Community | April 20, 2011 | 11 comments

Malaysia's anti-gay camp violates law says minister

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13141466

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littlwarrior
A camp set up to correct the effeminate behaviour of Muslim schoolboys violates the law and should be abolished, says Malaysia's women's minister.

Sixty-six schoolboys identified by teachers as effeminate began counselling this week to discourage them from being gay.

They are undergoing four days of religious and physical education.

An education official said the camp was meant to guide the boys back "to a proper path in life".

But the women's minister, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, said singling out these children based on perceived feminine mannerisms was traumatising and harmful to their mental health.

The camp violates the Child Act, which protects children without prejudice, she said.

Gay rights groups have also criticised the measure, saying it promotes homophobia in the Muslim-majority country where gay sex is still illegal.

The schoolboys allegedly displayed "feminine mannerisms" - though educators in the conservative state of Terengganu did not detail what they were, the BBC's Jennifer Pak reports from Kuala Lumpur.

State officials say that, if left unchecked, the students - aged between 13 and 17 - could end up gay or transsexual.

They blame parents for encouraging boys to develop feminine traits, by dressing them up in girls' clothing at a young age.

Terengganu state's education director, Razali Daud, said the students were invited to join the camp and were not compelled to do so.

"As educators, we have to do something about it before the young ones misunderstand people and reach the point of no return," he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

Mr Razali says although homosexuals and transvestites exist in Malaysia, the authorities want to limit their number.

More at link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13141466
  1. groups:
    Community,   News and Politics,   Gay
  2. tags:
    Malaysia,  Anti Gay,  prejiduce
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11 comments // Malaysia's anti-gay camp violates law says minister

  • div
    • +4
      div  

    • What's Ironic, capital I, is that a lot of behavior that is common in countries like Malaysia between men would be considered highly feminine in North America. Hugging? Putting your arm around another dude. etc.

    • 1 year ago
  • eden49
  • littlwarrior
    • +4
      littlwarrior  

    • It's disturbing to know that such a place even exists. What is more disturbing is that children are being put through this before they even have a chance to know who they are.

    • 1 year ago
  • congoboy
  • littlwarrior
    • +4
      littlwarrior  
    • congoboy:

      Well it would be nice if they could have the time to discover who they are for themselves before being put through the torment of that much hate. Also gays are useful for far more things then just running restaurants, we also seem to do well in just about everything else from fashion to real estate, we really are quite talented. The only place we seem to struggle is in the GOP, they just dont seem to like us so much, odd really.

    • 1 year ago
  • congoboy
    • 0
      congoboy  
    • littlwarrior:

      theyre catching up. its been a slow process for society at large. just like with any group its the radical militants that give the rest a bad name and make it difficult to find acceptance

    • 1 year ago
  • littlwarrior
  • tlbuffin
  • littlwarrior
    • +4
      littlwarrior  
    • tlbuffin:

      The closet is a terrible place to stay, and becoming a Baptist minister wont keep someone in no matter how hard they try, but then again maybe they are just a little femmy. Everyone always wonders how it is that my older brother is the straight one, never have I seen a man obsess over shoes in all my days, I'm not even that bad and I'm the gay one.

    • 1 year ago
  • tlbuffin
  • littlwarrior
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