This post was submitted by John "Jolly" Bavoso

With all of the domestic news on the gay rights front, it’s sometimes hard to remember that news in this area is being made all over the world. And when you add to that equation the fact that the T is often ignored in favor of the LGB in most instances, it can be difficult to find the latest headlines in the trans rights movement throughout the international community. It turns out, however, at the moment, there’s a lot going on around the world, so let’s check some of it out.

Let’s start our little trip around the world in this hemisphere.  A transgender group in the small South American country of Guyana is taking on the state to challenge the government’s interference in one of the most fundamental components of gender expression: clothing.  In addition to outlawing homosexuality, Guyana has made cross-dressing illegal, which led to the imprisonment of six individuals last February. Now an organization, with the help of international supporters, has taken a stand for the accused and is challenging these laws:

“It was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life. I felt like I was less than human,” Seon Clarke, who was among those detained last year, said in a statement from Guyana’s Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) on Monday.

Clarke is also one of those who on Friday filed a motion for the Supreme Court to overturn the sexual orientation and dress laws. SASOD, which is representing the group, said it had assembled an international team of lawyers for the case.

While the suit has little chance of being effective, it’s encouraging to see activism, simultaneously on the individual, national and international levels, taking place in Guyana.

Across the globe in Turkey, a coalition of influential domestic and international organization is stepping in to protect Turkish transgendered citizens.  In response to the recent murder of two transwomen, Pembe Hayat “Pink Life,” Human Rights Watch, the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA-Europe), and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) presented the government of Turkey with a letter demanding the protection of transgendered people:

The targeted killing of transgender women is part of a broader pattern of violence against LGBT people in Turkey… Turkish authorities has an obligation to conduct an effective investigation into all murders of LGBT people and prosecute those responsible, and we acknowledge and are grateful for police efforts to investigate and resolve these crimes. However, it is deeply troubling that incidents of murder and violence against LGBT people in Turkey, especially transgender people, continue unabated.

The letter also included a list of demands. It’s particularly worth noting that the European organization has gotten involved, since it has a say in Turkey’s (eternally) ongoing campaign to be accepted into the EU. It will be interesting to see how the government responds.

Finally, a story out of France reminds us that even in countries with fairly advanced LGBT rights protections, there’s still room for progress. As TIME reports:

Several decades have passed since the West stopped considering homosexuality a mental illness. But for transsexuals, this kind of milestone has been elusive — until now. Last month, France became the first country in the world to remove transsexualism from its official list of mental disorders — a major victory when it comes to acceptance of this oft-misunderstood condition.

To be completely honest, I had no idea that every country in the world listed transsexualism a mental disorder. It’s stories like this that reminds us that passing equality laws are really just the beginning of the struggle for full euqality.

To end with some lighter news: India crowned its first trans beauty queen last week and Amanda Lepore kicked off Australia’s Pride festivities, boosting the visibility of transgendered people in popular culture.

Any big stories I’ve missed? Enlighten me, and your fellow Global Gaze readers, in the comment sections below!

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