Gender Equality
When the High Court rejected her application to change her name, Aleesha Farhana, who was born Mohd Ashraf Hafiz Abdul Aziz, was devastated. In recent weeks, she often spoke to her family about there being little time left for her to do much of anything, including celebrating the coming Hari Raya Puasa. That’s when I realised how important gender recognition and acceptance was for her, and how without it, life was not worth living. I had this strange fear that she was going to take her own life. Of course, the hospital and doctors now tell us she died of a heart problem and low blood pressure. It would not be proper for me to think otherwise.
We as a nation must not let her death go to waste, for we can learn something from this tragic loss of life. If we do nothing, then more lives will be wasted, and more families will be heartbroken or will suffer in silence. Questions about sexuality, gender, belief, faith and personal freedom are important matters to the individuals concerned. To many of us, they constitute the core of our existence. That’s why the Government (and that includes the Ministers, the Registration Department, religious authorities and judges) should handle these issues with care and gentle consideration.
I know it’s difficult for this Government to be gentle and respectful of minorities, or anyone different. They have begun to believe their own spin: that they are the great protectors of the religion, race and general wellbeing of the Malays. They have taken it upon themselves to decide for the Malays (who are by law Muslims) everything under the sun, big and small. For example, if the Malays want to sell a piece of property, chances are the Menteri Besar and his Exco have to approve the transaction. I tried to sell a small shop lot after owning the property for four years,but my application was rejected. Maybe one day during a recession when prices have gone south, I will finally get the approval to sell from these great protectors of my race. It seems that as a Malay, I am not considered fit enough to decide when I can sell my own property. I am not fit to take advantage of the market situation. I must be really incapable and weak, like a walking handicap. My rights as a property owner are restricted, but the Government will say it’s for my own good.
I apologise for the digression, but this same lack of recognition of our right to choose is reflected in Aleesha’s case. In future, if a Malay says she is a woman, whether by birth or by biological transformation in adult life (and scientifically or by hormonal testing one can easily establish that assertion to be largely correct), then I hope the Registration Department will just accept that fact. Why is the Department so interested in denying her proper identity?
I know some will say that we must not give legal recognition to those tampering with God’s design, but this was not what Aleesha was asking for. She was asking for official recognition of her true self, one that only she and God truly knew. Some scholars reprimanded me for not taking their viewpoints seriously. Well all I can say is Aleesha’s viewpoint is the only one that is relevant. Its her body and her life. Others can talk and talk because talk is cheap. Even if we were to go so far as to say that her decision to go for a sex-change operation amounted to tampering with God’s design, what should we then make of visits to the dentist to straighten crooked teeth, or using Botox to make the nose more attractive? Is that not also tampering?
Aleesha was not alone. There are thousands like her who continue to be ostracised, ridiculed and humiliated because of their sexuality. They may not fit our image of the male or female stereotype, but they are not out to cause mischief. They are not sexual perverts, nor do they suffer from the curse of God. Their identities are rooted in biology – they are who they are because of their genes and their hormones. It would not cause anyone any harm if they were to be left alone and accorded the respect and rights that all human beings are entitled to.
Berita Harian yesterday called on us not to ridicule Aleesha. Well it’s too late now – she is gone. If those in power had been more caring and had not overplayed their role as the great protectors, she may still be alive today.
written by Zaid @ www.zaiduntukrakyat.com
| Topic Name | Download |
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| YB Teh Yee Cheu speech regarding transsexual Malaysians | |
| Transgender Community's Statement | |
| Transgender Court Statement | |
| Awareness Event 2010 |
Penang Fhda SRHR Forum for Transgender
Sexual and Reproductive Health & Rights (SRHR) Forum on Transgender (TG) Community on 4 July 2010, The forum began with registration of an overwhelming total of 168 participants.
STOP THE VIOLENCE AND PERSECUTION TOWARDS US:
Press Statement by the Mak Nyah Community of Malaysia 30 November 2010* Mak nyah is a Malay term for a male-to-female transsexual. The name is preferred by Malaysian transsexuals to various other derogatory terms used in Malaysia.
* 'Lelaki berlagak seperti perempuan' - men behaving like women.
**This statement came to my attention through a Malaysian civil society e-group.
We are the Mak Nyah community and we are being persecuted by Section 66 on "Lelaki berlagak seperti perempuan" of the Syariah Criminal Enactment (Negeri Sembilan) 1992 (please refer to this section and similar sections in other states in Malaysia in Appendix 1). We have suffered mental distress, physical violence and even sexual mole station at the hands of the religious officers who enforce these laws. We are stripped of a life of dignity and deprived of our personal liberty, and we fear for our lives. We are unable to step out of our homes without the fear of getting harassed, abused or arrested. We are no longer able to go out or to eat and drink in public without the fear of harassment and abuse from the religious officers who enforce these laws. We demand that the religious authorities of the State of Negeri Sembilan and all its officers stop harassing, victimising and persecuting us for who we are.
In Negeri Sembilan where we live, we are forced to walk around without our brassieres as it is used as evidence against us upon arrest. We are "advised" by the religious officers to just wear t-shirts, track bottoms or men's shorts. Despite following these instructions, we are still arre sted on the basis that we physically look like women. We are sexually molested or our breasts are groped when the religious officers who enforce these laws insist on checking if we are wearing brassieres. We are sometimes made to change our clothes in full view of the religious officers.
We are instructed to plead "Guilty" by the religious officers and even by the state's Legal Aid Bureau. Without proper legal advice, we plead "guilty" and as a result we are sentenced with heavy fines and sometimes we even face imprisonment. Under such laws, it is impossible for us to live and earn a living. Sometimes, we are also compelled to attend mandatory religious counseling sessions. We are Mak Nyahs. No amount of "counseling" or coercion can ever change that. All we ask is to be left alone and for respect of our personal and private lives. Such mandatory counseling we consider to be an infri ngement of our personal liberty.
We also suffer hardships in obtaining employment as we are discriminated against by employers on the basis of who we are. We suffer rejection in schools and in some institutions of higher learning. At the latter, we are sometimes required to attend boot camps in order to make us more "manly".
As Mak Nyahs, we have the right to live with dignity like all citizens in Malaysia. We have the right to our identity, the right to self-expression in our dress and mannerisms, the right to respect for our personal and private life and the right to livelihood as other citizens in Malaysia. These are our fundamental liberties as enshrined in Articles 5, 8 and 10 of the Federal Constitution, the supreme law of the land. Any law that violates our rights arbitrarily is no longer good law.
These are a lso violations of our human rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Jogjakarta Principles on human rights relating to sexual orientation and gender identity.
We ask the Legislative assemblymen of Negeri Sembilan, the Negeri Sembilan Religious Department Directors and all other Malaysian elected representatives and leaders to stop the violence and persecution that has been targeted against our Mak Nyah community.
We appeal to all who believe in freedom under the Federal Constitution, human rights, non-discrimination and equality, to stand with us and join us in our call for the stop the targeted persecution and violence towards our Mak Nyah community in Malaysia.
Appendix 1
Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment of other states in Malaysia which have been used to persecute the Mak Nyah community
ENAKMEN 4 TAHUN 1992 ENAKMEN JENAYAH SYARIAH 1992 (NEGERI SEMBILAN)
BAHAGIAN IV - KESALAHAN-KESALAHAN Seksyen 66. Lelaki berlagak seperti perempuan. Mana-mana orang lelaki yang memakai pakaian perempuan atau berlagak seperti perempuan di mana-mana tempat awa m adalah melakukan satu kesalahan dan hendaklah apabila disabitkan dikenakan hukuman denda tidak melebihi satu ribu ringgit atau penjara selama tempoh tidak melebihi enam bulan atau kedua-duanya.ENAKMEN 9 TAHUN 1988 ENAKMEN KANUN JENAYAH SYARIAH 1988 (NEGERI KEDAH)
BAHAGIAN II - KESALAHAN-KESALAHAN Seksyen 7. Pondan. Mana-mana orang lelaki yang memakai pakaian perempuan dan berlagak seperti perempuan di mana-mana tempat awam adalah bersalah atas suatu kesalahan dan boleh, apabila disabitkan, dikenakan hukuman denda tidak melebihi satu ribu ringgit atau penjara selama tempoh tidak melebihi enam bulan atau kedua-duanya.ENAKMEN 2 TAHUN 1985 ENAKMEN KANUN JENAYAH SYARIAH 1985 (NEGERI KELANTAN)
BAHAGIAN II - KESALAHAN-KESALAHAN Seksyen 7. Pondan. Seseorang lelaki yang memakai pakaian perempuan dan berlagak seperti perempuan di mana-mana tempat awam adalah bersalah atas suatu kesalahan dan boleh, apabila disabitkan, dikenakan hukuman denda tidak melebihi satu ribu ringgit atau penjara selama tempoh tidak melebihi enam bulan atau kedua-duanya.