{"id":4772,"date":"2017-06-02T13:09:09","date_gmt":"2017-06-02T06:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/new-eng\/?p=4772"},"modified":"2026-01-28T13:00:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T06:30:03","slug":"prejudice-and-progress-a-snapshot-of-lgbt-rights-in-myanmar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/?p=4772","title":{"rendered":"Prejudice and progress: a snapshot of LGBT rights in Myanmar"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe are rejected.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s how 21-year-old transgender woman Sue Sha Shinn Thant summed up being LGBT in Myanmar \u2013 a sentiment that many people across this country are all too familiar with.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are verbally teased and even beaten. This scars us emotionally,\u201d she told Weekend.<\/p>\n

Sue Sha Shinn Thant and other LGBT friends in Mandalay recently took part in probably the closest thing to a public LGBT rights rally in Myanmar \u2013 they dressed in costume and picked up litter around their city.<\/p>\n

\u201cLGBT people are the black sheep of the family. So we wanted [to]promote public acceptance of the LGBT community. I felt like a pioneer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Small steps like this can have a big impact in a country with such a fraught record of LGBT rights.<\/p>\n

Laws of the land<\/strong><\/p>\n

Myanmar is one of many countries where same sex relationships are currently illegal. Section 377 of the colonial-era Penal Code outlaws same sex activities.<\/p>\n

And although the law is not strictly enforced, it is punishable with a lengthy stint in prison.<\/p>\n

U Aung Myo Min from LGBT rights group Equality Myanmar told Weekend that Section 377 is one of the biggest roadblocks to LGBT equality in Myanmar.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf homosexual people have sex together here, it\u2019s a crime. So\u00a0it\u2019s seen as unnatural<\/a>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Additionally, LGBT people \u2013 especially transgender people \u2013\u00a0can be targeted under Section 35c of the Police Act<\/a>, which allows authorities to stop those with their \u201cfaces covered or otherwise disguised, who are unable to give a satisfactory account of himself\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mandalay transgender woman Daung Daung said police occasionally harass the LGBT community there after dark using Section 35c as the main pretence.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes they make arrests,\u201d she said, adding that people are released after they are made to \u201cremove their dress\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sue Sha Shinn Thant added that: \u201cPolicemen also use these laws to blackmail us for money\u201d.<\/p>\n

Legal adviser of Legal Clinic Myanmar Daw Hla Hla Yee said these laws were at best anachronistic, and at worst, harmful.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it a crime if two people have the same desire? Is this fair?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to treat LGBT people with dignity. Mistreating LGBT people based on their identity is against the principles of human rights and basic justice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Bullied and beaten\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

These laws appear to influence how the general population in Myanmar views same sex relationships.<\/p>\n

\u201cSociety looks down on the LGBT community. People mock me and embarrass me in public just because I love a man,\u201d said U Aung Myo Min.<\/p>\n

He said this was compounded by certain religious beliefs \u2013 as it is \u201cwidely accepted that only those who commit adultery in their past life become homosexual as a form of punishment\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201c[And] some people simply say there are no LGBT people in their families or their neighbourhoods. This\u00a0denial of LGBT existence<\/a>\u00a0is another form of discrimination,\u201d U Aung Myo Min said.<\/p>\n

It was this environment that Sue Sha Shinn Thant \u2013 who first identified as transgender when she was 17 \u2013 grew up in.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a teenage boy acts in a feminine way due to their gender preference, they will be bullied and beaten by people at school. If they report this to the teacher, the same thing may happen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why most of the LGBT kids are\u00a0not happy in school<\/a>. And if they are discriminated against both at home and in school, they end up on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said as a result, many LGBT people become beauticians (where there is some level of societal acceptance) or \u201cend up in prostitution as they have no way out\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some LGBT people who become successful despite hardships and discrimination. But, they are the minority,\u201d Sue Sha Shinn Thant said.<\/p>\n

U Aung Myo Min said from his time at Equality Myanmar, he found that members of the lesbian community often have the most negative experiences.<\/p>\n

He said he had seen cases where lesbians were sexually assaulted in an effort to \u201ccure them of their homosexuality\u201d.<\/p>\n

One lesbian woman that Weekend spoke to on the condition of anonymity said she faced severe workplace discrimination because of her sexual orientation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worked in a company for almost three years. All my peers were promoted except me. When I asked the reason why, they said it was because I did not dress and act like a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the time, my family doesn\u2019t discriminate against me. But, when I get into trouble, they tell me it is because \u2013 again \u2013 I don\u2019t act like a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sue Sha Shinn Thant also felt that professional opportunities were more limited because of her sexual orientation.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost transgender women [only become]make-up artists or designers. They are not accepted in other professional fields apart from these two. Due to discrimination in society and fewer job opportunities, LGBT people often have to work much harder than straight people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Small steps<\/strong><\/p>\n

But there have been some tentative steps forward.<\/p>\n

Over the past few years, LGBT beauty pageants have become more popular and\u00a0LGBT voices<\/a>\u00a0are being more widely publicised, especially on World AIDS Day and the\u00a0International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year we celebrated International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia in a shopping centre, last year it was in People\u2019s Park. In the past, it was difficult to get permission and it was often rejected with the reason of \u2018opposing Myanmar traditional culture\u2019,\u201d one of the event organisers told Weekend.<\/p>\n

And Tin Ko Ko and Myo Min Htet made international headlines in 2014 when they celebrated 10 years of living together by holding Myanmar\u2019s first public LBGT wedding.<\/p>\n

Another gay couple did the same in Bago Region last year.<\/p>\n

Additionally, there has been an increasing number of LGBT arts and social events such as the &PROUD film festival \u2013 at a time when every opportunity to become more visible is a victory of sorts.<\/p>\n

So despite ongoing difficulties, Sue Sha Shinn Thant is determined to stay positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are LGBT people who are standing tall. We all need to do the same. If we speak out, the opinions of other people will change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing LGBT is not a problem for our society. If we all come together, we can make an even more beautiful society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Myanmar Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe are rejected.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s how 21-year-old transgender woman Sue Sha Shinn Thant summed up being LGBT in Myanmar \u2013 a sentiment that many people across this country are all too familiar with. \u201cWe are verbally teased and even beaten. This scars us emotionally,\u201d she told Weekend. Sue Sha Shinn Thant and other LGBT friends in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4773,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4772"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4774,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4772\/revisions\/4774"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}