News and views 2005

-First gay 'marriage' in Pakistan
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4313210.stm
5/10/05
A gay couple have become the first to get "married" in Pakistan, according to reports from the region.
Witnesses said a 42-year-old Afghan refugee held a marriage ceremony with a local tribesman of 16 in the remote Khyber region bordering Afghanistan.
Gay marriage is not legal in conservative Muslim Pakistan.
On hearing of the wedding, a tribal council told the pair to leave the area or be killed for breaking religious and tribal "values and ethics".

'Pomp and show'
A local Urdu-language newspaper said the elder man, named as Liaquat Ali, had taken a local boy called Markeen as "his male bride".

The paper said the boy's impoverished parents accepted 40,000 rupees (£380) for their son's hand in marriage.
" The marriage was held amid usual pomp and show associated with a tribal wedding," it said.

Malik Waris Khan, a prominent local politician and former federal minister, confirmed to AFP that the marriage had taken place.
" I checked the report with people in Tirah Valley and they confirmed it," he said.
Although it remains a taboo subject, homosexuality is relatively common in Pakistan, says the BBC's correspondent Aamer Ahmed Khan in Islamabad.

Increasingly, gay couples are living together in some of the big cities such as Karachi and Islamabad, but gay marriages remain unheard of, he says.
Pakistani law punishes sodomy with imprisonment ranging from two years to life.
Some Islamic provisions prescribe 100 lashes for the act or even death by stoning.A gay couple caught having sex were lashed publicly in the Khyber region in May.

-Indian women's groups slam Muslim fatwa on rape
July 02, 2005 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_2-7-2005_pg4_19
Agence France-Presse
NEW DELHI--A ruling by a powerful Islamic body that a woman raped by her father-in-law must separate from her husband has sparked a storm in India, with angry rights groups and Muslim women slamming the fatwa although the victim says she is resigned to her fate.
" The Islamic clerics have failed to differentiate between sex by consent and rape by force," president of the All India Muslim Women's Personal Law Board, Shaista Amber, was quoted Friday by the Asian Age newspaper as saying.
" The victim has been further victimized by the 'fatwa' (edict)," Amber said. "We've all decided that Imrana was and is still innocent. She can live with her husband."
The ruling was against the "spirit and essence of Islam, which gives equal rights to women," Amber's organization said separately.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Monday ordered 28-year-old Imrana Ilahi, who was allegedly raped by her father-in-law Ali Mohammed in northern Uttar Pradesh state about two weeks ago, to separate from her husband, who was tasked with bringing up their five children.
The Muslim law board was set up in 1972 to protect the rights of Muslim women in India.
Several women's organizations, led by the All-India Democratic Women's Association, meanwhile staged demonstrations Thursday in Muzafarnagar, where Ilahi lives, demanding punishment for her rapist.
Media reports Friday said Ilahi had told a delegation of India's National Commission for Women (NCW) who visited her that she would abide by the AIMPLB's edict but that she would rather live with her husband.
She added however that the fatwa had not yet been conveyed officially to her.
NCW chief Giria Vyas said Ilahi looked "badly traumatized."
" She wants her ordeal and the public show of her personal life to come to an end," Viyas said.
The rape became headline news when a group of local Muslim clerics at first ordered Ilahi to marry her rapist and treat her husband as her son.
The clerics said the rape had annulled the woman's marriage to her husband and had ordered that she marry her father-in-law, who has been arrested but claims she consented to having sex.
However, the AIMPLB overruled the local clerics and said the rapist should be stoned to death.
However, it added, that under strict Islamic Sharia law because Ilahi had been raped by her father-in-law she could no longer remain with her husband and had to leave the family home.
A number of other Muslim groups have joined the chorus against the fatwa.
" Why should she be punished for no fault of hers?" asked Feroze Mithoborwala, convener of the Muslim Youth of India.
Hasina Khan of Awaz-e-Niswan, an organization fighting for women's rights, told the Times of India her group would organise public opinion against the edict.
" Who has given these people the power to issue fatwas?" she asked.
Sohail Rokadia of the prominent Sunni Muslim organisation the Raza Academy defended the edict and said it had the backing of the Koran.
But the Islamic punishment of stoning to death should be meted out to the rapist, he added.

-Asian Pride (Asian Leader newspaper)
10/6/05
Rainbow diversity beams at carnival as Midland Asians join Gay Pride: A CARNIVAL buzz took over the city during the Bank Holiday weekend as the Midland's lesbian and gay community geared up for this year's Birmingham Pride. As always, bright colours and diversity reigned at the UK's largest free gay event as revellers from all walks of life enjoyed the festivities, including a carnival parade, a street festival, numerous stalls, tons of fairground rides, street entertainers, a dance tent and mini-stage arenas featuring live acts and DJs.
The fun-filled weekend was launched on Saturday 28 May from Victoria Square as the rainbow parade made its way along
New Street, onto High Street and up Carrs Lane Church and Moor Street before entering Hurst. Street, home of the city's Gay Village.
Thousands of people, young and old enjoyed the sunshine and happy atmospher well into the weekend with families'
and couples spending time in the Village Green where locals and visitors particpated in community-focused activities including a Dog Show, Pets Parade, Tug of War and Musical Chairs along with various other community games and information stalls. .
Asians were amongst the l00,000-plus visitors to Pride, which brings in £10 million to the city's economy. Women from the SAFRA Project, an awareness group for lesbian Muslims, held their banner high as they marched with the parade. Other young and old Asians absorbed the excited vibes and were delighted by the colourful costumes. To find out more about the annual 3-day festival, visit: www.birminghamgaypride.co.uk or http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2005/06/02/pride_the_real_rainbow_gay_village_feature.shtml

-Religious leadership of women in Islam': Women can lead prayers, says Javed Ghamidi
By Waqar Gillani http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_24-4-2005_pg7_13
24/4/05
LAHORE: There is nothing in the Quran or Hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)) that says women cannot lead prayers, said Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, Islamic scholar and fellow of the Al-Mawrid Institute of Islamic Sciences, Lahore, on Saturday.
He was speaking on 'Religious leadership of women in Islam' at Nairang Art Galleries. Bargad, a non-government organisation, under its Bargad Study Circle programme, arranged the discussion.
The issue came up when Amina Wadud, a professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, led Friday prayers at the Cathedral of St John the Divine, an Anglican church in Manhattan (New York), in the United States in March 2005. Five days after the first woman-led, mixed-gender Islamic prayer in New York, Asra Nomani, author of 'Standing Alone in Mecca' and former Wall Street Journal reporter, led another mixed-gender prayer at Brandeis University in Boston. This started a worldwide debate on whether it was Islamic or not for women to lead prayers.
Ghamidi, a liberal Islamic scholar, said the Holy Quran and Islam did not forbid women from leading society or prayers. "Islam differentiates between haram (forbidden) and controversial issues in society," he said, "The Holy Quran has created a distinction between men and women only to maintain family relations and relationships."
He said there was no gender discrimination in Islam and women were allowed to do all the jobs that men were allowed to do. All men and women have equal status and value in an Islamic society.
Ghamidi said that Hazrat Ayesha had led a war and no one had objected. He also gave the example of Ume Warqa, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who he asked to lead mixed prayers at the Mosque of Dar. Hazrat Omar, the second caliph of Islam, appointed Ume Warqa andSamra Binte Wahaib to head the market committees of Medina and Mecca, he said. He quoted various Hadith showing that women did not hesitate to come before the Prophet (pbuh) to ask permission to marry their man of choice.
Ghamidi said women used to pray in mosques in the presence of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Once, a woman was raped in a mosque and another was raped while herding sheep and goats. He said one rapist was warned, as there were no witnesses against him, while the other one was punished. "But Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did not stop women from doing both these jobs," he added. Once, Hazrat Omar got annoyed with his wife for praying in the mosque, but his wife stopped him, asking who he was to stop her when Muhammad (pbuh) had not. Ghamidi said that Islam did not forbid women from leading prayers or from having separate mosques. He said many restrictions on women claimed by other Islamic scholars was situational. He said that women not leading prayers was only traditional and Islam did not bar it.
" Personally, I also favour this tradition but in Islam there is no bar on women leading prayers," he said. He said that the tradition dating back to the Ummayads, Abbasids and Mughals was not easy to change.He said that most Islamic scholars confused Fiqah with Shariah. "Fiqah is purely a human work and Shariah is from God, so there is a huge difference in them." He said Fiqah was based on social norms, human instincts, traditions and thoughts.
Even pardah (veil) was not an Islamic tradition (except some situational incidents) and it came from Christian, Hindu and Iranian origins. He said that Saudi Arabia was once the most liberal country in the world. He also cited a fatwa (decree) by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanavi supporting the rule of Sultan Jahan Begum in a part of the subcontinent. He said this was the same ruling woman who helped Allama Shibli Nomani in completing his famous book Seeratul Nabi. He stressed on the need to promote Islam through general education and raising awareness about Islamic concepts.
Sabiha Shaheen and Beensih Rai of Bargad conducted the discussion.
Ghamidi, born 1951, has written and delivered lectures on the Quran, Islamic laws and various aspects of Islam. He is the founding-president of the Al-Mawrid Institute of Islamic Sciences and the chief editor of the Urdu monthly 'Ishraq' and the English monthly 'Renaissance'. Currently, he is writinga Tafsir (description) of the Quran. He has studied traditional Islamic disciplines and is a graduate in English Literature from Government College University, Lahore.
Bargad Study Circle is a component of Bargad's project on Peace and Youth Cooperation. The objective is to create socio-political awareness among youth.

-Now a RM50 fine for not using headscarf
Sharifah Mahsinah Syed Abdullah
KOTA BARU, Malaysia
23/6/06
http://www.nst.com.my
Women not wearing headscarves at their workplace will be given the maximum fine of RM50 by the Kota Baru Municipal Council (MPKB).
Pos Malaysia For the first five months of the year, 80 women, mainly shop assistants, were fined RM30.
Azman Mohd Daham, the council's public relations officer, said: "We have been considerate for almost three years but it is time to impose the maximum compound. We hope it will create more awareness.
" The women were mostly found not wearing headscarves at night and during weekends as they thought that enforcement officers would not be around to check on them."
He said the licensing unit would continue to conduct regular checks at these premises to ensure that the regulation is adhered to.
Kelantan has been in the hands of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (Pas) since 1990. In the last 15 years, the State Government had passed several rules and regulations which dictate the dress code for women.
Many of these rules had not gone down well with the women.
A resident, Norzakiah Ahmad, said it was not a good idea to force someone to wear a headscarf as it was an individual's right.
" I disagree with the council's move. They should give priority to other areas," said the 45-year-old housewife.

-Palestinian lesbians, Aswat (Voices), a recently-formed group is featured in an article in the spring issue of the magazine Palestine News. Group founder, poet and teacher, spokeswoman Rauda Morcos outlines the background of the organisation, their work for human rights and issues such as the proposed boycott of August's WorldPride festival (for which they and other radical groups are organising an alternative parade to Israel's apartheid wall.) Interesting stuff! If anyone would like a copy it's available from the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign office. More info on www.boycottworldpride.org
15/04/2005

-Turkish Transgenders Want an End to Violence Towards Them
30/03/2005
Lambda Istanbul and Kaos GL are hoping that a trial due April 6, 2005 will help Turkey end torture and violence against transgender people.

On November 17, 2004 a transvestite by the name of Hulya was working as a sex worker on Baghdad Street in Istanbul. After she had sex with one of her customers, he asked her to do something that she was not willing to do. When she refused to do the act, he threatened her with a gun and said he was a policeman and he would take her to a police station if she did not comply. When she asked to see his ID he showed her his ID but she was not able to read the information. He then drove her to a place where there were other policemen and left her with them. When she tried to explain that she was threatened by this guy with a gun, instead of doing something to the guy they began to beat her and took her to a police station. Once at the station they continued to beat her and broke her arms and injured one of her feet. Then they wrote a report stating that she refused their demands and based on that the District Attorney of Kadikoy arrested her and sent her to Umraniye prison.

The representatives from Lambda Istanbul Homosexual Civil Initiative and the Human Rights Association of Istanbul conducted a press conference in front of Sultanahmet Court Building on November 25, 2004 demanding the end of oppression towards transgenders. In the same day they filed a lawsuit against the police officers that committed this crime. (This petition was signed by 9 different non-governmental organizations.)

Unfortunately, only two press organizations (Flash TV and Gundem newspaper) covered the petition and the crime that was committed against Hulya. On many occasions the prime minister said that there would be no tolerance to torture, but when it comes to reality about transgenders, the government officials and the media are silent.

On December 31, 2004, the day of Hulya’s trial, members of Lambda Istanbul conducted a protest in front of Kadikoy Court Building just before the trial. After the protest, the representatives from Lambda Istanbul demanded to be present during the trial but were rejected by the police officials. The police officials said the reason they could not attend the trial was that they were gay and would do something unpleasant to disrupt the trial. According to the Constitution and Code of Criminal Procedures Law (CMUK), every person has a right to be present at a court and the rejection of Lambda Istanbul representatives were clearly against the law. Therefore Lambda Istanbul filed a complaint to the Mayor of Istanbul and Kadikoy District Attorney.

Hulya was not present on the first day of her trial. According to representatives from Lambda Istanbul, the reason Hulya was not present may be that they did not want to show her to the public since the evidence of her beating would be seen.

The second day of her trial took place on January 25, 2005 at 11:15 AM at Kadikoy Court House. Hulya was present this time while her attorney was defending her. Representatives from Lambda Istanbul were allowed to be present at the trial. The judge freed Hulya but the case would continue and the next trial date will take place on March 22, 2005.

The District Attorney of Kadikoy decided to consider the petition that Lambda Istanbul filed against the police officers that tortured Hulya. The first trial for these police officers will take place on April 6, 2005 at 10:00AM at Kadikoy Court House.

Lambda Istanbul and Kaos GL are hoping that this trial will help Turkey end torture and violence against transgender people. They also are hoping that Turkish and foreign media will pay more attention to the problems of Turkish transgenders. There is still wide discrimination towards lesbians and gays in Turkey, but transgender people not only face discrimination, but they also have to cope with violence.

Lambda Istanbul and Kaos GL calls on the government of Turkey to revise its laws and eliminate vague terms such as “exhibitionism,” and “offenses against public morality,” which can be used to harass or persecute people (especially transgenders) based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. They strongly believe that developing programs for transgender people will open employment possibilities outside the sex work trade and will help to ease the discrimination they are facing. Another issue for the Turkish government is, although the Turkish Civil Code allows sex reassignment surgery, the restrictive requirements before the surgery should be eased.

It is also important for the doctors and the Turkish medical community to enact standards for therapeutic interventions with transgender people, including sex reassignment surgery, in consultation with transgender people.

Lambda Istanbul and Kaos GL are also hoping that the European Union will press Turkey for legislative and policy-related changes on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity, taking as a model the changes recommended above. Read original here...

-NEXTEP
20/03/2005
A social group at Lesbian Friend for lesbian and bisexual women aiming to offer a supportive and social environment for women of all cultural backgrounds and ages to meet every second Sunday of the month from 4 - 6 pm. Opening Night 10 April and then 8 May and 10 June

-What Would the Prophet Do? The Islamic Basis for Female-Led Prayer
http://www.muslimwakeup.com/main/archives/2005/03/women_imamat.php#more
10/03/2005
It is a generally held view in the Muslim world and among many in the North American Muslim community that women cannot lead mixed-gender prayer. This custom is pervasive and goes unchallenged. Yet, research from the Qur'an and the customs of Prophet Muhammad demonstrate that there is no prohibition precluding women from leading mixed-gender prayer and, further, that Prophet Muhammad approved the practice of women leading mixed-gender prayer.

-Interview with Ruth Vanita: author of 'Same-sex love in India'
4/03/2005

-Canadian Muslim group endorses same-sex marriage legislation (Muslim WakeUp!)
Canada http://www.muslimwakeup.com/main/archives/2005/02/canadian_muslim_1.php
8/02/2005:
The Muslim Canadian Congress has welcomed the legislation presented by Justice Minister Irvin Cotler that re-defines marriage to include same-sex partners, and has urged Muslims and other minority groups to stand in solidarity with gays and lesbians.
Addressing a press conference in Ottawa, Rizwana Jafri, president of the MCC said Muslim Canadians have experienced life as a marginalized minority and have relied on the Canadian Charter to fight for their right to be treated as equal citizens. "It is incumbent upon us, as a minority, to stand up in solidarity with Canada’s gays and lesbians despite the fact that many in our community believe our religion does not condone homosexuality," she added.