Attack on gays in sri lanka

The person sustained fatal injuries to the head from the attack. In , cabinet ministers rejected another proposal to end discrimination based on sexual orientation on the basis that it could legitimize homosexuality. After his haircut, factory management called Chameera for a meeting.

On the island, perceptions about how men and women should look and act are deeply embedded. GENEVA – Sri Lanka violated the rights of a lesbian and leading LGBTI activist who was subjected to discrimination, threats and abuses due to the country’s Penal Code that criminalises same-sex sexual activity, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has found.

Social construction in Sri Lanka only accepts binary genders, with non-binary identities, viewed with disgust, Dandeniya said. They colonized us and administered their Christian and Victorian values. He no longer works at the UTP factory where he made cigars for five years.

Nimalka, for her part, is constantly worried that their landlords will discover them. She is also a former garment factory worker at the same economic zone. When human rights activists attempted to repeal these sections in , the then-government responded with hostility and disapproval, instead expanding the law to criminalize sex betweem women as well.

What made headlines about the death was not the brutal attack, but the sexual orientation of the victim. Fearing social stigma and termination from work, they have tried to keep their relationship a secret. Chameera recently came out as a trans man, legally changing his name six months ago.

In , the British criminalized any sexual activity between men in Sri Lanka, creating sections and A of the Penal Code , which exists to this day. In February, a lesbian woman who worked at the same factory killed herself; Dandeniya said she was ridiculed and refused work after she had cut her hair short.

Meanwhile, factory management have made good on their threats to Chameera and denied him work, effectively terminating his employment. Homosexuality in Sri Lanka has been documented since ancient times. Menu Search Search. They wanted me to grow my hair and hide my identity.

A paper from the Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade found that 79 percent of women workers surveyed in EPZs were employed in low to medium-level jobs — such as machine operator, packer, and cutter — with only 5. Living in the shadows is taking its toll.

But who knows how long they can keep their relationship a secret; Nimalka already suspects that UTP has discovered them. LGBTQ+ discrimination persists in Sri Lanka Jeevan Ravindran in Jaffna, Sri Lanka 06/25/ LGBTQ+ Sri Lankans face violence, while promises by the government to repeal colonial-era laws remain.

Former finance minister Mangala Samaraweera who no longer holds a parliament seat was one of the active political figures who supported a change to the law in In , he even voted in favor of gay and lesbian rights at the United Nations. In Sri Lanka, not only do same-sex couples not receive any legal recognition, but homosexuality is still punishable by the law , with a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

A majority are below the age of 30, come from rural families , and are not highly educated. More ». About one year ago, on September 5, a year-old was beaten to death at a private van park in Dambulla town in the wee hours of the morning. Some respondents even believed that non-binary identities were a birth defect or mental illness.

In these zones, hundreds of thousands of employees and daily wage workers — 60 percent of whom are women — are employed under harrowing conditions to manufacture goods ultimately exported to the Global North. Sign Up About Press Donate. WMC SheSource is an online database of media-experienced women experts who we connect to journalists, bookers and producers.

Since the 17th century, homosexual intercourse has de jure prohibited through the Penal Code first implemented under the colonialism, but human rights organizations write that arrests are rare and prosecutions only relate to non-consensual sex and prostitution (as in India.

News of her suicide spread through the economic zone and drew outrage from labor activists. Katunayake, which began its operations in , is one of the 12 Export Processing Zones EPZs regulated by the Board of Investment in Sri Lanka, whose focus is to attract foreign investment to the island.

The moment you cut your hair short, they fire you. They met about three years ago while working as machine operators at United Tobacco Processing UTP , a factory that produces premium cigars for global brands like J. At that time, Chameera presented as a woman.