Malaysia's Court of Appeal in Putrajaya struck down an anti-crossdressing law on Friday. Each of Malaysia's thirteen states and three federal territories have laws prohibiting a man from "posing" as a, and three states prohibit a woman from posing as a man. Additionally the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs Malaysia has issued fatwa against crossdressing and sex reassignment. The case, filed by three transgender women, challenged a Sharia law in the Malay state of Negeri Sembilan prohibiting Muslim men from "posing" as women. The court ruled that the law "deprives the appellants of the right to live with dignity" and struck down the law. The Malay government has not stated whether it will appeal the verdict.
Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) have struggled both domestically and internationally against discriminatory laws. In October, Genevieve Redd reviewed the legal status of gay marriage and marriage involving a transgender partner in light of ongoing litigation in Texas. Also in October a spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights urged the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan to reject proposed legislation institutionalizing discrimination against LGBT individuals. Also that month Human Rights Watch released a report in which it urged Jamaica to repeal laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relations between adults, and to remove the gender-specific definitions for sexual intercourse and rape. At the beginning of the year, human rights groups in Iran urged the president to end the persecution of LGBT individuals . The UN has increasingly paid attention to this issue, as last year was the first time the UN held a ministerial meeting on LGBT rights.
(Published by Jurist – November 8, 2014)