The National Fatwa Council in Malaysia has said that women who wear men’s clothing and/or have same sex relationships have denied their femininity and as such violated human nature.

This has lead to the country banning “tomboyism” and lesbianism! Male homosexuality is already illegal in the country and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. It would seem that this new move is pushing lesbianism in the same direction.

The chairman of the council is quoted as saying; “It is unacceptable to see women who love the male lifestyle including dressing in the clothes men wear”.

Some laywers have said that Malaysia’s civil code does not have a provision for this law but it’s still very disturbing to read of this kind of news. When countries in the west are working hard to gain or keep the right to marry we can’t forget those who have to work so hard to simply exist.

Over half of Malaysia’s population is Islamic and so the country has a parallel Sharia system which has very strict rules on many aspects of peoples lives, however, it would seem upon some research that non-Muslim people in the country are coming together to try to halt what they see as a slow but prominent growth of sharia law within the county, so it’s nice to know that some people are standing up to be counted (Link).

It’s sometimes difficult for those of us in the west to remember that so many millions live in repressive communities where even wearing certain clothes singles you out for punishment but it is imperative that the LGBT community is a global one and that, although all of our struggles are important, there are those amongst us who need our support to gain/keep the most basic of human rights.