World
Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Europe and Asia
Malaysian prime minister reiterated opposition to LGBTQ rights at UN

AUSTRALIA
A group has petitioned the Australian Human Rights Commission for an exemption to hold ‘Lesbians Born Female only’ events that exclude transgender people at the Victorian Pride Center for the next five years.
Lesbian Action Group Melbourne, wrote in their petition to apply for the exemption that the group, exclude “heterosexual, bisexual and gay males, heterosexual and bisexual females, transgender people and queer plus people.”
The Sydney Star Observer, Australia’s largest LGBTQ media outlet, reported that the event would be held to celebrate International Lesbian Day at the Victorian Pride Center on Oct. 15, 2023.
Under Australian codes the AHRC is empowered under Section 44 of the Sex Discrimination Act of 1984 (Cth) to grant temporary exemptions for up to five years from the provisions of the anti-discrimination law.
According to the Star-Observer, the group said it was set up to promote and organize events for “lesbian born females “without the fear of being hauled before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, as we have in the past and told our exclusive lesbian born female events are illegal and having to cancel them.”
The group claimed that over the past two decades, they were able to “organize and hold private lesbian meetings and gatherings over these past 20 years to avoid any more challenges by the transgender community.” The application then went on to allege that “lesbians who publicly speak out about lesbian rights are also sacked from their jobs, ridiculed and threatened with all kinds of abuse.”
Basketball star suspended over anti-gay remarks
Australian NBL professional basketball star Corey Webster was suspended for two games after he posted homophobic remarks to his X/Twitter social media account. In the now deleted tweets, Webster replying to a post that asked: “What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you see this flag,” accompanied by the LGBTQ Rainbow Pride flag,” said: “mental illness.”
After Perth Wildcats fans and followers started calling out him for the blatant homophobia Webster posted a follow-up that read in all caps: “PROTECT THE CHILDREN,” and put his social media profile on private.
The team reacted issuing an apology and also released an apology from Webster. In his statement the player said:
“While it certainly wasn’t my intent, I understand the hurt my comments have caused and I am sincerely sorry for this. It wasn’t how I intended my comments to be perceived and I will take a break from social media and use that time to better educate myself on the impact comments such as this can make on individuals I may have offended.”

Perth Wildcats team owner Richard Simkiss said: “We are really disappointed in these comments and have made this clear to Corey. They don’t reflect our values, and we have committed to working with Corey to help educate him about the harm such comments can bring. As a community driven club, we stand for inclusiveness and have strongly supported the NBL’s Pride Round. We look forward to promoting this initiative again in the upcoming season. Our values are clear — we want to bring people together in a positive way and we understand our responsibility as leaders in the community to live these values both on and off the court.”
VIETNAM

A decidedly queer subculture import from the U.S. that gained rapid popularity this vibrant southern Vietnamese metropolis is providing a safe haven for gay and trans youth.
Al Jazeera contributor Xuan-Tung Le reported during a recent event, a catwalk for would-be models with fiery dance-off battles, as well as an emotional celebration of kinship between Vietnam’s queer people — all rolled into a single evening of deep connections for trans people especially.
Le notes that not to be confused with ballroom dancing, which evolved from the heterosexual courtship tradition of European aristocrats, ballroom culture emerged in the 1960s among marginalized Black and Latino queer people in the U.S.
Gathering at a “ball” function, queer people “walk” to show off their talents in dancing, lip-syncing, performing and catwalk modelling as a way to both compete on the night and, more broadly, transcend the everyday realities of gender identities, occupational roles and social status assigned in society.
Viral videos of voguing battles have also been helped by the digital power of YouTube and TikTok algorithms, giving people around the world access to the dance form Le added.
“Ballroom is more than dancing,” Minerva Sun Mizrahi, using a stage name preferring that their real name not be used, told Al Jazeera.
“Here, people can vogue, do runway walk, or simply look and act straight-passing — all are considered talents,” Minerva said.
“It is a space to empower queer people.”
Another queer performer told Al Jazeera that social acceptance of transgender people also lags behind in Vietnam, even in Saigon where gay men and women enjoy relative acceptance in society. Naomi Sun, also using a preferred stage name, told Al Jazeera: “That is why ballroom events are so unique, as they are one of the few safe spaces in Saigon where trans women can just ‘let loose and have fun,’” Sun said.
“You don’t have to do anything to your body or take hormones; just dress up as a fem queen [which is the ballroom slang for a trans woman], go there, and live your dream as a fem queen,” she said. “It’s fine! That’s how ballroom is.”
Related: Vietnam’s “ballroom” culture: A safe space to celebrate trans people (link)
MALAYSIA
In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says Malaysia will never recognize LGBTQ rights. Recently prison sentences were threatened for selling rainbow watches. “I wouldn’t defend that,” Ibrahim told the veteran journalist. He says he’d like to see things change, but must respect the consensus of the people.
Anwar said that as prime minister, he has to respect the consensus of Malaysians and that they do not accept public displays of LGBTQ (people and issues.) “The Muslims, non-Muslims, Christians, Hindus or Buddhists, they have a consensus in the country. They do not accept this (LGBTQ+),” he said. However, he said while there is a need to exercise some degree of tolerance, harassment has to be avoided.
UNITED KINGDOM

A 17-year-old teenage boy from South Wales has been publicly named after being convicted and sentenced on Sept. 21, for a homophobic and racist vandalism crime spree in South Wales and Cardiff.
Haynes and a second 15-year-old male accomplice carried out several racially and homophobically charged counts of criminal damage across South Wales, including extremist Nazi graffiti on a Windrush mural in Port Talbot where the teen was living at the time.
British LGBTQ media outlet PinkNewsUK reported that just hours after the mural, depicting local beloved nurse Donna Campbell and her mother Lydie, was complete, it was daubed with swastikas, the words “Nazi zone,” and a racial slur.
The presiding justice, Jeremy Baker, sent the teen to jail for one year and seven months and ordered the former Royal Air Force Cadet to an additional one year’s probation.
According to Sky News, Counter terrorism police in Wales last year began investigating the two teenagers in connection with “several offenses of racially and homophobically aggravated criminal damage.”
A smoke bomb was also rolled into the Queer Emporium, an LGBTQ business in Cardiff city center.
The 15-year-old, from Tonyrefail, South Wales, appeared at Cardiff Youth Court and pleaded guilty on Aug. 15 to one charge of criminal damage and four charges of racially aggravated criminal damage. He was given community service for one year, and probation for two additional years and ordered to pay £100 ($122.42) compensation to the Queer Emporium.
In the case of Hayes, Baker said the teen had “essentially became self-radicalized” and held “entrenched” racist, antisemitic and homophobic views.
“I am satisfied that not only did you hold entrenched racist, antisemitic and homophobic views at the time of the commission of these offenses, but that these are views which you have not genuinely disavowed,” the judge told him at his sentencing. “It is apparent that you were not someone who limited your behavior to the expression of your views online, but were prepared to put some of those views into action,” he added.
The judge also noted, “It is of particular concern that not only had you asserted that one of your goals in life was to kill someone … but you had already carried out research as to the availability of one of the components for constructing a gun.”
According to Counter Terrorism Policing Wales Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Williams who spoke at the sentencing:
“For the older boy in particular, it became evident that he was also involved in the online distribution of extreme right-wing material, which clearly fell into the space governed by terrorism legislation,” he said.
“The offences were particularly abhorrent in nature and understandably caused upset to many people, both within the communities the boys targeted, and beyond.
“The sentencing today concludes the investigation and enables professionals to work intensively with them in the hope that they can lead far more productive lives in their respective futures.”

The court battle over to overturn the UK Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack’s veto block of the Gender Recognition Reform ended this week with a ruling by Judge Lady Shona Haldane of the Court of Session in Edinburgh not expected for “some time” according to a statement from the court.
Haldane said after the judicial review concluded a day earlier than expected — that she will take “some time” to reach her decision on the matter. She added she write her opinion following what she described as a “unique, very interesting and challenging case.”
The Gender Recognition Reform bill introduced by the Scottish government to Parliament last spring was passed in a final 86-39 vote days before this past Christmas 2022. The sweeping reform bill modifies the Gender Recognition Act, signed into law in 2004, by allowing trans Scots to gain legal recognition without the need for a medical diagnosis.
The measure further stipulates that age limit for legal recognition is lowered to 16.
Jack had released a statement indicating that with the backing of 10 Downing St., he would use a Section 35 order under the Scotland Act to block the king’s signature which is referred to as royal assent.
Under Section 35 of the Scotland Act, UK ministers can stop a bill getting royal assent. Jack can do so if he is of the opinion that a Scottish Parliament bill would modify laws reserved to Westminster and have an “adverse effect” on how those laws apply.
PinkNewsUK reported the legislation itself was not discussed, with the case instead focusing on whether or not the Jack had the legal right to veto the bill.
Whoever loses the case, when Haldane issues her ruling, will have the right to appeal the outcome at the Court of Session Inner House. Whoever loses that appeal will have the option to take the case to the Supreme Court in London.
This means, regardless of the result, the political and legal battle could go on for months, or even years.
Additional reporting from the Star Observer, Al Jazeera, CNN, Sky News and PinkNewsUK
Lesotho
LGBTQ activist murdered in Lesotho
Authorities have arrested a suspect in Kabelo Seseli’s death

Kabelo Seseli, a gay crossdresser and LGBTQ activist in Lesotho, was murdered over the weekend in a suspected homophobic attack.
According to the People’s Matrix Association, a LGBTQ rights organization, Seseli’s body was found with stab wounds on their neck and genitals.
“This was not just a murder, it was a hate-driven, dehumanizing act meant to send a message of fear and rejection to our community,” said the People’s Matrix Association in a statement posted to its Facebook page on April 29. “Kabelo deserved to live. Kabelo deserved dignity, safety, and the freedom to exist without fear, just like every Mosotho.”
The LGBTQ rights group also said it is demanding action, justice, and protection from the government, especially given the fact authorities have arrested a suspect.
“We strongly condemn this act of violence and call on the government of Lesotho and law enforcement authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure that those responsible are held fully accountable,” said the People’s Matrix Association. “We also urge leaders and the public to reflect on the role of hate speech and social stigma, which continue to incite violence against LGBTI individuals across our country. We demand action.”
Victor Mukasa of Trans and History Intersex Africa also condemned Seseli’s murder.
“Death is a fact of life, but murder is criminal,” said Mukasa. “Murder of people because they are LGBTIQA+ or for belonging to a particular social group is a hate crime.”
Thato Motsieloa, a gay crossdresser and LGBTQ activist, said he was “deeply distraught to learn about the brutal murder of Kabelo Seseli.” Motsieloa said he and Seseli met on Facebook.
“Although we never met in person, we had plans to do so,” said Motsieloa. “The manner of his death is particularly heartbreaking, and the fact that his killers desecrated his body by removing his private parts is utterly heinous. I hope justice is served, and those responsible face the consequences of their horrific actions. My sincerest condolences go out to Kabelo’s family, may his soul rest in eternal peace.”
Lesotho in 2012 decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations. Marriage, however, remains limited to heterosexual couples. There have also been sporadic reports of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes since 2012.
The International Commission of Jurists, in partnership with Outright International, a New York-based LGBTQ advocacy group, in 2022 held a workshop with the Lesotho judiciary that focused on human rights for the LGBTQ community.
The judiciary noted LGBTQ people exist, but acknowledged there is no local jurisprudence on their rights, even though the country’s constitution guarantees the right to respect private and family life and freedom from discrimination.
Religious and cultural norms, like in many African countries, play a pivotal role in how society perceives the LGBTQ community. Many people in Lesotho disregard the existence of LGBTQ people, even though the government is trying to make room for the acknowledgment of LGBTQ rights.
Outright International Africa Advocacy Officer Khanyo Farise says the judiciary’s active engagement with the LGBTQ community is an important step towards ensuring LGBTQ rights are upheld.
“Judges and judicial officers play an important part in ensuring access to justice for LGBTIQ+ people, but also have an important role in producing judgments which can advance their human rights,” said Farise.
ICJ Africa Communications and Legal Officer Mulesa Lumina said though the ICJ is encouraged by these developments, particularly the willingness of judiciary members to understand the plight of the community, LGBTQ people continue to face harassment, discrimination, abuse and violence because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.
“We will continue working with partners, such as the People’s Matrix and Outright International, to ensure the enforcement of the country’s obligations under international human rights law, which entitle LGBTIQ persons to the full range of human rights without discrimination,” said Lumina.
India
LGBTQ Kashmiri students targeted after terrorist attack
26 people killed in Baisaran Valley on April 22

Baisaran Valley, a Kashmiri meadow surrounded by pine trees, was bustling with Hindu tourists on April 22.
Families were wearing phirans (traditional Kashmiri clothing) for photos, while ponies trotted along the Lidder River. Gunfire shattered this peace when five terrorists opened fire. They targeted Hindu men, checking their religion before shooting them. The terrorists killed 26 people — 25 tourists, including a Navy officer who was on his honeymoon — and Syed Adil Hussain Shah, a pony guide who died protecting others. More than 20 others were wounded.
The Resistance Front, a Pakistan-based group tied to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist organization, initially claimed responsibility for the attack, but retracted the claim three days later, fearing India’s diplomatic and military response that eventually included the tightening of borders and the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.
The attack sparked outrage across India.
Misdirected anger targeted Kashmiri students in Dehradun, Jalandhar, and other cities in which LGBTQ people face heightened vulnerability. They endured harassment, evictions, and threats of violence. The J&K Students Association reported more than 1,000 distress calls, and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah urged states to protect them.
Activists across India have rallied to help LGBTQ Kashmiri students in their cities.
Harish Iyer, a prominent activist, offered shelter and legal assistance to them in Mumbai, the country’s financial hub.
“Religion is a tool used by terrorists worldwide to ensure that their victims divert their energy towards fighting each other while they continue to focus on our destruction,” said Iyer. “It is a tried and tested formula designed to divide us while we should all be united against them.”
Iyer told the Washington Blade he saw videos of Kashmiri students being targeted.
“Hate gets compounded when you look at it from several intersectional points,” he said. “To belong to identities like queer, Muslim, and Kashmiri makes one vulnerable. In a moment where hate reveals its fang, it is important that love opens its home too.”
Iyer said he received a couple of phone calls from queer people in northern India who had been attacked. He offered to pay for their travel to Mumbai or any other city, but they eventually told him they found a place where they would be safe.
“It just reinstates our collective faith in humanity and asserts that there are kind people everywhere,” said Iyer. “The community stands united with each other against terror.”
He stressed “intersectional realities make us most vulnerable” and “that’s why we need to rise up and be the best of who we are as queer humans.” Iyer told the Blade that other queer activists in India are trying to do just that, albeit silently, by opening their homes to people who have been targeted.
“Anish Gawande, the queer spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party, has been working hard to restore peace in the valley,” he noted. “He has been doing good work in the Kashmir Valley for several years now. I truly admire his courage and candor. But truly, it’s the everyday queer Indian who advocates for kindness who matter.”
“They would not be known to all and sundry, may not have a fan following or several followers on social media, but they have it in them to open their homes and their world to those affected,” added Iyer. “Sometimes, love doesn’t cause outpouring visibility, sometimes it silently protects and creates homes with a beating heart.”
Gawande has worked in Kashmir since 2012, running a program for Kashmiri journalism students and an art residency.
He acknowledged to the Blade the increase in violence against Kashmiri students. Gawande also said LGBTQ Kashmiri students face unique challenges because they are a “minority within a minority.”
“In these difficult times, several activists like Harish Iyer have come forward to offer their support to young Kashmiri LGBTQ students who are afraid for their own safety,” he said. “The intent of the terrorists was to divide us — we cannot let their strategy succeed. I am incredibly grateful to so many members of the queer community and allies who have stepped forward to help all Kashmiris in this difficult time.”
Gawande said he has been supporting the efforts of student leaders, including Nasir Khuehami of the J&K Students Association, who has been leading efforts to ensure Kashmiris across India remain safe and secure. Gawande also said government officials, politicians, and law enforcement are working to protect the students.
“I am grateful to both the central government and state governments across the country for their prompt assistance in this matter,” said Gawande. “In these difficult times, when emotions run high, we remain united against hate.”
“Today, attempts are being made to create divides between Indians and Kashmiris, between Hindus and muslims,” he added. “We must stand up against such attempts in one voice.”
Gawande last weekend traveled to Srinagar, the Kashmiri capital, and led multi-faith prayer services in temples, churches, gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship), and dargahs (shrines) “to mourn those who lost their lives in Pahalgam and to send out a message of communal harmony.”
“When attempts are being made to divide us on religious grounds, we must unite through religion,” he said.
Gawande also spoke directly to Kashmiri LGBTQ students, urging them to reach out to the J&K Students Association. He said his New Delhi home and his party’s offices across the country are “also available to those who need a safe space or a place to grieve.”
“In this time of grief, where we are all mourning the dastardly loss of life, it is important to stand up for what is right,” said Gawande. “Queerness has taught me that we have two kinds of families — those of birth and of choice.”
“Kashmir holds a special place in my heart, and when the well being of those who I consider family is under threat, there is no question of even thinking about any potential jeopardizing of my own safety,” he added.
The Vatican
Potential Pope Francis successor views homosexuality as an ‘abomination’
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu is archbishop of Kinshasa

One of the cardinals who is reportedly in the running to succeed Pope Francis has described homosexuality as an “abomination.”
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, the archbishop of Kinshasa in Congo, made the comment in a Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar statement in response to Francis’s 2023 decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples.
“Within the church family of God in Africa, this declaration has caused a shockwave, it has sown misconceptions and unrest in the minds of many lay faithful, consecrated persons, and even pastors and has aroused strong reactions,” wrote Ambongo in the Jan. 11, 2024, statement he signed. “The African Bishops’ Conferences emphasize that people with a homosexual tendency must be treated with respect and dignity, while reminding them that unions of persons of the same sex are contrary to the will of God and therefore cannot receive the blessing of the church.”
The statement notes several Biblical passages that “condemn homosexuality, notably Lv. 18:22-23 where homosexuality is explicitly prohibited and considered an abomination.”
“In addition to these biblical reasons, the cultural context in Africa, deeply rooted in the values of the natural law regarding marriage and family, further complicates the acceptance of unions of persons of the same sex, as they are seen as contradictory to cultural norms and intrinsically corrupt,” it reads.
Ambongo, who is president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, in 2024 said homosexuality “does not exist” in Africa outside of “a few isolated cases.” La Croix, a French Catholic newspaper, reported he made the comment during a rally that took place outside of Kinshasa.
Actualité, an online Congolese newspaper, reported Ambongo reiterated his opposition to homosexuality and same-sex unions in his 2023 Christmas message.
“Same-sex unions are not accepted in our church,” he said. “Although homosexuals should be treated with respect, compassion, and sensitivity, homosexuality remains a moral disorder contrary to natural law and our African culture.”
Jérémie Safari, executive director of Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko, a Congolese LGBTQ rights group, criticized Ambongo when he spoke with the Washington Blade.
“This cardinal is very homophobic; very, very homophobic,” said Safari.
Francis died on April 21.
The Vatican’s tone on LGBTQ and intersex issues softened under the Argentine-born pope’s papacy, even though church teachings on homosexuality did not change.
Francis, among other things, described laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations as “unjust” and supported civil unions for gays and lesbians.
Francis last August met with two African activists — Clare Byarugaba of Chapter Four Uganda and Rightify Ghana Director Ebenezer Peegah — at the Vatican last August. Francis in 2023 visited Congo and South Sudan.
Juan Carlos Cruz, a GLAAD board member who survived clerical sex abuse in Chile, is among the hundreds of thousands of people who attended Francis’s funeral that took place at the Vatican on April 26. Transgender people were among those who greeted Francis’s coffin at Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica before his burial.
The conclave to select Francis’s successor will begin on May 7.
The Associated Press notes Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the former archbishop of Manila in the Philippines; Archbishop of Bologna (Italy) Cardinal Matteo Zuppi; and Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest (Hungary) Cardinal Peter Erdo are among those who are considered potential Francis successors.
“He [Erdo] has been reluctant to take positions on several of the government’s policies that divided society in Hungary, such as public campaigns that villainized migrants and refugees and laws that eroded the rights of LGBTQ+ communities,” said the AP.
New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ Catholic organization, in an April 21 statement said it hopes “our loving God, who is a God of justice and equality, will continue to bless us by extending Francis’ welcoming and inclusive message in the next papacy.”
Anti-LGBTQ Catholic figures offered a far different view.
Doug Mainwaring — described as a “marriage, family, and children’s rights activist” — on Monday described Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah as “the only conclave participant to counter LGBT ambiguity and lies of Francis pontificate” in a post that LifeSiteNews, an anti-LGBTQ Canadian Catholic website, published.
“There is just one cardinal about to enter the conclave who is crystal clear, fearless, and uncompromising with the truth when it comes to pastoring those of us who experience same-sex attraction and gender confusion: Cardinal Robert Sarah,” wrote Mainwaring.
Mainwaring also highlighted anti-LGBTQ comments that Sarah made in his 2019 book.
“I think that the first victims of the LGBT ideology are the persons who experience a homosexual orientation. They are led by its militants to reduce their whole identity to their sexual behavior,” Sarah wrote, according to Mainwaring. “I beg Catholics who are tempted by homosexuality not to let themselves be shut away in this prison of LGBT ideology. You are a child of God by baptism! Your place is in the church, like all Christians. And if sometimes the spiritual combat becomes too hard, fraternal charity will support you.”
Catholic League President Bill Donohue on April 22 urged the cardinals to consider an African counterpart to succeed Francis.
“If the cardinals decide to choose someone who is a traditionalist, they can do no better than to look to Africa. It is home to the most brilliant orthodox clergy in the world,” said Donohue. “If the cardinals want to choose someone more like Francis, they will look to Europe.”
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