https://www.himalmag.com/bhutan-queer-rights-lgbtiq-marriage-equality/
"In June 2022, in the middle of Pride Month celebrations across the world,
Tashi Choden Chombal was crowned the third Miss Bhutan. Chombal was 23 years
old at the time and had been openly gay for nine years. She came out on social
media as bisexual when she turned 15 and was pleasantly surprised by responses
of acceptance and support. This was the moment when she decided to research
sexual identities and orientations. “This helped to figure out myself too,” she
told me when I interviewed her in July. Before the pageant, she was a model and
an aspiring actor, but after her win she became one of the most recognisable
people in the country, and especially prominent as a queer activist.
Chombal recalled the time in her adolescence when she did not understand why
she felt different from other young girls. She did not dare to ask people
questions and did not have access to the right resources. She remembered her
struggles to find her identity, which shook her self-esteem and left her with
no sense of belonging. She also recalled being depressed and having thoughts of
self-harm.
Chombal said she was always outspoken and had lost some friends as a result.
But the same outspokenness was her way of finding acceptance from strangers.
She said that in her quest for acceptance, the fates seemed to align perfectly
when the Miss Bhutan pageant final was postponed to June 2022, which happened
to be Pride Month. “This opportunity allowed me to shine on the global stage
and advocate for my rights as an individual, representing both the beautiful
country of Bhutan and my community,” she said. The pageant organisers displayed
little concern over her sexual orientation. A few people on social media
expressed their disapproval of a gay woman contestant, but the atmosphere was
largely supportive. Most people celebrated her when she won.
Chombal’s win and imminent participation in the global Miss Universe pageant
felt significant to the LGBTIQ+ community in Bhutan especially because it came
on the heels of the decriminalisation of homosexuality by law. In December
2020, the country’s parliament voted to change two sections of the Penal Code
that criminalised “unnatural sex”, which until that time was widely understood
to refer to gay sex. A line was included in the Penal Code to say that “any
consensual sexual conduct that is against the order of nature committed in
private between any adult human beings shall not be considered unnatural sex,”
thus decriminalising consensual sex between partners of any gender. The change
in the law received royal assent in February 2021.
These two developments have encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
intersex and queer Bhutanese, making them feel seen, recognised and included in
a country where traditional values had earlier rendered them largely invisible.
The community now hopes to capitalise on the momentum of the last few years to
campaign for marriage equality, legal gender recognition and other crucial
protections."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-child-nutrition-human-rights-bhutan-ocean-png/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
