Below is the press statement of the newly-formed Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN) which I am cross-posting from Leona Lo's blog here. Transwomen from Singapore, Nepal, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Cambodia, Thailand and Bangladesh came together in Bangkok, Thailand in early December to form APTN. For some reason, no one from the Philippines was invited to take part in the meetings. There was also no representative from transmale communities and from Pacific countries.
I have personally met three of the members of APTN. Hua from Thailand I met during the 60th anniversary celebrations by Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender (LBT) Asian women of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in December 2008 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Luluk from Indonesia I met at a sexuality and rights training in May 2009 conducted by TARSHI. Manisha from Nepal I met in Copenhagen for the 2nd International Conference on LGBT Human Rights which was part of World Outgames 2009.
And then there's Leona who I have not met yet but have much respect for. I am very happy that she is part of APTN. I hope that in the next meetings of APTN, a transgender Filipina will be invited to share her own perspective on protecting transgender human rights, health and well-being in the Asia Pacific Region. Nonetheless, I would like to congratulate my sisters for this pioneering initiative. Everything that each of us does to further the cause of improving the lives of transpeople in the world must be recognized and celebrated. Great job to all those who make up APTN! Long live the strong, smart, beautiful and independent-minded transwomen from Asia and the Pacific!
World’s First Asia Pacific Transgender Network Launched to Champion Health and Rights of Transgender Women in the Region
Ms. Khartini Slamah, Founding Working Group member and Core-Group Chair of the Transgender Programme in Pink Triangle (PT) Foundation, Malaysia, says this represents a milestone in the history of transgender women in the region. She says, “For a long time transgender women have been represented among the MSM (men who have sex with men) sub-population group, but there is now a recognition that we are a distinct demographic with our own unique needs. We wish to be separated from the MSM umbrella and inform The United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to stop clustering us under the MSM umbrella. Transgender women are not men – we have different issues and needs. Thus we have formed a network addressing the needs of transgender women only.”
From hijras in South Asia to warias in Indonesia
The group represents a broad spectrum of transgender women from sex workers to career women, from hijras (South Asia), warias (Indonesia), kathoeys (Thailand) and sao praphet songs (Thailand) to specialised interest groups such as youth, Muslims and elderly transgender women.
Ms Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, another Founding Working Group member and one of the most recognisable faces of hijras in India, says she is pleased the community is being represented by the network. She says, “For the first time in history, hijras from Nepal, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are joining hands with our transgender sisters from Asia Pacific to say ‘No!’ to being treated like second-class citizens. We know there is strength in numbers. Together, we can advance and improve the health, legal and social rights of transgender women.”
The network will also tackle issues in the region such as HIV prevalence among transgender sex workers, especially in countries such as Indonesia and Cambodia, where infection rates are extremely high and resources in place are inadequate to ensure access to quality healthcare, as well as to protect the rights of the sex workers.
Outreach activities
The network is developing a workplan for the next two to three years. The Working Group will identify and explore key populations/ groups in immediate need of support and plan activities to reach out to these target groups. Transgender representatives have also been appointed from every sub-region and from key sub-populations to rally transgender organisations within their respective sub-regions or areas to become members of the network.
Ms Sitthiphan (Hua) Boonyapisomparn, APTN Coordinator who is based in Bangkok, says, “At this stage, it is important that we develop a comprehensive workplan that addresses the needs of APTN members. We are already in discussion with potential donors and sponsors to explore how they might support APTN programmes.”
For more information about the network or to support its programmes, please contact Ms Sitthiphan at huab2007@gmail. com.
Note to Editors
The APTN is categorised according to seven sub-regions and seven key populations. Each group is represented as follows:
Danisha (Malaysia) for transgender drug users
Jetsada Taesombat (Thailand) for transgender youth
Jin Qiu (China) for China Sub-Region
Khartini Slamah (Malaysia) for senior transgender women
Laxmi Narayan Iripathi (India) for India Sub-region
Leona Lo (Singapore) for Developed Asia Sub-region
Luluk Surahman (Indonesia) for Insular Southeast Asia Sub-region
Manisha (Nepal) for South Asia Sub-region
Prempreeda Pramos Na Ayutthaya (Thailand) for the Greater Mekong Sub-region
Sam Sela (Cambodia) for transgender people living with HIV
Sulastri (Malaysia) for transgender sex workers
Zahida Hijra (Bangladesh) for hijras
Vacant – for transgender Muslims
Vacant – for Pacific Sub-region
About APTN
The mission of APTN is to enable transgender women in the Asia Pacific region to organise and advocate to improve their health, protect their human rights, and enhance their social well-being and the quality of their lives. The network startup is supported by the 7 Sisters Coalition of Asia Pacific Regional Networks on HIV/AIDS, Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM), and Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW)
- Ms Sitthiphan (Hua) Boonyapisomparn
APTN Coordinator
Email: huab2007@gmail. com
- Ms Leona Lo
Founding Working Group member, APTN
Email: leona@talksense. biz
I have personally met three of the members of APTN. Hua from Thailand I met during the 60th anniversary celebrations by Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender (LBT) Asian women of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in December 2008 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Luluk from Indonesia I met at a sexuality and rights training in May 2009 conducted by TARSHI. Manisha from Nepal I met in Copenhagen for the 2nd International Conference on LGBT Human Rights which was part of World Outgames 2009.
And then there's Leona who I have not met yet but have much respect for. I am very happy that she is part of APTN. I hope that in the next meetings of APTN, a transgender Filipina will be invited to share her own perspective on protecting transgender human rights, health and well-being in the Asia Pacific Region. Nonetheless, I would like to congratulate my sisters for this pioneering initiative. Everything that each of us does to further the cause of improving the lives of transpeople in the world must be recognized and celebrated. Great job to all those who make up APTN! Long live the strong, smart, beautiful and independent-minded transwomen from Asia and the Pacific!
World’s First Asia Pacific Transgender Network Launched to Champion Health and Rights of Transgender Women in the Region
- Diverse groups from warias, kathoeys and hijras to be represented
Ms. Khartini Slamah, Founding Working Group member and Core-Group Chair of the Transgender Programme in Pink Triangle (PT) Foundation, Malaysia, says this represents a milestone in the history of transgender women in the region. She says, “For a long time transgender women have been represented among the MSM (men who have sex with men) sub-population group, but there is now a recognition that we are a distinct demographic with our own unique needs. We wish to be separated from the MSM umbrella and inform The United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to stop clustering us under the MSM umbrella. Transgender women are not men – we have different issues and needs. Thus we have formed a network addressing the needs of transgender women only.”
From hijras in South Asia to warias in Indonesia
The group represents a broad spectrum of transgender women from sex workers to career women, from hijras (South Asia), warias (Indonesia), kathoeys (Thailand) and sao praphet songs (Thailand) to specialised interest groups such as youth, Muslims and elderly transgender women.
Ms Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, another Founding Working Group member and one of the most recognisable faces of hijras in India, says she is pleased the community is being represented by the network. She says, “For the first time in history, hijras from Nepal, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are joining hands with our transgender sisters from Asia Pacific to say ‘No!’ to being treated like second-class citizens. We know there is strength in numbers. Together, we can advance and improve the health, legal and social rights of transgender women.”
The network will also tackle issues in the region such as HIV prevalence among transgender sex workers, especially in countries such as Indonesia and Cambodia, where infection rates are extremely high and resources in place are inadequate to ensure access to quality healthcare, as well as to protect the rights of the sex workers.
Outreach activities
The network is developing a workplan for the next two to three years. The Working Group will identify and explore key populations/ groups in immediate need of support and plan activities to reach out to these target groups. Transgender representatives have also been appointed from every sub-region and from key sub-populations to rally transgender organisations within their respective sub-regions or areas to become members of the network.
Ms Sitthiphan (Hua) Boonyapisomparn, APTN Coordinator who is based in Bangkok, says, “At this stage, it is important that we develop a comprehensive workplan that addresses the needs of APTN members. We are already in discussion with potential donors and sponsors to explore how they might support APTN programmes.”
For more information about the network or to support its programmes, please contact Ms Sitthiphan at huab2007@gmail. com.
Note to Editors
The APTN is categorised according to seven sub-regions and seven key populations. Each group is represented as follows:
Danisha (Malaysia) for transgender drug users
Jetsada Taesombat (Thailand) for transgender youth
Jin Qiu (China) for China Sub-Region
Khartini Slamah (Malaysia) for senior transgender women
Laxmi Narayan Iripathi (India) for India Sub-region
Leona Lo (Singapore) for Developed Asia Sub-region
Luluk Surahman (Indonesia) for Insular Southeast Asia Sub-region
Manisha (Nepal) for South Asia Sub-region
Prempreeda Pramos Na Ayutthaya (Thailand) for the Greater Mekong Sub-region
Sam Sela (Cambodia) for transgender people living with HIV
Sulastri (Malaysia) for transgender sex workers
Zahida Hijra (Bangladesh) for hijras
Vacant – for transgender Muslims
Vacant – for Pacific Sub-region
About APTN
The mission of APTN is to enable transgender women in the Asia Pacific region to organise and advocate to improve their health, protect their human rights, and enhance their social well-being and the quality of their lives. The network startup is supported by the 7 Sisters Coalition of Asia Pacific Regional Networks on HIV/AIDS, Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM), and Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW)
- Ends -
Media Enquiries- Ms Sitthiphan (Hua) Boonyapisomparn
APTN Coordinator
Email: huab2007@gmail. com
- Ms Leona Lo
Founding Working Group member, APTN
Email: leona@talksense. biz
5 comments:
Hi sister actually I'm surprised you were not there since you've got lots to share based on your experiences. Nonetheless we're gathering feedback from the respective countries now and our board and working group is "interim", i.e., we will probably see many more new faces in future. We will meet!
I know. It's unfortunate that nobody from the Philippines was there. But still, the creation of APTN is a step in the right direction in addressing the social,legal and health concerns of transwomen in Asia and the Pacific. I have a feeling that we will meet soon as well! Good job sis! I am so proud that you were part of this historic undertaking. Keep up the good work. HUGS!
Hey I'm proud of you two and my Asian Pacific trans sisters in taking this much needed and historic step in forming APTN.
Thank you Monica! I hope we all can meet sometime in the future in a world congress of people fighting for transgender human rights. :)
Question, how can I, for example, be part of this group when I am actually based in Europe? I'd like to take part on this.
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