le premier pas vers la dissolution complète dugroupe.

Shams avait obtenu la reconnaissance officielle le 18 mai 2015, avec objectif de défendre les droits des personnes homosexuelles, bisexuelles et transsexuelles.

« L’association est désormais légale, après des mois de tergiversations de la part des autorités » , a dit Sofien Trabelsi, directeur exécutif de Shams (ce qui signifie « soleil » en arabe). L’association, créée par des Tunisiens, avait pour but d’ouvrir un débat à l’échelle nationale sur l’homosexualité. Elle espère à long terme faire abroger l’article 230 du Code Pénal tunisien, selon lequel « La sodomie … est punie de l’emprisonnement pendant trois ans »

Shams a été active dans la défense de sept tunisiens arrêtés et emprisonnés pour activité homosexuelle présumée.

—-

Reposted from: 76crimesfr

CSBR Featured, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights

Call for Submissions: Chouftouhonna 2nd International Feminist Art Festival of Tunis

Chouftouhonna is back! The 2nd International Feminist Art festival of Tunis will take place in 15, 16, 17 March 2016. The call for participation is open to women’s artists and creators, and all persons who identify as women, from all countries. Deadline for submissions: 15 March 2016

The transportion of the selected plastic works will be supported for 35 euros from Europe and North Africa and 50 euros from the rest of the world. The development and printing of the selected graphic and photographic works will be supported in its entirety.

Artists and Art collective can apply according to the categories which follow:

Fine Arts:

This category includes painting, sculpture, ceramics, and engravings.

To apply, send to chouftouhonna.artplastique@gmail.com :

High definition JPEG pictures of your work (on different angles if it’s a 3d work)
A presentation of yourself and your work

Scenic Arts:

This category includes dance, circus, theatre, the self-expression through movement, stage performances, slam, poetry.

To apply, send to chouftouhonna.artscenique@gmail.com :

A good quality video of your performance
A presentation of yourself and your work

Graphic Arts:

This category gathers the fixed digital arts (drawing, cartoons, photomontage / sticking.)
To apply, send to chouftouhonna.artgraphique@gmail.com:

Your work
A presentation of yourself and your work

Photography:

To apply, send to chouftouhonna.photographie@gmail.com :

Your work HD JPEG
A presentation of yourself and your work

Music:

To apply, send to chouftouhonna.musique@gmail.com:

A wetransfer link of your record :https://www.wetransfer.com (good quality record)
A presentation of yourself and your work

Cinema:

This category includes all cinematic expressions: short & very short films, long films, documentaries, animations…
To apply, send to chouftouhonna.cinema@gmail.com :

A wetransfer link of your film :https://www.wetransfer.com
A presentation of yourself and your work

Each participant can only send one work ((this work can consist of several elements)

The call to participation is opened until 15 March 2016

Long live Art and Feminism!

CSBR Featured, News on Sexual & Bodily Rights, Statements

Call for Action: Request for Protection for Kemal Ördek

Reposted from AWID:

© Kemal Ördek'in Yanındayız — © Kemal Ördek’in Yanındayız

We call for action for Justice for Kemal and for all trans people and sex workers in Turkey!

1. Please kindly send your letters of protest to the Presidency, Prime Ministry, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Family and SocialPolicies.

Use the template letter that we have developed for your own use. Below are the exact information you will need to send your letters:

Republic of Turkey, President’s Palace,
Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (President)
Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyesi
06560 Beştepe – ANKARA
+903125255555

Republic of Turkey, Prime Ministry
Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu (Prime Minister)
T.C. Başbakanlık
Çankaya Mah. Ziyaur Rahman Cad. Çankaya/ANKARA
+903124035000

Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Interior
Mr. Efkan Ala (Minister of Interior)
T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı
Bakanlıklar – ANKARA
+903124224000

Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Family and Social Policies
Mrs. Sema Ramazanoğlu (Minister of Family and Social Policies)
T.C. Aile ve Sosyal Politikalar Bakanlığı
Eskişehir Yolu Söğütözü Mah. 2177. Sok. No: 10/A
Çankaya – ANKARA
+903127054000

Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Justice
Mr. Bekir Bozdağ (Minister of Justice)
T.C.Adalet Bakanlığı
06659 Kızılay – ANKARA
+903124177770

If you would like to prepare your own template, please send the final draft to kirmizisemsiye.csihd@gmail.com prior to sending to the relevant officials so that we can check and provide our comments to you.

Please also send a copy of your letters to the Turkish embassies in your countries.

2. Please kindly send letters to the politicians in your countries, requesting their support for Kemal Ördek, especially in their communication with their Turkish counterparts.

We would very much welcome your efforts in asking your governments to inform their embassies in Ankara – Turkey to put pressure over the Turkish Government in regard to this case and the overall situation of trans people and sex workers in Turkey. Please feel free to contact us for any supporting documentation that can help you in this process.

Please kindly request the Foreign Affairs Ministry in your country to encourage their embassies in Ankara to monitor Kemal’s hearings.

3. Inform your friends, colleagues or other contacts who work for the media in your countries in regard to Kemal Ördek’s case.

We would very much welcome your efforts in encouraging your contacts in the media toconduct interviews with Kemal or Red Umbrella in regard to the case.

4. Please kindly inform your contacts at relevant international committees

Contact the European Parliament (especially relevant committees and heads of political groups), Council of Europe, OSCE and the United Nations about the updates regarding Kemal’s case and the negative approach of the court team.

Also, please kindly convey us the contact information of those officials or contact people at the abovementioned institutions/bodies so that we can regularly contact them in cases of further actions.

5. Think of other ways to support Kemal

For regional and global LGBTI, sex workers’, women’s and other human rights networks, we strongly encourage you to think of other ways of support to Kemal;

e.g. a visit to Turkey for meetings with the relevant Ministries in Turkey as well as the parliamentarians to encourage them to follow-up Kemal’s case and support them.

Thanks in advance for your support!

Short information on what happened:

Kemal Ördek is a trans sex worker and a human rights defender from Turkey. They are the co-founder and the current chair of the sex workers’ rights advocacy NGO Red Umbrella Sexual Health and Human Rights Association.

Kemal was raped, physically attacked, threatened, insulted and robbed on the night of 5 July 2015. After escaping from the 3 young men who attacked them, Kemal sought help from two police officers, however Kemal became a victim of ill-treatment at Esat Police Station on the same night.

After filing a complaint against the 3 attackers, a case as opened against the perpetrators however the court team has continuously rejected arresting theattackers in the last two hearing which took place on 27 October 2015 and 26 January 2016. The same court team continuously rejected the third-party intervention bids of human rights associations in support of Kemal, including Red Umbrella which has been negatively impacted on by Kemal’s case.

Even though the perpetrators are free and haven’t attended the last hearing and that there is a potential of another attack against Kemal, the court team acts in opposite of what Kemal’s lawyers have demanded.

CSBR News on Sexual & Bodily Rights

LGBT group faces state persecution in Indonesia

25 January 2016

Several public officials issued statements on the weekend opposing the presence of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students on university campuses following the cancelation of an event at the University of Indonesia (UI).

Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister M. Nasir said that LGBT communities could taint the nation’s morality if “the guardians of morality [do not] promote decency and the noble values of Indonesia”, as quoted by Antara news agency.

Lawmaker from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Muhammad Nasir Djamil, also commented. “LGBT groups cannot be allowed to thrive and be given space. Especially considering that they have entered campuses through academic discussion,” lawmaker Nasir said.

Sociologist and gay-rights activist Dede Oetomo told The Jakarta Poston Sunday that he would be generous and forgiving in his response, calling the statements of both Nasirs demonstrative of “limited knowledge in general, in particular on sexuality and human rights”.

“We have to understand that even the international world and the United Nations have recognized the rights of LGBT [communities] only recently,” he said. Therefore, he would not be offended by the statements. “They simply never learn anything new,” he went on.

He said, however, that he had concerns about the welfare of LGBT communities on campuses after the weekend witch-hunt for the minority group.

Conservative Islamic newspaper Republika ran the headline “LGBT poses serious threat”, on its front page. The article quoted sources that slammed LGBT people for “tainting the nation’s morality”, citing links between LGBT communities and promiscuity. Some other media outlets also presented LGBT issues as a threat, using terms such as “deviant sexual behavior”.

The statements were made in response to the Support Group and Resource Center on Sexuality Studies (SGRC) at UI coming under the spotlight due to its “appropriation” of UI’s name and logo.

An unofficial poster for the LGBT Peer Support Network, a counseling service provided by SGRC-UI in cooperation with melela.org, a website that provides a platform for LGBT people to share their stories and experiences as a way of improving the public’s understanding of these minority groups, went viral on social media last week, triggering controversy among social media users.

Many social media users posted comments on #dukungSGRCUIvoicing their support for the community’s activities. Meanwhile, a number of messages circulated encouraging people to initiate anti-LGBT movements on UI’s campus.

The controversy prompted UI authorities to issue a statement saying that the university was not responsible for the organization’s activities because the organization had not registered as a university student society and had not obtained a permit from the university to carry out its activities.

The university has asked SGRC-UI to remove the university’s name and symbol from the its logo.

“It’s important to note that SGRC is not a campus organization and UI has never given any permit to the community [to use UI’s name and logo],” said Rifelly Dewi Astuti, UI’s head of public relations and public information.

SGRC-UI is a community comprised of UI graduates, students and lecturers. The group focuses on gender and sexuality studies. The group was founded on May 17, 2014, by three UI graduates: Ferena Debineva, Arief Rahadian and Nadya Karima Melati. The organization often conducts activities on UI’s campus in Depok.

Nadya said they had never had any problems with UI before, despite having conducted LGBT-related events previously. “UI never addressed our past activities, and they even published information on our seminars on their website uiupdate.ui.ac.id,” she said.

She added that the university had only reacted strongly when the unofficial poster suddenly appeared online.

She said that the group’s organizers were still discussing the project when the poster was published online.

“We are a study group that focuses on gender and sexuality issues. We firmly reject the notion that our broad scope of study is in fact small and limited because SGRC-UI is an LGBT community,” a press release from the community stated.

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Reposted from: The Jakarta Post,