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Sent October 19 by Candice Hellen Brown, chbrown@microdisplay.com.
Oakland, California - Three Hijra representatives of the house of Najafgarh are scheduled to make an historic visit to the United States as part of a cultural exchange between South Asian and Western transgender communities. Hijras are transgendered people who share a centuries old religious and social place in India and surrounding South and South-Eastern countries. The Hijra perform ceremonies of blessings at weddings and after the births of children. These rites include dancing and playing drums. The Hijra follow an ancient and proud custom that predates the rule of India by the British Empire, surviving to today inspite of being outlawed by British colonial law. Arriving from India the last week of 1998 are Sheila Hajji, Naik (head) of the house of Najafgarh, Hasina Hajji, chela (student) of Sheila Hajji, and Dolly Hijra, chela of Muni Hajji will be visiting California; San Francisco, Oakland, Fremont, San Jose, and Los Angeles on one leg of their journey, while traveling to New Haven, Connecticut to meet with scholars at Yale University, on another leg. "I'm doing this in the hopes that something more will come out of this. That we can learn from each other," said Ann Ogborn, an American Transsexual who has visited India on three occasions to live and study with the Hijra, as an accepted member of the Hijra community. Ms. Ogborn, under the sponsorship of the Sampark Project, is primarily responsible for making the arrangements for this historic visit. The visit is also sponsored by Yale University and Trikone, an organization of South Asian Gays and Lesbians in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Hijras are expected to perform blessings and dance at several functions being scheduled. The Hijras will be staying in private homes of Transsexuals during their month long visit. Private gatherings with members of the Transsexual community are planned in California and the east coast of the United States. Western Transsexuals are especially interested in meeting, exchanging ideas and experiences with their counter parts from India. "Hijra people traditionally do not speak to outsiders," says Ms. Ogborn. "But the Hijras see Western Transsexuals as Hijra, and Transsexuals see Hijras as Transsexual. We are essentially the same." "Transgendered people, especially transsexuals, in the West have only a hundred years of continuous organized history. While the Hijras of India have closer to a thousand years," said Candice Hellen Brown of the TransHistory Project. "This meeting between Western Transsexuals and Asian Hijras will bring the social history of the two together. This is an exciting historical event." A follow up visit scheduled for late 1999 by a group of Western
Transsexuals to India is in the early stages of organization.
Ann Ogborn, (510)534-3823, anniepoo@netmagic.net
Sandip Roy-Chowdhury sandip@rsa.com Candice Hellen Brown, The TransHistory Project
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From reports by Phyllis Randolph Frye and InYourFace on-line news.
Said Ms. Whiteway of her election, "I'm delighted...It is a formidable task, but I am excited and very enthusiastic about it...I have pledged to do my best to represent the women of our organization on the board and the executive committee. I actively solicit any comments, suggestions, or constructive criticism so that NLGLA can realize its potential as a national leader of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community." The new NLGLA board also includes the following transgenders:
From Phyllis -- For information about how you may join and become active in the NLGLA, contact either Melinda at melindamw@aol.com or Jim at attyjls@aol.com or the NLGLA web page (give the new leaders a few weeks to update it) at http://www.nlgla.org. For information on the next Lavender Law Conference, in Seattle, contact Spencer at mstrspence@aol.com. |
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From InYourFace on-line news. For prior press releases, check the GenderPAC website at: http://www.gpac.org
[Carrollton, GA: 29 Oct 98] Fifteen-year-old matthew Alex McLendon was "invited to withdraw" from the private Georgian Country Day School for dressing like a girl. Alex, who speaks in a soft, feminine voice, began cross-dressing two years ago. He says he isn't gay, but considers himself "95% girl." Echoing similar cases in VT and CT, Alex's fellow students--including some boys--wore ribbons in their hair to show solidarity with him until they were threatened with explusion by school administrators. Alex, refusing to comply with administrator's demands that he "dress as a boy," was forced to leave school. The school declined to cite the rule or regulation that Alex had violated, leading administrators to force him out. Said Lori Lipoma, a teacher at the school and mother of one of Alex's classmates, "Alex represents something that's way beyond the experience and the comfort zone of the very conservative people we live with. I really think we all lost something very precious [when he was forced to withdraw]. Carrollton is a town of 22,000 in central Georgia. Commented Alex, "School is supposed to be preparing you for life. Parents are trying to protect their kids by covering their eyes. It's going to be a real shock for some of these parents when their kids get out into the real world." |
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From Arthur S. Leonard, Professor, New York Law School. ALeonard@nyls.edu or ASLeonard@aol.com.
U.S. District Judge Bennett (N.D. Iowa) has refused to grant summary judgment to the Iowa Dept. of Human Services in a lawsuit brought by a pre-operative female to male transsexual seeking Medicaid funding for the sex reassignment procedure. In 1980, the 8th Circuit ruled that the state of Iowa violated the Medicaid statute by denying coverage for this procedure. The state responded to that ruling by going through a procedure to produce a report purporting to show that the procedure is not medically indicated for transsexualism, and then adopted a new rule barring the use of Medicaid funds for the procedure. Now the court has ruled that "John Smith" has stated a claim, both under the Medicaid statute as well as a constitutional due process claim, and that he is entitled to a trial of the claim. Smith v. Palmer, 1998 Westlaw 758372 (N.D.Iowa, Oct. 13, 1998). |
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A press release from Al-Fatiha - GLBT Muslims. Contact: Faisal Alam, (617) 522-9232, gaymuslims@yahoo.com.
"We have finally taken the first steps to come together to address the issues that are important to us as a gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Muslim community." - Faisal Alam, Coordinator, First International Retreat for GLBT Muslims & Founder of Al-Fatiha. It was indeed a historic occasion as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) Muslims and non-Muslims came together for the First International Retreat for GLBT Muslims, held in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, from October 9-12, 1998. The thirty participants represented the cultural and religious diversity of the entire Islamic world, coming from all over the United States and abroad. Countries that were represented included Belgium, Canada, Egypt, India, Germany, Holland, Lebanon, Maldives Saudi Arabia, Syria, South Africa, Pakistan. The retreat served as a forum for the discussion of issues important to GLBT Muslims. Workshops and sessions addressed such topics as faith and sexuality, the oppression of GLBT persons in the Islamic world, GLBT identity in Islam, and the historical perspectives of GLBT behavior in Islamic societies. Additionally participants examined the opinions of the Prophet Muhammad on sexual minorities in his time, as well as the different interpretations of Quranic verses which appear to address homosexual acts. The highlight of the retreat was the decision to establish an international organization to address the concerns of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Muslims around the world. Titled after the first chapter of the Quran, "Al-Fatiha" (The Opening), which was also the theme of the retreat, the organization will work together with other organizations, gay and straight, Muslim and non-Muslim to address the social and political issues facing GLBT Muslims around the world. In most Islamic countries, homosexuality and transgendered behavior is a crime, punishable by imprisonment, flogging, and even death. "Homosexuality is so highly stigmatized in Muslim communities, that many gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and those questioning their sexuality end up internalizing the shame and disgust which surrounds them in their families and communities. They are often unable to come to terms with their own sexuality, fearing ostracization and even physical punishment," said Faisal Alam, coordinator of the retreat, and founder of Al-Fatiha. "We (Al-Fatiha) see it as our moral obligation to help in whatever way we can," he added, "and we have decided that we need to implement different strategies to address the various problems, both on a local level as well as on an international one." Based in the United States, Al-Fatiha will establish chapters across the U.S. and abroad to support gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning Muslims on a local level. The organization will also work with human rights organizations to advocate against abuses of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons in Islamic countries. Organizers of the retreat said that the event was something that has been needed in their community for decades. "The retreat has given us the opportunity to come together as a community in a way that was never possible before," said Alam. "But the GLBT Muslim movement has only just begun. Much of the prejudice and discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in Islamic societies is culture-based and does not stem from Islam as a religion. We want to celebrate our identity as GLBT people who are also believing Muslims. The noble and fundamental principles of respect, human dignity, tolerance, understanding, and justice, in Islam have been ignored when dealing with the issue of homosexuality and gender identity. We hope to change all that - God willing." The Second International Retreat for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Muslims is tentatively scheduled to take place in June of 2000 in Capetown, South Africa. Meanwhile, plans are already underway to organize a meeting for GLBT Muslims in the United States, tentatively planned to be held in New York City in April of 1999.
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From InYourFace on-line news. For prior press releases, check the GenderPAC website at: http://www.gpac.org
[Baltimore, MD: 6 Nov 98] Three hundred people attended a rally and candlelight vigil tonight for Leonard 'Lynn' Vines, nine days after he was assaulted and shot in an eastern Baltimore neighborhood. Vines is recovering from six gunshot wounds to his chest, shoulder, arms, and back after having been accosted on the street by a gathering of young men and women who taunted him, shouting, "We don't allow no drag queen faggots in this neighborhood." He tried to flee but was tripped and shot repeatedly. The confrontation took place just after ten p.m. as Vines was walking near his cousin's house. He said, "I heard someone say, 'Shoot the bitch,' and the next thing I knew I was shot in the chest, and I went into shock." Fortunately a man working at the fire station around the corner heard the shots and summoned an ambulance immediately. The Baltimore Sun reports that a suspect, Paul Bishop, 20, was charged in a warrant with attempted first-degree murder. Police Detective Jerry Weaver said the suspected motive was the victim's lifestyle. Commented Vines' mother, Gloria Guthrie, "After I went to the hospital and saw him with tubes in him just because he's gay, it hurt me. Regardless of what he is, I don't want nobody hurting my child just because they don't love him. Somebody loves him."
Contact: Liz Seaton, Executive Director
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Send news stories or comments to the editor at iphge@hotmail.com.
GenderNews Headlines GenderNews Index List of Community Notices |
Page prepared by Beth Lewis.
Indian Hijras to Visit
Transgender woman Melinda Whiteway, of Santa Cruz, CA, has been elected co- chair of the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association (NLGLA) for the 1998-99 term. NLGLA, which is both bisexual and transgender inclusive in its bylaws, is the only queer law association affliliated with the American Bar Association.