Trans, Muslim and Living In Malaysia

If you're trans, Muslim  and live in Malaysia, it means that you are not only dealing with the anti-trans hatred aimed at you, you also have to contend with the religious police messing with you as well.

You also have to contend with religious authorities trying to forcibly detransition you back to living in a gender role you are not comfortable in

This situation our trans Muslim fam face in Malaysia is probably the wet dream of our Talabaptist right wing fundies to replicate the religious persecution of trans Americans here.

Here is a documentary discussing the fight for trans Malaysian Muslims to not only have their human rights they deserve, but just have the ability to happily live their lives.

Celebrating Transgender Day Of Remembrance In Malaysia?

Trans advocate Yuki Choe was the main speaker for the inaugural Transgender Day of Remembrance memorial event organized in Malaysia in 2008 by fellow activist Thilaga Sulathireh.   Choe has organized TDOR's in Malaysia following the principle that it is an international trans memorial service laid out by TDOR founder Gwen Smith from 2009-2012.

But this year's Malaysian TDOR event was problematic for her.  

Just like here in the United States, there have been some Malaysian transpeople who have complained the TDOR's are 'too somber' and need to be 'more festive'.  I've commented on that irritating 'more festive TDOR' point more than a few times on TransGriot, and now Yuki Choe will have her opportunity to do the same.   

In this guest post, Choe makes the case that the organizers of the 2013 TDOR event in her nation went too far in that festive direction.  By doing so, they disrespected the memory of not only the local Malaysian trans women who were killed this year like Dicky Othman, but all the people around the world we lost due to anti-trans violence. 

TransGriot Update 4 December 2013:  Well well, seems like somebody in Malaysia was pissed off about Yuki's guest post spotlighting the jacked up TDOR they had.   They complained and got the pics of their disrespectful TDOR event removed from this blog post.   

But that's okay, still doesn't change the fact that people around the world already saw them and are talking about how you disrespected the memory of Dicky Othman and other trans women who lost their lives around the world this year to anti-trans violence with your travesty of a TDOR. 

And because you pissed me the hell off with that nekulturny move, you're officially on my bad side and Yuki Choe has an open invitation to guest post here anytime she wishes.   

And now, here's Yuki

***

Imagine this scenario. In an unknown state, there was a year-long mass murder happening. 238 people were reported dead, while countless others were missing. The local church decided to start a memorial on the 20th of November, where they announced each of the 238 known names of the dead, along with a candlelight vigil, and begin discussions on how to stop the violent killings. Everyone, including the founder, decided it would be a day to remember the dead and the dead only.

Then someone decided to run the same event on a later date on the 29th of November, decided to invite some pretty girls to dance, gave out some awards to courageous councilmen who were nowhere to be found when the murders happen, promoted and raised funds for the group, and only mustered up 29 names out of the 238 who died.

You do not make a mockery out of your family’s funeral, memorial, wake, or whatever form to grief. Sadly, this happened recently in one country, Malaysia.

A week before the programme was announced, concerns were raised up to the fact that at a time of worldwide mourning for the dead of Transgender Day Of Remembrance (TDOR), a group comprising of members from PT Foundation (a local AIDS prevention organization) and Justice For Sisters (a local trans group) decided to change the principles of TDOR and added several features that draws power away from the voices of our dead, which includes award ceremonies for three trans personalities, a drag queen dance performance and promotional efforts to aid Justice For Sisters.

One even acknowledged in social media that all the names of the dead from the TGEU Monitoring Project website will be announced during the candlelight vigil of the event.

In the end, when the event was held last Friday, two sources confirmed to me that only 29 were named, leaving 209 trans people thrown under the bus for the sake of self-promotion. Worse, one of their supporters who goes by the name Ineza claimed “it was empowering for everyone who attended”. 

Therein, lies the problem - you are not supposed to feel empowered during TDOR. You are supposed to be in grief, and seek solutions to aid recovery.

From a recent FaceBook discussion, this is not the first time TDOR became an event less focused on the dead; Peterson Toscano said, “ I have heard this happen elsewhere. There is such a need to face the hard tragic realities of violence against trans and gender non-conforming people. But not as just a memorial, but also as a time and place to commit to resist and work for justice and a better world. But TDOR is a somber event, a tragic, awful one and one that demands we feel the weight of it.”

But should there be room for people to revise TDOR into a less morbid event? Monica Roberts commented, “Since TDOR founder Gwen Smith is a friend, we stay in contact, and I was around in the community at the 1999 outset of the TDOR events.  They were always meant to be memorial services. What people have done over the last few years is to have other trans education events leading up to November 20. That's fine if you do trans themed panel discussions, trans themed movie nights, lectures, or community forums. 

But dances, drag shows and pageants? Not no but HELL no. You have 364 other days on the calendar to do those. November 20 should be a day where we remember our dead, use that day as an opportunity for our allies in the gay, lesbian, bi and straight communities to join us and build intersectional community links to build future political and cultural progress upon.”

This writer agrees that to add other elements such as award ceremonies and drag shows, or replacing the principles of TDOR especially removing a huge bulk of the names to be announced for convenience, tortures the soul of what makes TDOR such an important event, and it should not be defaced by promoting people and organizations of the living.

But could people be allowed to change TDOR, to perk it up so it would not be too sombre or for many, boring?

Some folks do bring alcoholic drinks and sexy girls to funerals to be jolly, so should TDOR be “celebrated” like it was this year in Malaysia?

Yuki Choe is a lone transsexual advocate and ex-gay survivor, organizing TDOR events in Malaysia from 2009-2012 and the main speaker for the first TDOR organized by activist Thilaga Sulathireh in 2008, following the TDOR guiding principles. There have been trans murders yearly in her country.

Stories from previous Malaysian TDORs:

2008: http://tiltedworld.org/2008/12/04/we-will-remember/
2009: http://www.exgaywatch.com/2009/11/malaysia-report-transgender-day-of-remembrance/

2010: http://www.fridae.asia/newsfeatures/printable.php?articleid=10461

2012: http://www.fridae.asia/newsfeatures/2012/12/11/12104.a-death-religion-and-the-transgender-day-of-remembrance

Hazreen Shaik Daud Video Update

I talked about Hazreen Shaik Daud, the Malaysian trans girl like us who was appointed the political secretary to Tanjung Bungah state assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in Malaysia.

In Penang state a Transgender committee headed by Teh has been approved and will be formed in two months.  The objectives of this legislative transgender committee is to collect data and alleviate the status and social stigma associated with the transgender community. 

Some of their activities will include holding public forums to spread awareness on the issue.

Here's a video that discusses Hazreen's appointment

Malaysian Transwoman Appointed As Political Secretary Hopes For Equal Treatment

Anna Julia Cooper once said in a famous quote about Black women, 'When and where I enter, then and there the entire race enters with me'.
.  
33 year old Hazreen Shaik Daud probably feels the same way right now every time she walks into work as the newly appointed political secretary for Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu in Malaysia.

Trans women have been catching hell there, especially in the Malaysian Muslim trans community as they fight for visibility and acceptance.

Assemblyman Teh in the recent Penang State Assembly pointed out that trans people were targeted with discrimination and requested a special committee be set up to investigate the issues and problems facing our trans cousins there.

She was a project officer with the Penang Family Health Development Association who speaks four languages and has a degree in information technology.   She said certain companies had refused to employ her expressing concerns that she would not be able to fit into a male dominated workplace.  

Hazreen had come in contact with Teh multiple times as part of her job with the Penang Family Health Development Association and offered her the position as his political secretary earlier in the year.

Once he explained the duties of her position, she accepted it. "I am grateful to YB for offering this job to me and I am looking forward to the challenge."

She's also hoping that by her excelling in this position, it will pave the way towards equal treatment for the entire trans community.  "It is difficult for us to be hired by companies so I hope that with my appointment, we can show that we are as capable in our work as others,” she said.

I AM YOU Trans Ally Campaign Launched In Malaysia

Was nice to hear that TBLG activists in that Pacific Rim nation launched last month a campaign designed to get people in Malaysia to be better allies to trans people there. 

We've seen Muslim transwomen be frequently arrested, charged under Sharia law with 'impersonating a woman' and fined or imprisoned for up to six months for just living their trans lives.  

While transwomen are the more well known and visible faces of the Malaysian trans community and targets for the anti-trans harassment aimed at them, trans men are increasingly being targeted for harassment if their status is discovered.

A political climate in which the various political parties trying to capture votes from the Muslim majority attempt to show righteous they are by hating on transpeople and repressing their human rights also has been problematic for the Malaysian trans community


The I AM YOU campaign launched with a screening of the three campaign videos followed by a question and answer session with several trans men and trans women complete with a mock trial demonstrating what happens when transpeople go to court to do their name changes.    

And here are the I AM YOU campaign videos.

Malaysian Islamic Court Rules Against Transwomen

I wrote about the four Muslim trans women in Malaysia who were challenging Section 66 of the country's Islamic criminal code that bars Muslim men from dressing or posing as women.  

Section 66 of the state's Islamic Criminal Code states that “any male person who, in any public place wears a woman's attire or poses as a woman shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding RM1,000 ($325.USD) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both.”

That section of Islamic law has been used by fundamentalists (surprise, surprise) to harass transwomen living in that country. and the four Muslim transwomen challenged it on the basis they have a medical condition, it was in violation of their federal constitutional rights as Malaysian citizens and Section 66 did not apply to people diagnosed with gender identity issues.

“The undisputed medical evidence shows the applicants are biologically male but psychologically female. Thus, it [the law] is not applicable to them.” said lawyer Aston Paiva

In the October 11 ruling that has alarmed people in Malaysia,  High Court judge Datuk Siti Mariah Ahmad dismissed the Section 66 challenge by the transwomen, stating Muslims cannot be exempted from Sharia legal provisions.  She also ruled that Part II of the Malaysian Federal Constitution - which guarantees Malaysians fundamental liberties such as equality before the law, freedom of religion, and which prohibits slavery and enforced labor among others - is exempted by Section 66 of the Negri Sembilan Syariah Criminal Enactment 1992, according to lawyer Aston Paiva, who represented the transsexuals.

There was also some transphobia at play here. 

Thilaga Sulathireh, an activist who helped them bring the case to court, said the judge refused to overrule the ban. Malaysia has a dual-track legal system with Sharia courts administering certain matters for Muslims.
"The (judge) said they are born male, they are still male and so the law applies to them... She said cross dressing is condemned in Islam," she told AFP.

Civil liberties lawyers in Malaysia are concerned that the ruling against the four transwomen is only the latest case in a troubling trend in which Islamic law is supplanting the Malaysian Federal Constitution as the country's supreme law.

“Islam is the religion of the Federation, but that does not mean that 'Islam', or what the authorities deem as 'Islam', supersedes other Constitutional provisions,” Civil liberties attorney Syahredzan Johan said.

It's another legal blow that Muslim transwomen have taken in this conservative nation's courts.   Last year another High Court refused to grant a name change for 26 year old  post operative transwoman Aleesha Farhana.  She died  weeks later from a heart attack   

The transwomen are disappointed and distraught over this ruling, but are considering appealing it..
.
, 

Malaysian Trans Women Challenge Discriminatory Law

There are some places on this planet in which it's hell to be trans to paraphrase the late Houston crusading consumer rights reporter Marvin Zindler, and Malaysia is one of those countries.

The nation of 28 million people is 60% Muslim, and Malaysia's Muslims are subject to both criminal and  Islamic laws.  

One of the problems for our estimated 20,000 trans sisters living there is that ever since a 1983 anti-trans fatwa was issued there banning gender reassignment surgery and cross-dressing, there has been increasing hostility, discrimination and intolerance aimed at Malaysian Muslims living their transsexual lives.

The end result of that faith based intolerance is being trans in this country is an act of moral courage and intestinal fortitude.  Interestingly enough the Malaysian federal constitution states that “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty”, bars discrimination on the grounds “of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender” and protects freedom of expression. 

Tell that to Juzaili Khamis, 24, Shukor Jani, 25, Wan Fairol Wan Ismail, 27, and Adam Shazrul Yusoff, 25 who work as bridal make-up artists, identify and live their lives as women.   According to their lawyer Aston Paiva, all have previously been arrested and continually harassed under Section 66 of the Sharia Criminal (Negeri Sembilan) Enactment, which bars Muslim men from dressing or posing as women.  .

All four transwomen with the help of Paiva are challenging the Islamic law that bars men from dressing or behaving as women in Muslim-majority Malaysia on the grounds it is unconstitutional.

Juzaili and Shukor are currently facing charges in court for violating that law and if convicted are facing a maximum fine of RM1,000 ($320) and up to six months in jail.

The landmark case was heard Thursday at the Seremban high court, just south of Kuala Lumpur, where the four claimed the Sharia law of the state of Negeri Sembilan infringed on their rights enshrined in the federal constitution.

Paiva told AFP Friday the constitution protects “the right to live in dignity and not be punished for what you are born as, including race and gender," he said. “They have a medical condition known as Gender Identity Disorder. They are anatomically male but psychologically female and they cannot change this.”

Pointing out that only Parliament can restrict freedom of expression, he added that Section 66 is unconstitutional as it is enacted by the state legislature.  The transwomen are also seeking a court order to prohibit their arrest and prosecution under the section.

Paiva said that Section 66 also violates:
*Article 5(1) of the Federal Constitution, which enshrines the right to personal liberty.
* Article 8(2), which states that “…there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the grounds only of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender in any law…”
*Article 9(2), which enshrines the right of every citizen to move freely throughout Malaysia.
*Article 4(1), which declares void any law that is inconsistent with the Federal Constitution.

“Only men can be charged with this offence in this state – not women,” he said, adding that in other states, similar law involves immoral activities and not just dressing up as women.

He submitted that the challenge before the court is whether the state’s enactment is consistent with the Federal Constitution and not to rule on religion or religious precepts.

The next hearing in this case will take place October 11

We'll Keep Fighting For You, Aleesha

Not long after a Malaysian judge refused to approve her name change, 26 year old Aleesha Farhana, who had undergone SRS in Thailand in 2009, was admitted to a hospital 500 km northeast of Kuala Lumpur where she later died of a heart attack on August 1.

High Court judge Yazid Mustafa ignorantly denied your request on July 17 to simply have your name and national identity card reflect the woman you were on the inside and outside.  Because of his faith based transphobia Mustafa couldn't see what is breathtakingly obvious to the rest of us.

While sadly it didn't happen for you in your all too brief lifetime, your transsisters and transbrothers in Malaysia and elsewhere will not give up the fight to have trans human rights respected and protected not only in your homeland, but around the globe.

Our cause is just, and your fellow trans Malaysians are determined to not let your death be in vain.  They are also tired of having their human rights disrespected in their homeland.  Other Asian and Islamic countries such as Singapore, India, Nepal, Iran and Egypt recognize transpeople and it's past time for Malaysia to do so as well.

We'll keep fighting for you Aleesha and every transperson on Planet Earth until all our nations recognize that the human rights they covet for themselves, that are ensconced in the UN Declaration of Human Rights and embedded in the various constitutions of the nations we inhabit also apply to trans human beings as well. 

Rest in peace Aleesha knowing that the world mourns your loss, stands with you and your Malaysian trans family as well and the fight will continue.