Australian PM marches in Pride parade for first time

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made history Saturday at Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, becoming his nation’s first sitting prime minister to take part in the parade, one of the biggest LGBTQ Pride events in the world.

The prime minister in a simple open-necked shirt and jeans joined senior Labor figures — including the New South Wales opposition leader, Chris Minns, and the federal MP for Sydney, Tanya Plibersek, drawing cheers from the huge crowds lining the city’s Oxford Street as more than 12,000 participants and 200 floats made their way along the parade route.

Penny Wong, the first openly lesbian member of Australia’s parliament, also took part in the celebrations.

On Twitter Albanese noted: “When the first Mardi Gras march was held in 1978, you could still be arrested for be- ing gay. In the decades since, people dedicated their lives toward the campaign for equality.” Continuing in the thread the prime minister added: “To be accepted as equal and recognized for who they are and who they love. I’ve been proudly marching in Mardi Gras since the 80s. This year I’m honored to be the first prime minister to join the march.”

This was Sydney’s first Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras since the coronavirus pandemic, the last one was held in 2019.

Speaking to reporters Albanese said “This is a celebration of modern Australia,” adding that it was “unfortunate” that he was the country’s first leader to march in the parade while in office.

“People want to see that their government is inclusive and represents everyone no matter who they love, no matter what their identity, no matter where they live.”

Pakistan’s first trans TV anchor escapes assassination

The first transgender female anchor on the independently owned and operated Kohenoor News Network in Pakistan escaped serious injury after two gunmen opened fire as she was returning to her residence after a trip to a local pharmacy.

Marvia Malik, who had made history in the conservative Muslim-majority nation as the first openly trans person on a television channel in 2018, told police investigators that she believed her LGBTQ and intersex rights activism was a “major factor” behind the assassination attempt, citing several threatening calls prior to Feb. 24’s attempt on her life.

Malik, who had moved out of Lahore, fearing for her safety based on previous threats, had returned for a surgery only days before the attempt on her life happened.

LGBTQ and intersex rights in Pakistan are still severely restricted with homosexuality being outlawed, punishable by prison sentences and conversion therapy is often a prescribed treatment.

The community, however, continues to face many challeng- es in Pakistan. They experience discrimination and violence both from individuals and the government.

In 2018, for example, the Pakistani government passed a law under Section 377 of the country’s colonial-era penal code that made same-sex marriage punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Homosexuality remains criminalized in Pakistan.

In addition to the criminalization of LGBTQ and intersex Pakistanis, the community also continues to face discrimination and violence that family members often perpetuate.

Many LGBTQ and intersex people face verbal, emotional and even physical abuse from their families due to societal and religious pressures. This can lead to them dropping out of school or foregoing higher education altogether.

Discrimination in the workplace and education system forces many LGBTQ and intersex Pakistanis to remain in the closet, and those who are out often cannot find work or continue their education. Access to health care — including testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and infection — is an ongoing challenge.

A law that permits trans people to legally change the gender on their national ID cards and other official documents, allows them to vote and bans discrimination based on gender identity in employment, health care, education and on public transportation took effect in 2021. Pakistan’s Supreme Court in 2009 ruled in favor of recognizing trans people as a third gender on identity cards. Discrimination against trans Pakistanis remains pervasive in spite of these advances.

In an interview with fashion magazine Elle, Malik, then 21, who had previously worked as a model noted that she moved in with a trans friend and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and civics from Lahore’s Punjab University, while studying make-up and working at a local salon to support herself.

Upon graduation, she began looking for jobs — and landed her first and current one with Kohinoor News, a small Lahore-based TV channel, after passing her screen test with flying colours. “At my interview, they asked, ‘Why are you interested in working here? Don’t transgender people just beg and dance for money?’”

After three months of training, she began her career on March 23, 2018, and news of her employment went viral she told the worldwide women’s magazine.

“Like other trans people, I did not get any support from my family. On my own, I did some menial jobs and continued my studies. I had always wanted to be a news anchor, and my dream came true when I got selected,” she said to Voice of America in a interview.

Speaking with the BBC she said: “Our community should be treated equally and there must not be any gender discrimination. We should be given equal rights and be considered ordinary citizens, instead of third-gender.”

She added: “My family knows I have modelled and they know that I work as a newscaster. It’s the age of social media and there’s nothing that my family doesn’t know. But they have still disowned me.”

Brody Levesque

South Korean court rules gay couples eligible for health insurance

A South Korean high court ruled this week that partners in a same-sex relationship are eligible for national health insurance coverage overturning a ruling last year by a lower court that denied the benefits.

The Korea Herald reported the Seoul High Court’s ruling is the first that recognizes the status of a same-sex partner as a dependent eligible for national health insurance, but noted that this did not mean that it recognizes the “legal status” of a same-sex marriage.

The lower court had ruled that “the union of a man and woman is still considered the fundamental element of marriage, according to civil law, precedents of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court and the general perception of society.”

The lower court had also added: “Under the current legal system, it is difficult to evaluate the relationship between two people of the same sex as a common-law relationship.”

The case was brought about by a lawsuit, filed last year by So Seong-wook, which challenged South Korea’s National Health Insurance Service after it took away his ability to receive spousal benefits from the employer of his partner Kim Yong-min.

According to the Korea Herald, the NHIS allowed Kim to register So as his dependent in early 2020 — later reversing the decision citing their same-sex marriage. It was believed to be

the first such case in the country.

In the lawsuit, So claimed he and his partner were discriminated against because the NHIS grants spousal coverage to common-law partners, often used by opposite-sex couples who are not married.

In this week’s ruling by the high court it stated “The plaintiff and his partner are both male, but they agreed to recognize each other as loving partners who take care of each other. One financially relies on the other. They declared their partnership before their families and friends. This makes their relationship no different in essence from that of a married couple.” BRODY