Pakistani Muslims condemn gay-rights meeting
A group of conservative Islamic political and religious officials has condemned a meeting by the U. S. Embassy supporting gay rights in Pakistan as “cultural terrorism” against the country.
The group, which included the head of Pakistan’s largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, claimed the meeting, the first of its kind held by the embassy, was the second-most dangerous attack by the U.S. against Pakistan, following missiles fired from unmanned drones.
The meeting on June 26 was hosted by U.S. deputy ambassador Richard Hoagland, and was meant to support the rights of LGBT individuals in Pakistan, said the embassy.
“Such people are the curse of society and social garbage,’’ said the July 3 statement issued by the Islamic officials. “They don’t deserve to be Muslim or Pakistani, and the support and protection announced by the U.S. administration for them is the worst social and cultural terrorism against Pakistan.”
Homosexual acts are illegal in Pakistan. Homosexuality is not explicitly mentioned in Pakistan’s penal code, but “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” is punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment for a period of two years to life, according to the United Nations.
Also, under Sharia laws in Pakistan, homosexual acts are punishable by whipping, imprisonment or death, according to the U.N.
Hoagland said during the meeting that the U.S. would support LGBT rights in Pakistan.
“I want to be clear: the U.S. Embassy is here to support you and stand by your side every step of the way,” Hoagland said in a statement released by the embassy.
Over 75 people attended the meeting, which was co-hosted by the Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies. The crowd included U.S. Embassy officials, military representatives, foreign diplomats and leaders of Pakistani LGBT advocacy groups.
The Islamic officials demanded the Pakistani government arrest the participants under the country’s laws and said the meeting was “tantamount to stabbing the Muslim world in the chest.”
Opera dropped over gay character
A community opera in the United Kingdom involving hundreds of children written by “Billy Elliot” playwright Lee Hall has collapsed after he refused a request to remove words spoken by a gay character.
Education officials said July 4 they had objected to offensive and derogatory language, but Hall accused the school of having dated and homophobic views.
The writer said he had refused to remove the lines “I am queer” and “I prefer a lad to a lass” from the opera “Beached,” which features music by composer Harvey Brough.
Hall said he had worked with the school to make other changes, including removing the use of “stupid” as an insult, but that the request about the gay character’s lines “seemed to come from an entirely different era.”
Mike Furbank, head of learning at the local authority, East Riding Council, said the school “did not have an issue with having a gay character,” but rather, “it was the language and tone of the scene that were problematic.”
He said the school had objected to phrases including “fat little queer.” Even after the language was toned down, “it was still deemed as unacceptable for 4- to 11-year-olds to be exposed to,” Furbank said.
The school withdrew the 300 pupils involved in the show.
Opera North, which commissioned the piece, confirmed that its July 15 premiere in Bridlington, northeast England, had been canceled.
Homosexuality a ‘western disease’
India’s health minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, has caused uproar by referring to homosexuality as an unnatural “disease” from the west.
Azad was speaking at a conference on HIV and AIDS in Delhi July 4 when he said: “Unfortunately this disease has come to our country too … where a man has sex with another man, which is completely unnatural and should not happen but does.”
His remarks came almost two years to the day since the Delhi High Court ruled that homosexuality should be decriminalized. Gay-rights advocates were furious at the health minister’s comments.
Anjali Gopalan, who heads the NAZ Foundation, which campaigns for HIV and gay rights, said: “These comments help no cause. It’s definitely not going to help in our fight against HIV.”
An estimated 2.5-million people in India have HIV and experts say that tackling stigma around homosexuality is a vital part of cutting new infections.
Student support groups in Ont.
The Ontario government will take steps to assure that support groups for LGBT students are available in all schools in the Canadian province, both public and Catholic, beginning this fall.
Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty announced the initiative at the Pride Toronto international marshals’ reception July 1.
The news brought loud cheers at the Toronto Dyke March July 2, including from co-grand marshal Leanne Iskander, who is an activist for gay-straight alliances, and GSA members in the crowd.
Gay Taiwanese welcome Gaga
Gay fans and others turned out in force July 3 for Lady Gaga’s first concert in Taiwan, a free promotional event held in the city of Taichung.
The pop star performed for an hour, singing nine songs — five more than scheduled. There were 6,000 fans in the Fulfillment Amphitheater for the event, while another 30,000 watched the concert via two large TV screens set up outside the venue.
The Taipei Times reported that an LGBT contingent planned to hold up signs during the concert expressing gratitude for Gaga’s support. Slogans included “Born This Way, Born This Gay” and “Gaga Loves Gays, Gays Love Gaga.”
One member of the group put together a costume that won a “creative outfit” contest organized by Mercedes-Benz in conjunction with the concert. The man, identified only as Chris, “covered himself with black feathers and a cage to symbolize the discrimination and repression that gay people suffer, but that rather than be cowed by such attitudes, gay people are determined to fight for their rights.”
— compiled by Larry Nichols