Categoies
Asia
Japan province to recognise same-sex partnerships
The Fukuoka province of Japan is set to introduce a new system to officially recognise same sex couples as partners. While this will not accord to them the status of a married couple, the new framework will enable same-sex couples to receive a “receipt,” which may be used when couples rent city-run housing or undergo […]
Israel relaxes restrictions on blood donation by gay men
Israel has relaxed its restrictions of sexual abstinence on gay men who wish to donate blood, as a result of a new procedure that will only used blood plasma component. As a key population at risk of HIV, gay men face sexual abstinence conditions for blood donation across the world. While Israel did not permit […]
Plea seeking legality of marrying Rohingya girl rejected by Bangladesh High Court
A Bangladesh High Court rejected a writ petition which sought protection from harassment for his son, who had married a Rohingya girl, and was at risk of being arrested. Additionally, the Court imposed exemplary costs upon him for wasting judicial time and resources. According to a governmental notification issued in 2014, marriages between Bangladeshis and […]
Malaysian Federal Court rules that consent of both parents required for children’s religious conversion
Malaysia’s highest court has held that the consent of both parents is needed to change a child’s religion, voiding the unilateral conversion of Hindu mother M. Indira Gandhi’s children by her Muslim ex-husband. Article 12(4) of the Constitution states that the religion of a person under the age of 18 years shall be decided by […]
Japan urged to end forced sterilization on transgender persons
Human Rights Watch and other rights-based groups have urged Japan to end forced sterilisation on transgender community in the country. Despite taking some positive steps to reduce discrimination against the LGBTI community, Japan’s legal gender recognition procedure- which allows transgender people to be recognized as their gender identity- requires applicant seeking legal gender change to […]
Petition to bar consensual sex outside marriage rejected by Indonesian court
Indonesia‘s constitutional court rejected a controversial petition to bar all consensual sex outside of marriage with a narrow margin of five out of nine judges voting against the petition in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country. The petition was put forward by a group of conservative academics and activists who had demanded that definition of adultery […]
Turkey allows Muslim clerics to conduct civil marriages despite protests
Activists and opposition politicians have raised concerns over a marriage law that will now allow Muslim clerics to conduct civil marriages, amidst the fear that the law will lead to an increase in the number of child brides. The move has been described as a blow to women’s rights and secularism. Previously, only state officers […]
Philippines lifts ban on 51 contraceptives
The Phillipine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has effectively revoked a supreme court order from 2015 that had temporarily banned 51 female hormonal contraceptive products by establishing that these contraceptives do not induce abortion. The temporary restraining order (TRO) was issued by the Supreme Court (SC) on contraceptives more than two years ago and was […]
First non-Muslim Chief Justice of Bangladesh resigns amid speculations of executive interference
The first non-Muslim Chief Justice of Bangladesh,Surendra Kumar Sinha, has resigned, purportedly under pressure from the executive, after he led the Supreme Court to a landmark verdict on judicial oversight and declared that the law passed by the Parliament that empowered the legislature to investigate and remove judges for incapacity and misconduct, was unconstitutional. A […]
Hong Kong Court of Appeal allows grant of spousal visa to homosexual woman
In a unanimous decision, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal has held that the Immigration Department’s refusal to recognize the UK civil partnership of a homosexual woman and grant her visa was unlawful and amounted to indirect discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, and the nature of the relationship between the spouses. However, […]