Reese Barcelon
- Taiwan is the first ever Asian country that approved same sex marriage.
- However, another member of the international organization which is Indonesia, is publicly caning gay members of the society.
The LGBT community is one of the most sensitive issues in the world because of the prying eyes of the society itself.
For some, there are only two acceptable genders in the society – which the male and the female. Unfortunately, the gay and the lesbians aren’t included in the two.
Even until today, the organization is continuously pleading for the acceptance and freedom that some nations still haven’t given to them even when they had already proven themselves.
Some of the English speaking countries have wholly accepted the community, and would even let couples be married to each other. On the contrary, LGBT community in some of the Asian countries is still not openly welcomed.
In Taiwan, the justices from Constitutional Court finally ruled in favor of marriage equality and even called the sexual orientation as an “immutable characteristic that is resistant to change.”
Taiwan’s first female president named Tsai Ing-Wen, who also supports the LGBT community, even asked the Ministry of Justice to work on a legal framework for complying with the decision.
This announcement made a lot of the LGBT couples delighted as it simply meant that the respect and acceptance that they have been waiting for a long time will soon be given to them.
Unfortunately, this was not the case in Aceh, Indonesia.
In this part of the country, homosexuality is considered illegal and unacceptable by its residents as they believe that it is morally wrong.
Here in the conservative province of Aceh, Indonesia, gay men are caned for 83 times in front of the public while they are standing on a stage in a mosque courtyard.
A total of almost 1000 locals watched the horrendous act, while applauding and cheering the hooded men on to continue the ‘punishment’ to the men who was caught having gay sex.
Moreover, a lot of them are taking videos of how the men are caned.
The men who were punished were forced to stand in front of the crowd quietly, while the spectators jeered them along with the hurtful insults.
Aceh is labeled as Indonesia’s most conservative district – which is the only region that views same-sex relationships as a criminal act, using the Islamic law as their basis for doing so.
When the ‘offenders’ finished receiving a lot of beatings, they are freed and allowed to return to their homes. Imagine how painful and traumatizing it can be for the gay men if this public caning will be continued.
These countries show that every part of the world really have diverse opinions on different matters, specifically the LGBT community. Some can accept their gender preference, but there are also others who are still close-minded for this matter.
What the LGBT members want is not to be given by a number of laws, but rather to be recognized their relationship equally and to show that they also deserve to be protected and respected just like the other genders.
How about you? What are your thoughts about the LGBT community? Share your thoughts with us!
