Sahhara At Miss International Queen 2011

The 7th annual edition of the Miss International Queen pageant will start October 30 and run through November 4 in Pattaya, Thailand    It's a TransGriot tradition to keep up with the best known trans pageants such as Miss Tiffany, Miss Continental, Miss Amazing Philippine Beauties and Miss International Queen.

As the date for Miss International Queen gets closer I'm starting to find out in bits and pieces who the competitors are for the 2011 crown and interestingly enough there will be at least one contestant representing the African Diaspora. 

Stumbled across this video of Sahhara.  She was born in Nigeria and lives in the UK but explains in it why she decided to represent her birth nation at this year's pageant.

In the history of the Miss International Queen pageant although there have been African descended girls in it, there has never been a person from the African Diaspora that has won it.  Stasha Sanchez came close with her finish in the top three last year as the second runner up in this pageant..

Miss International Queen 2011 To Be Held Next Month

The 2011 Miss International Queen pageant, the world's best known transgender pageant with the stated goal of fostering understanding of transgender communities worldwide, will be held in Pattaya, Thailand next month.

It is wildly popular in the Land of Smiles and not only does the venue it is held in sell out, the pageant finals get national TV coverage in addition to drawing interest from various international news networks 

This year's edition of the Miss International Queen pageant will be conducted from October 31 to November 4 at Tiffany's Show Theater in Pattaya.   The competition is open to transgender and transsexual people from around the world aged 18-36 and will allow them to show off their beauty and intelligence.

And yes, there are prizes and cash they are competing for.  Winners of the pageant not only get ot claim the  Miss International Queen title but cash prizes of up to $10,000 .

The Miss International Queen pageant is organized each year to help improve cultural acceptance of transgender people and create human rights awareness, promoting Pattaya as a center for entertainment and tourism and as a charity event to raise money for the Royal AIDS Foundation.

Of course, like I've done on TransGriot for several years now, I'll keep you posted on who won.

Thai Army Ordered By Court To Halt Problematic Trans Classification

I talked about this issue that Thai transpeople face when they are disqualified for military service by labeling them as mentally ill.

There has been a lawsuit filed, activism centered on the issue and changes to that policy are being discussed in the 'Land of Smiles'..  

Because the birth records of Thai transwomen are not changed to reflect the persons they are now, after age 18 they are subject to being conscripted into the Thai military.  The Thai army routinely disqualifies transpeople and when doing so classifies them in their conscription documents as having a 'permanent mental disorder'.

Because people considered male in Thailand have to present those conscription documents when applying for jobs at government agencies or private companies to confirm they have fulfilled their military obligations, that classification can have deleterious effects on your employment prospects as Samart Meecharoen discovered in 2005.  

She filed a lawsuit against defense officials in 2006 to end the practice and yesterday the Central Administrative Court, which handles lawsuits concerning the performance of government officials, ordered the Thai Army to end the practice of labeling transpeople they reject for service with that term.

The Bangkok based court said that the label was inaccurate and unlawful.    The court did not bar the military from rejecting transpeople nor did it mandate new language to put on the conscription documents, but Meecharoen was happy with the verdict.

"Now we will no longer be viewed as crazy people," Meecharoen said.

Thai Defense spokesman Col. Thanatip Sawangsaeng said the ministry will comply with the ruling, and has proposed "current sexual status does not match that of birth" as the new phrasing for conscription documents, pending the necessary Cabinet resolution to take effect.

But thanks to Samart Meecharoen for not only standing up for her dignity and human rights, but for the human rights of all her fellow Thai transpeople.